Ways Done in the Past - Computer Games

When you bought a PC back in the 80s, it came with BASICA (an early BASIC interpreter) and many programs, one of them being the very game: Donkey.bas. It was the very first PC game and was a demonstration of interactive graphics and sound capabilities of BASICA.



The simple driving game was written by Gates and a friend on a prototype PC in 1981, and revolves around dodging donkeys in a supercar. The game seems to be endless.

This game was developed in 1981 by Microsoft founder Bill Gates. He created this game for demonstrations the IBM PC and the BASIC programming language's capability to produce interactive programs with color graphics and sound. It's argubably the predecessor of all IBM PC games.

 
Early IBM PC: The game was included free on early versions of Microsoft's DOS operating system - the precursor to Windows - and used to demonstrate the Basic programming language included with the system

The game Donkey is less well-known than some of Bill Gates's other creations but it was in fact the first-ever PC game.  It was given away free with early versions of the DOS operating system for IBM PCs.

Bill Gates described the game himself in a 2001 speech, 'It was myself and Neil Thompson at four in the morning with this prototype IBM PC sitting in this small room.'

'IBM insisted that we had to have a lock on the door and we only had this closet that had a lock on it, so we had to do all our development in there and it was always over 100 degrees, but we wrote late at night a little application to show what the Basic built into the IBM PC could do.'

'That was Donkey. At the time it was very thrilling.'

Bill Gates said:  'You're cruising in your new supercar on a little-used, dead-straight rural road when suddenly a zombified donkey attacks you. It charges at you, dead-set on destroying you. Can you escape the donkey?'

Even at the time, the game was very basic indeed.

The premise of Donkey is simple. You drive a super car along a road and try to avoid a donkey. Obviously, it doesn’t stack up with high-end games like NOVA and Modern Combat, but it is certainly an interesting trip into history. Who knows; if it wasn’t for this game, video games as we know them may not exist, and we would not want to live in a world with no video games.
.

 World's first PC game written by Bill Gates has been turned into an iPad app.

It's very simple compared to huge 3D worlds created by today's PC titles.  The game is extremely low-resolution and offers a straight 2D.

The DOS-based games I first played with was "My First Apple Computer"  here and my early computer game experience which I shared at "Computer for the Family" , my personal nostalgic memories contributed to the Singapore Memory portal.

As with other ideas of  knowledge-based economy and business concepts, new inventions are derived and based on old ones.

 In computing, a graphical user interface (GUI, commonly pronounced gooey) is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices using images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and office equipment. A GUI represents the information and actions available to a user through graphical icons and visual indicators such as secondary notation, as opposed to text-based interfaces, typed command labels or text navigation.

Computer Games "Then and Now"

 A demonstration of  DOS-based computer games in 1981 attracted everyone at a class in the community centre. (Photo above).

Two youngsters playing a Microsoft Windows-based interactive computer games available in the community centre in 1991. (Photo below).

 
Gaming today is a widely recognized part of our cultural landscape. But those of us over thirty are just old enough to remember a time before gaming, before digital entertainment invaded the arcades, our computers and our homes.

Gaming itself is as old as history. Artifacts from ancient Sumeria and Egypt have shown that our ancestors enjoyed playing board games thousands of years ago. But electronic games required the invention of electronic computers.

The earliest computers were slow, failure-prone monsters that took over entire rooms and had less power than a modern pocket calculator. Still, early programmers on these machines felt compelled to waste time by making these computers do things like playing tic-tac-toe.

After World War II, electronic computers moved out of the realm of cutting-edge laboratories and into universities and large corporations. Many university students became the first game programmers, transforming their fantasy and sci-fi imaginations into digital adventures.
 
The concept of hooking up an electronic game system to a television set was invented by Ralph Bauer in the early 1950s.

Later he took his ideas to the TV company Magnavox, which released a refined version of his "Brown Box" prototype as the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972. The Odyssey was primitive, displaying only spots of light on the TV screen, and it required translucent plastic overlays to simulate the appearance of a game. Still, the revolution was underway, and there was to be no stopping it.

The first wildly popular home console system was the Atari 2600, released in 1977. It used plug-in cartridges to play many different types of games, and thanks to the popularity of Space Invaders, it became a best seller. Computer games, written largely for the Apple ][ and TRS-80 computers, were also taking off at this time. While the console industry experienced a crash in 1983, it soon recovered and both computer and console games never looked back.

