Sydney Chaplin, the son of film legend Sir Charlie Chaplin and a Tony-award winning actor in his own right, died at the age of 82 on 3 March 2009.

He won the 1957 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for Bells Are Ringing , opposite Judy Holliday, and received a Tony nomination for his performance as Nicky Arnstein, the gambling first husband of Fanny Brice, opposite Barbra Streisand, in the Broadway musical Funny Girl in 1964. Although both Ms Holliday and Ms Streisand recreated their roles in movie versions of these stage shows, Mr Chaplin was replaced by other actors in both cases.

Sydney did not seem unduly disappointed that his success in the Hollywood film industry never matched his success on stage.

He was reported as saying: "I never had the burning desire for recognition and respect that had driven my father."

He died at his home in the California desert community of Rancho Mirage, following complications after he suffered a stroke.

He was the third son of Sir Charles Chaplin and the second by his second wife, actress Lita Grey. Often known as Sydney Chaplin Junior, he was named after his half-uncle Sydney Chaplin (1885–1965) who was also an actor and the business manager of Sir Charles.

Lita Grey was 16 when she married the 35-year-old Charles Chaplin in 1924. Sydney Earle Chaplin was born two years later in Beverly Hills. His parents divorced a year later in a court battle that resulted in sensational newspaper headlines. Their other son, Charles Chaplin Jr, died in 1968.

After serving in World War Two - including a stint in Europe - he turned to acting.

Sydney appeared in two of his father's films, Limelight (1952) and A Countess from Hong Kong (1967).

Limelight was arguably Charlie Chaplin's last great film. He had written the role especially for his son, who played a composer who falls in love with a ballet dancer (Claire Bloom) who is befriended by a fading music hall star portrayed by the elder Chaplin.

As for the poorly-received A Countess From Hong Kong , his father's last film, Chaplin told the Los Angeles Times in 1971 that he adored it. "It's a hell of a good picture," he said.

Long-time family friend Jerry Bodie remembered Sydney Chaplin as a gregarious man who struck up friendships with everyone from Albert Einstein to Frank Sinatra .