Oona Chaplin; Fourth and Last Wife of Comedian

Oona O’Neill Chaplin, the fourth and last wife of Charlie Chaplin and the daughter of Eugene O’Neill, died Friday.

The Associated Press, quoting Swiss Radio, said she was 66 and died near the large estate in Vevey, Switzerland, where she and the late comedian had spent nearly all of their years together.

No cause of death was given.

However, from his home in Palm Springs, restaurateur Sydney Chaplin--Chaplin’s son from his marriage to actress Lita Grey--said he had visited Oona Chaplin several weeks ago and that she was recovering from cancer surgery.

Oona O’Neill was 18 and Chaplin 54 when they married in 1943 over the strong objections of her playwright father. (At the time of their marriage in Carpinteria, Chaplin was involved in a paternity suit with actress Joan Berry.)

The disparity in their ages followed a pattern Chaplin set years earlier when he took his first bride, actress Mildred Harris, who was 16. His second, Grey, was also 16 and his third, actress Paulette Goddard, was 18.

After his final marriage, Chaplin settled into domesticity. He and Oona had eight children, the first of whom was Geraldine Chaplin, the actress hailed for her appearances in “Doctor Zhivago” and other films. Seventeen grandchildren also survive.

The Chaplins were on a ship heading to London in 1952 when Chaplin learned that the State Department would not permit his re-entry to the United States because of supposed Communist leanings.

Chaplin vowed never to return to America and stuck with that pledge until 1972, when he came to Los Angeles to receive a special Academy Award.

After Chaplin’s death in 1977, Lady Oona (Chaplin was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1975) continued to live at their estate, Manoir de Ban, above Lake Geneva. The 18th-Century mansion was bought by Chaplin in 1953.

Oona Chaplin was a near recluse, friends said, and noticeably absent from celebrations in 1989 marking the 100th anniversary of Chaplin’s birth. Organizers of the event said at the time that she was not well.