Note:  Archived photos with "For online reference viewing only" watermark are credit of National Archives of Singapore with acknowledgement and thanks for sharing on this blog.

Dondang Sayang

Dondang Sayang - Melody of Love



Dondang Sayang is a form of singing poems, an art accompanied by its own unique orchestra.

Dondang Sayang, translated from Malay means "melody of love". Originating from the Malay community, it has been adopted by the Peranakans as an integral expression of their culture.

 A typical group is made up of 4 musicians who perform on the violin, 2 rebana and a gong or tetawak. The chief musician is usually the violinist who plays a primary role in dondang sayang, providing a counter melody to the vocal melody. Musicians may switch instruments in between performances, but the violinist seldom does, although this is permitted. If there are musicians to spare, up to 5 rebana may be used.

Sometimes, the rebana may be substituted by the tambour and barrel drum or even the kompang. The music is slow, and a song usually consists of 32 bars, beginning with a violin introduction, with the rebana and then the gong entering, and the voice finally entering in bar 5. Its style is somewhat informal and its lyrics usually consist of love poems. The musical instruments may also be augmented with an accordion.

It is a traditional Malay form of entertainment where Baba and Nyonya singers exchange extemporaneous Malay Pantun (poetry), in a lighthearted and sometimes humorous style. The singers are normally accompanied by a violin, two Malay rebana (drums), and a tetawak (gong). These instruments are often supplemented by other available instruments, most notably, accordions, flutes, or an additional violin.

Dondang Sayang group in Singapore in the 1950s

Dondang Sayang group in Singapore in the 1970s

 Peranakan Chinese and Baba-Nyonya are terms used for the descendants of late 15th and 16th-century Chinese immigrants to the Indonesian archipelago of Nusantara during the Colonial era.

Most Peranakans are of Hoklo (Hokkien) ancestry, although a sizable number are of Teochew or Cantonese descent. Originally, the Peranakan were mixed-race descendants, part Chinese, part Malay/Indonesian.

The language of the Peranakans, Baba Malay (Bahasa Melayu Baba), is a creole dialect of the Malay language (Bahasa Melayu), which contains many Hokkien words. It is a dying language, and its contemporary use is mainly limited to members of the older generation. English has now replaced this as the main language spoken amongst the younger generation.

Dondang Sayang is a rich musical culture inherited by our Peranakan in Singapore.

My late elder uncle was a Peranakan while my elder auntie ('tua kim') was a Teochew.

While I was young, I have seen Peranakan language book published in English with many words in Hokkien.  At that time, I could not understand these book found in my Tua Kim's house at Kim Chuan Road.

Unk Dicko's blog "There is no pure race..we are all inter-related!" here .
We are all one race, Human Beings. We are evolving all the time, we are all brothers and sisters in One World, no matter what shade our skin happens to be.

A related blog on "Color the World with Photoshop" which I abhor the discrimination of people by the color of their skin with labels.

To my mind, all humans have only one color...and that is RED... the color of our human blood, and so of other living creatures ! It is the color of harmony as an united nation in an ideal world.

Whatever our race, nationality, tribe, dialect ... it is observed that people segregate "man-made labels" or groups by emotional or sentimental ties and disintegrate the community bonds as a society.

PENANG PERANAKAN MANSION

A photo with a young Bibi at the Peranakan Mansion in Penang

Please share Sharifah Aini's "Dondang Sayang" on "YouTube" and enjoy.

Dawn Yip - Chinese Talentime 1979

Dawn Yip Pai Fung of Outram Secondary School, 1980

Many of us know that the 1979 Chinese Talentime (Female Section) winner, Yip Pai Fung, is our fellow Outramian.  When asked about her victory, she shyly said that she was just lucky winning it, as she did not realize that she had the potential to do so, considering the stiff competition she faced from fellow participants and her lack of experience.  Her classmates encouraged her to enter the competition and even obtained the entry form for her.  Pai Fung is glad she got through it, and especially on her first attempt.

She will only consider whether she wants to turn professional after completing her studies.  She appears on television occasionally, and was featured in a local documentary, "Music is Our Business".

At present, she is not kept very busy with her singing work, as she wants to concentrate on her studies.  Sometimes, she does feel a little shy when people recognize her on the streets, but she tries to overcome her shyness and talk to them if approached.

