'Julian Ludwig (III)', Doris Lloyd (as Terry's Mother) and Trevor Ward were listed in a Hollywood Reporter article as being in the film, but they were not seen in the print.
Edna Purviance, Charles Chaplin's favorite co-star from the silent era, makes her final film appearance in a small role. Purviance, who remained close to Chaplin throughout her life, rarely worked in films after the 1920s. Chaplin kept her on his payroll until she died.
Sydney Chaplin's film debut.
Charles Chaplin and Buster Keaton had an interesting relationship. Long considered rivals but always having avoided commenting about each other in the press, Chaplin hired Keaton for a part in Limelight. Keaton, who was flat broke at the time, went into a career decline after having been signed by MGM in 1928, as the studio would not let him improvise in any of his films nor allow him any writing or directorial input, and he was eventually reduced to writing gags - often uncredited - for other comedians' films. Chaplin, at this point, felt sorry for Keaton due to his hard luck, but Keaton recognized that, despite Charlie's better fortune and far greater wealth, Chaplin was (strangely) the more depressed of the two. In one scene in Limelight, Chaplin's character was dying. While the camera was fading away, Keaton was muttering to Chaplin without moving his lips, "That's it, good, wait, don't move, wait, good, we're through." In his autobiography Keaton called Chaplin "the greatest silent comedian of all time."
Charles Chaplin, Ray Rasch and Larry Russell won the Oscar for Best Original Score for this film, but it was the Oscar for films released in 1972. The picture had never played in a Los Angeles-area cinema during the intervening 20 years and was not eligible for Oscar consideration until it did.
Although the movie's theme song, "Eternally (Terry's Theme)," was written by Chaplin with words by Geoffrey Parsons, only the music was used in the film.
Chaplin sailed to London for the 16 Oct 1952 world premiere, but his re-entry permit was revoked after he left because of suspected Communist Party ties. After showings of "Limelight" in New York and other east coast cities, an anti-Chaplin frenzy caused cancellation of showings in other cities.
Chaplin worked for 2½ years on the screenplay and then devoted nine months to the score.
Chaplin's theme from "Limelight" was a hit in the 1950s under the title "Eternally."
In once scene, Calvero (Charles Chaplin) quips, "It's the tramp in me", which is a nod to his Little Tramp character, which propelled him to fame and fortune in a series of silent films.
The Academy Award that Charles Chaplin won for composing this film's score is the only competitive Oscar he ever received; his other awards were given to him for special achievement outside of the established categories.
The children in the first scene we see Calvero, the ones who tell him the landlady isn't home, are Charles Chaplin's own children.
The final film that Charles Chaplin produced in America.
The first feature film in which Charles Chaplin and Buster Keaton appeared onscreen together. This is often wrongly cited as their first onscreen meeting, but both appeared in a short publicity film in the 1920s entitled Seeing Stars.
The movie was originally conceived by Charles Chaplin as a novel titled "Footlights".
The rumor has been widely circulated that Buster Keaton was much funnier than Charles Chaplin in their scene together, so Chaplin cut Keaton's best scenes. In her book "Buster Keaton Remembered", Keaton's widow Eleanor Keaton refutes this story; according to her, the rumor was started by Raymond Rohauer, Keaton's business partner. The point of the scene was to show Chaplin as Calvero having one final triumph before he has a heart attack and dies. It would not have made sense for Keaton, who was not even a major character in the movie, to outshine Chaplin.
When some scenes were re-shot, Claire Bloom was unavailable, so Charles Chaplin's wife, Oona Chaplin, stood in for her. She can be seen lying in the bed through the doorway after the housemaid has told Chaplin's character that his "wife" isn't eating.