Daily Telegraph:

Records of the original Hollywood film studios, including personal details of silent cinema stars, are published online for the first time today.

The history website Ancestry.co.uk said the records show that many stars amended or omitted various facts about themselves as they applied for jobs.

The Motion Picture Studio Directories feature thousands of leading actors, actresses, writers, producers and screen-writers.

Entries from actors include film roles, age, birthplace, physical description, weight and even a home telephone number.

The entry for British-born Charlie Chaplin describes him as 5ft 4in tall with brown hair and blue eyes, giving his birthplace as Paris rather than London.

The weight of Fatty Arbuckle is not included in his details, neither is the date of birth of Gloria Swanson.

Other famous names listed include Oliver Hardy, nicknamed Babe, Buster Keaton, listed as having fought in the First World War for the United States, and Mary Pickford whose career was said to have started at the age of five.

Family Tree, Genealogy and Census Records - Ancestry.co.uk