Pai Fung finds recording work very interesting and challenging and prefers it to live performances.  Fans can look forward to her third album soon.  She will record in English when she is prepared for it, but is not planning to do so at present.

During the last school holidays, she gave a performance in Malaysia and was also featured in a Taiwanese TV programme.  She has a large number of Chinese fans in Singapore and Malaysia.

According to her, singing does bring in a large income and nowadays she does not have to ask her parents for an allowance.  She also gives charity shows now and then.

She is proud and glad that God has given her this talent.  Pai Fung has lots of plans for her singing work, like producing an English album, composing her own songs, and giving more overseas and local shows to promote her album, as well as to do some charity work, but she has put aside all these plans to concentrate on her school work.

NASIMAH BTE MD KUNJU
Pre-U 2/1
Outram Annual 1980

 When You Believe - Rays of Hope [希望之光] by Dawn Yip. 
 

Dawn asked me on my Facebook profile: "Where did you find this ? i didn't even know it was posted?"

With compliments and memories to Dawn, here it is to share with her , friends and her former Outramian schoolmates.

Memories of Liu Sanjie

Many nostalgia movie lovers and fans would remember "Liu Sanjie - 刘三姐" screened in Singapore in the 1960s.

My mother and elder sisters loved the China-made movie with the beautiful folk songs which the villagers, young and old at Bukit Ho Swee were singing from the Rediffusion.



 

The full-length movie is posted on this blog to revive the memories of "Liu Sanjie".

 专访《刘三姐》中“阿牛”的饰演者刘世龙。

刘三姐是壮族民音传说人物。据传刘三姐为唐代壮族农家女，自幼陪颖过人，被视为“神女”。她十二岁能通经传，指物索歌，开口立就。自编自唱，歌如泉涌，优美动人，不失音律，故在当地有“歌仙”的美誉。为了纪念这位传说中的“歌仙”，壮族同胞也自发地在每年三月三日聚集到一起，以歌圩的方式，来寄托人们对这位“歌仙”的思念。

电影版的《刘三姐》同样也取材于民间传说。主人公刘三姐是一位聪明、美丽的壮族姑娘，擅长用山歌来赞美劳动、赞美自然和赞美爱情，并用山歌来抗议旧中国统治阶级对劳动人民的剥削和压迫。从题材上来看，这部电影反应的是，依然还是很典型的封建社会和民主社会的矛盾，

'Sanjie Liu' produced in 1961, which made the Li River famous worldwide. Sanjie Liu is a fairy singer in the myths and legends of the Zhuang ethnic minority. She is incomparably beautiful, and has voice to match her beauty.

 

The Impression Liu Sanjie was created by Zhang Yimou who is well known internationally as the film director in 2004.

Impression Liu Sanjie is an outdoor performance placing its setting in real mountains and rivers in Yangshuo.
The story is about a lady called Liu Sanjie who lived in the city of Liuzhou (2 hours from Guilin) where she worked in the fields. Liu Sanjie was well-known in Liuzhou for her great singing voice. She would always sing while she worked in the fields.

Most of her songs were about the repression felt by the farmers from the local landlords who over taxed them. She had to leave Liuzhou for her own safety and came to Yangshuo on a bamboo raft and settled here.

Yangshuo's farmers also had problems with their landlord and Liu Sanjie took up singing against them. The local landlord had her kidnapped, but she escaped after the local farmers staged an uprising against the landlord. The locals agreed with the landlord that they did not have to pay taxes if they could sing better than the landlord, something that they always did.

Then under the Big Banyan tree, Liu Sanjie tossed her love ball to her loved one, which he accepted and they lived happily ever after.

Impression Liu Sanjie in China is famous for its live-action show with the picturesque beauty of Mountains and waters in Yangshuo.

The lighting of the karst peaks is truly amazing and is extremely highlighted. Today, since the completion of this large-scale performance, the travel of Yangshuo becomes more colorful. At daytime, travelers get visit to the natural beauty of mountains and waters as well as the local strong custom, and at nighttime, to enjoy the dreamlike show of Impression Liu Sanjie.

