Learn the story of the scandal that brought down one of Hollywood’s biggest stars—and exposed the failings of American law.

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Charlie Chaplin was adored by millions, but in the 1940s he became the lead in a different kind of story: a series of high-profile courtroom battles. Accused by his former protégée and lover, Joan Barry, of fathering her child, Chaplin faced a sensational trial where science was ignored, politics intervened, and the law failed. Though acquitted of criminal charges, he was still ordered to pay child support—despite blood evidence proving his innocence. In her new book, When Charlie Met Joan, Diane Kiesel, a former New York Supreme Court judge, examines this dramatic chapter in Hollywood and legal history.

Kiesel explores how Cold War paranoia and media sensationalism played a pivotal role in Chaplin's fall from grace and eventual forced exile.

To join | Please register for an In-Person Ticket. Doors will open around 1:30 PM. For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. All registered seats are released shortly before start time, and seats may become available at that time. A standby line will form 30 minutes before the program.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Diane Kiesel is an award-winning journalist and author who served as a judge on the New York Supreme Court for nearly 25 years. She began her professional career as a journalist in Washington, D.C., covering Congress and the Supreme Court for several California newspapers. After graduating from law school she worked as a civil litigator and later as an assistant district attorney in the office of New York County District Attorney Robert Morgenthau. While on the bench, she continued writing; she is the author of two editions of a textbook on Domestic Violence law (Domestic Violence: Law Policy and Practice) and an award-winning biography (Dr. Dorothy Boulding Ferebee, Civil Rights Pioneer, Potomac Books/University of Nebraska Press, 2015). Her latest book is When Charlie Met Joan: The Tragedy of the Chaplin Trials and the Failings of American Law. Diane is frequently called upon to comment on legal matters for the media and has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, Scripps Television and ITV in London. She has been an adjunct professor of law at New York Law School since 1992.

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ACCESSIBILITY

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Courtesy Diane Kiesel