Statue of Charlie Chaplin, London Statue of Charlie Chaplin, London The statue of Charlie Chaplin in Leicester Square, London, is a work of 1979 by the sculptor John Doubleday. It portrays the actor, comedian and filmmaker in his best-known role, as The Tramp. A memorial to Chaplin in the city of his birth was proposed on 25 December 1977, soon after Chaplin's death, by Illtyd Harrington, the leader of the opposition in the Greater London Council. Initial plans for a memorial in the Elephant and Castle, in South London where Chaplin spent his early years, were dropped and instead Leicester Square, at the centre of
Leicester Square in 1927, to be replaced by the Empire Cinema. During the Winter of Discontent, where the incumbent Labour Party struggled to meet demands of trade unions and a shrinking economy, refuse collectors went on strike in January 1979. Leicester Square was turned into a "de facto" dump, earning it the nickname of "Fester Square". In the 1980s, the square was pedestrianised, cutting off all vehicular traffic. Access to the square for goods and deliveries is now controlled by specially designated marshals. By the start of the 21st century, Westminster City Council were concerned that the square was too dangerous at