The performance regards the lmpressional Sanjie Liu as the general theme，and creatively combines the ciassical Sanjie Liu's songs，ethnic groups’culture and the fishing lights together，to refect the harmonious atmosphere between human beings and Nature．



"多谢了", 林联海先生.

Mr Lim Lian Hai (林联海先生) is a well-known, talented Singaporean photographer. His Singapore cityscape and landscape masterpieces at pBase .

pBase Guestbook said: "Hi Lian Hai. Great shots, enjoyed very much. Don't need to travel anywhere further than our hometown,just look around our backyard!!". "You do great work. I love your sunsets, their as good as the ones in Arizona, USA. your panos and city scapes are great also! Sam Wilson. "You have an impressive portfolio here. Love most of your excellent works. Keep up your good work.". "Excellent creative work! Especially the "Singapore Skyline" gallery. Well Done!!!".

Please view the unsolicited accolades of Mr. Lim Lian Hai on pBase.

Color the World with Photoshop

What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong



Songwriters: Thiele, Robert; Weiss, George David;

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom, for me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

 I see skies of blue, and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces, of people going by
I see friends shaking hands, sayin', "How do you do?"
They're really sayin', "I love you"

I hear babies cryin', I watch them grow
They'll learn much more, than I'll ever know
And I think to myself What a wonderful world

Yes, I think to myself
What a wonderful world

Photos of  yours truly, Thimbuktu in black and white juxtaposed another set in colour with Photoshop.

Derek Tait, my British writer friend and blogger of "Sampans, Banyans and Rambutans" posted the coloured photos to my Facebook profile page.

Our Facebook conversation messages on this topic quoted below:

"Who's this colourful young man ?".

A pleasant surprise from Derek at his blog
.
James Seah

[Bwah-hah-hah my dear Derek ! Thank you for so kind to colour this photo of me taken 40 years ago.

How did you photoshop my original FB profile photo in black and white. So nice.

My memory is poor...I couldn't remember this old photo of me with a "crown of glory" when I was 20-something.

Pls help me know how I can turn back the clock and I look that way again?

Cheerio!
James Seah

Sunday 20 May, 2012] 

Derek Tait 

[Hi James,  Glad you like the photo. We both need a time machine so we can travel back and take lots of photos in colour! Best wishes,

Derek].

[Hi James, Here's another one! Best wishes, Derek]

[Hi James,

"If you've got  photoshop , here's the process I used to colour in the photo. It's quite easy really".]

Thanks to Derek for sharing this something new to me. I did not explore further into 'Photoshop' to learn more into this knowledge. Many of my friends with formal training in "Photoshop" are aware of this colour image conversion from black and white to colour.

Derek may be surprised that over 50 years ago before "Photoshop"  was commonly used as an image editor software application on the computer, an old artist at a Tanjong Pagar photo studio had to colour original black and white photos by hand.  There were very few artists with this skill and it is now a vanished trade. Photo Credit: National Archives of Singapore with thanks and acknowledgement.

The total number of colours available in the world cannot be distinguished. In other words, there are an infinite number of colors in the world. However, our eyes will always detect colors according to the interaction with light spectrum.

Humans can observe several basic spectral colors:

Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple. In addition there is white, which is a combination of all these colors, and black which is an absence of color.

All other colors visible to humans are combination of these.

I grew up in the days of  black and white photos, TV,  newspapers and magazines and other published media without colour.  The world is as colourful as ever though.

God the Creator did not create a monochrome colour world.

Can we imagine a world without colour?  Just imagine  pictures life and love 50 years from today (1930).

It is a colourful world we see today. to enjoy the beauty of Mother Nature in this human world.

I bounced on a blog "Color the World" which the blogger described herself as "Woman, Mother, Grandmother loving Life To give to each and every day a smile to someone else. To be a lifelong learner, inspiring to myself first and then to others. To listen to people and give them a helping hand if possible. To create a place surrounded by nature, warmth, creative and spiritual growth. I endeavour to be fair, just, loyal and honest. But most of all, to live life as a play and experience the beauty all around me.


A related blog topic "Colour of Harmony" (Part 1 and 2) previously posted to share here.

Have a wonderful, colourful world for everyone to enjoy.

A & W Boathouse at Sentosa

Juxtapose a photo taken in 1981 and another in 1990 with A & W "Great Root Bear". My daughter at about 2 years old as a baby and 10 years old with her brother at the A & W Boathouse at Sentosa.

