'According to all his biographies (some of which trace his lineage back to the Huguenots - French Protestants), Chaplin was not jewish. His older half-brother Sydney probably had a jewish father. No-one is absolutely sure, since the man never married Chaplin's mother. (No doubt he did not believe in intermarriage...) That seems to be the sum total of Chaplin's jewish family connection. Charlie's father was Charles Chaplin Sr.
Many people mistakenly thought Chaplin was jewish, especially after "The Great Dictator" and his other public defenses of the jews. It is well known that Chaplin identified strongly with the jewish people. During World War II he stopped denying he was jewish, since he felt that to do that was "playing into the hands of anti-semites". Presumably he meant that denial implied shame.' Op "The Religion of Charlie Chaplin" [2]