The same "Great Root Bear" costumes must have been re- used for over 10 years, which could not grow bigger than my daughter for the same period ; )

A & W Root Beer & Restaurant Boathouse at Sentosa in 1990.

The quaint, "old-world" decor of the boathouse was berthed at the Sentosa quay attracts every visitors.

The A & W Restaurant, the first fast food restaurant in Singapore opened in 1966 and closed its operation in Singapore in 2003.

My blogger friend Lam Chun See posted his nostalgia blog "Singapore's First Fast Food Restaurant" and published in his "Good Morning Yesterday" book.

According to him, Singapore’s first fast food restaurant was not from MacDonald’s or KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) but A & W. It was located at Dunearn Road  near  the former University of Singapore’s Bukit Timah Campus. The children born in the 1980s in Singapore experience the same place, different times, different memories.

They would not have imagined that Sentosa in 1990 has changed so much in two decades...a total physical transformation of a place where the children visited as a child.

Every different the funland places for children born at different generations because Singapore is an exciting, surprising place which is always under construction to cater the needs of each new generation.  It is not a place which remain stagnant and always the same place year after year, decade after decade.

Universal Studios Singapore (新加坡环球影城) is a theme park located within Resorts World Sentosa on Sentosa Island, Singapore.

On 8 December 2006, the Singapore government announced that the consortium had won the bid. Construction of the theme park and the rest of the resort started on 19 April 2007.

The Memories of Sentosa Island, Singapore in 1990s.

Hi, come enjoy your favorite ice-cream at Sentosa : )

The long, clean and sandy beach of  the Sentosa lagoon in 1990.

Sentosa is one of tourist spots in Singapore which is periodically redeveloped and upgraded with theme park and entertainment features to attract visitors for repeat business.

Tourism is important and in some cases vital for many countries, such as France, Egypt, Greece, Lebanon, Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, and Thailand, and many island nations, such as Mauritius, The Bahamas, Fiji, Maldives, Philippines and the Seychelles.

It brings in large amounts of income in payment for goods and services available, contributing an estimated 5% to the worldwide gross domestic product (GDP), and it creates opportunities for employment in the service industries associated with tourism.

These service industries include transportation services, such as airlines, cruise ships and taxicabs; hospitality services, such as accommodations, including hotels and resorts; and entertainment venues, such as amusement parks, casinos, shopping malls, music venues and theatres.

Source: Wikipedia .

"Sustainable tourism is envisaged as leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems."
Sustainable development implies "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

Mention Singapore and you conjure up images of towering skyscrapers and golden-lit night skies. But few know the cultural and historical background behind this rising star of Southeast Asia. Take a little time to explore this island city, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by its multi-cultural background and vibrant gastronomy and nightlife it has to offer.

Singapore is made up of a multi-racial society, its population consisting of Chinese, Malay and Indian ethnic races. So it’s no surprise that the cultural and culinary heritage of the country is extremely colorful and diverse. From Chinatown to Little India to the Arab Quarters, you’ll find yourself strolling through very distinctive ethnic enclaves, all within the compact streets of Singapore. It’s easy to see the multi-cultural aspects in every corner of the city.

In Chinatown, not only are there massive Buddhist temples and Oriental-style architecture, there is also the biggest Hindu temple in Singapore. Besides temples, restaurants and street hawkers in Chinatown are also some of the cheapest, most traditional and authentic in the country. On Chinese New Year, the entire district is decorated with red lanterns and bright lighting, while festive products are on sale in the bazaars that stay open into the wee hours of the night.

Movie Stars of Yesterday

The 16-year-old British star Hayley Mills flocked by autograph hunting fans and reporters for their interview with her and her famous actor-father,  John Mills.

 

Hayley Mills in Singapore for "Pretty Polly" in 1967
 

 

British Actor Trevor Howard and Actress Hayley Mills at Raffles Hotel for "Pretty Polly" in 1967

Hayley Mills and co-star Shashi Kapoor and a friend at Raffles Hotel on 28 Feb 1967 for filming.

Were you any one of  the shouting, chanting teenage crowd of more than 600 braved a downpour and besieged the airport when their dream idol, Hayley Mills of "Pollyana" and "Parent Trap" fame arrived at Singapore Paya Lebar Airport on 4 November, 1962?

Do you remember these nostalgic memories to meet your favorite movie stars in person 50 years ago?

How different are the movie stars and movie fans of yesterday as compared to those today?

This is a personal nostalgia photojournal with appropriate intensive old photos posted with "memory-aids" with photo credit of National Archives of Singapore (NAS). Thanks and acknowledgement, public domain sharing subject to conditions under NAS. You are welcome to contribute your personal stories and archived photos to Singapore Memory online portal to a fuller picture about the respective blog topics to share with everyone.

The old photos of people on these blogs are not intended to reflect the changes of the facial appearance , physique or physical conditions.

There is an increasing number of elders today with youthful looks, healthy and active lifestyle through regular exercises, community activities and brisk walking. More of them are the "evergreen trees" for both men and women...keeping healthy, happy and worries away. Its all in the mind, as these wise people tell us.

The focus on this blog is about the emotion and experience of one generation to another.

When the grandfather 50 years ago was chasing with excitement and frenzy to get Hayley Mills' the "die die must have" signature on his autograph book for keepsake and memories, look back a similar scenario when the grandchildren today rushing to the airport, hotel or the venue for the entertainment centre to grab hold of the most popular TV or movie stars, rock stars or the most fashionable stars from Korea, Japan or any other countries which you fancy (love, not crazy)?

After all, the same grandfather was young once and behaved that way 50 years ago falling head and toe with Hayley Mills... he wasn't crazy then !

Cliff Richard and "The Shadow"

The Young Ones (US title: Wonderful to Be Young!) is a British musical released in 1961, featuring singer Cliff Richard.



Performed live in front of 15,000 fans at London's O2 Arena, Cliff and The Shadows' 50th anniversary show The Final Reunion recreates the spectacular magic of some of their biggest hits, chart-toppers and unforgettable favourites, "The Young Ones" including Living Doll, Move It, and Apache.

Sit Back and enjoy the music that changed the face of British Rock 'n' Roll forever!

The Final Reunion Tour was Cliff Richard and The Shadows' last worldwide tour together. The October, 2009 arena tour included shows in UK, Ireland, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The tour marked 50 years since the pair first played together and was the first time the pair had played together in over 20 years.  The same singer, the same band performed the same song about 50 years apart. Awesome !

Cliff Richard, the 'evergreen singer" said: "Whenever it is, we will still be the "youngonce" !
 

There were many movie stars and  musical bands, recording artistes and performers who visited Singapore over the decades.

One of the popular British recording artistes was Cliff Richard  and "The Shadow".

My blogger friend, Andy Lim of the "Singapore 60s: Andy's Pop Music Influence" posted a related blog "Cliff Richard & The Shadows - British Influence" here .

Eight thousand fans gave English Rock-N-Roll idol Cliff Richard a wild reception when he appeared on stage at the Singapore Badminton Hall on 18 November 1961 with his ac ompanying quartet "The Shadows"  (Photos above).

 Cliff Richard at the record shop in Singapore to meet his fans and sign autograph (Photos below).

Cliff Richard and "The Shadow" performed "live" at the Singapore Badminton Hall, Singapore on 18 Nov 1961 to a packed audience.

Anneke Gronloh (of Indonesia) in Singapore in 1962

Anneke Gronloh and "The Blue Diamonds" in 1962

Charlie Chaplin in Singapore in 1961

Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE (16 April 1889 – 25 December 1977) was an English comic actor, movie director and composer best known for his work during the silent movie era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I..

Chaplin used mime, slapstick and other visual comedy routines, and continued well into the era of the talkiers, though his films decreased in frequency from the end of the 1920s.


Over the next 25 years, through the Great Depression and the rise of  Adolf Hitler, he stayed on the job.  It is doubtful any individual has ever given more entertainment, pleasure and relief to so many human beings when they needed it the most". George Bernard Shaw called Chaplin "the only genius to come out of the movie industry".

Gandhi met Charlie Chaplin In Newham, east London. October 05, 2009. 

Maurice Chevalier arrived in Singapore in 1960

Maurice Chevalier, 71-years-young, looked at the night sky, smiled in his inimitable way and said: "How I wish I had arrived in your lovely city during the day it would have been a marvellous opportunity to look around".  Chevalier, international star of stage and screen - to say nothing of the "Folies Bergere" - was in Singapore in April, 1960.