FEATURED In This Month’s Body House Chronicles is the Exceptionally Lovely…

PAULETTE GODDARD

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Juicy, Gossipy Tidbits…

A Teen Bride & Ziegfeld Girl?

Paulette’s career started early as a teen model and Ziegfeld Follies dancer. She was also married and divorced before the age of 20.

This gives you some idea of the spirit of this captivating woman.

One movie executive noted that Goddard was a fiercely independent woman and described her as “dynamite.” <– more on that below

Goddard as O’Hara?

On that note, according to this well researched article, Goddard nearly had the part of the iconic Scarlett O’Hara.

It was during this time that Goddard left Hal Roach Studios and signed a deal with David O. Selznick.

Under this new contract, her first movie was The Young in Heart.

Her strong performance impressed Selznick, who then contemplated casting her in a high-profile and coveted role—Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind.

Both Goddard and Vivien Leigh, were the only two actress to take their screen tests in Technicolor. During the auditions, Goddard displayed talent and a penchant for an aggressive attitude. It concerned the executives.

One of the execs mentioned, “I think she’s dynamite that’ll explode in our very faces if she is given the part.”

This was in addition to a possible scheduling clash with Goddard’s ongoing contracts with Charlie Chaplin.

Goddard and Frida Kahlo?

While married to Charlie Chaplin Goddard was rumored to have several affairs. One was with George Gershwin. Another was with the husband of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera.

Ironically, it was Gershwin who suggested she go to Rivera to have her portrait painted by him.

The rumor goes that she began a 3 way affair with both Rivera and Kahlo. It was a complicated relationship and Goddard is credited with saving Rivera’s life during that time.

Read the source here.

PAULETTE GODDARD’S BEGINNING & END

Paulette Goddard was born Marion Levy in Manhattan, NY, on (according to Wikipedia) June 3, 1910 and passed April 23, 1990 in Ronco sopra Ascona, Switzerland. She is interred at Ronco Village Cemetery, Ticino, Switzerland.

She was born on June 3rd in 1911 as Marion Levy in Whitestone, New York – though her mother called her Pauline from a young age. This soon became Paulette, and the name Goddard came from her wealthy uncle, Charlie Goddard, who was something of an influence on her, mainly thanks to the lavish parties he threw at which a number of the stars of the day would turn up – inspiring the young Paulette to think of a future as a star herself.

Although born in Manhattan she was raised in Kansas City, Missouri. Goddard initially began her career as a child fashion model and performer in several Broadway productions as a Ziegfeld Girl.

In the early 1930s, she moved to Hollywood. Paulette quickly gained interest for her romantic connection with actor and comedian Charlie Chaplin.

Goddard appeared as Chaplin’s leading lady in Modern Times (1936) and The Great Dictator (1940).

After signing with Paramount Pictures, Goddard became one of the studio’s biggest stars.

PAULETTE GODDARD’S MOST POPULAR FILMS

The Cat and the Canary (1939) with Bob Hope

The Women (1939) with Joan Crawford

North West Mounted Police (1940) with Gary Cooper

Reap the Wild Wind (1942) with John Wayne and Susan Hayward

So Proudly We Hail! (1943) — for which she received a nomination for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

The Lady Has Plans (1942) Ray Milland

Kitty (1945) with Ray Milland

Unconquered (1947) with Gary Cooper

Her marriages to Chaplin, actor Burgess Meredith, and writer Erich Maria Remarque received substantial media attention.

Following her marriage to Remarque, Goddard moved to Switzerland and largely retired from acting. In the 1980s, she became a notable socialite before dying in Switzerland in 1990.

Goddard was noted as a fiercely independent woman for her time, being described by one executive as “dynamite”.

PAULETTE GODDARD PHOTO GALLERY

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PAULETTE GODDARD’S LOVE LIFE

PAULETTE’S 1ST Husband EDGAR JAMES (1927-1932)

Goddard’s first marriage was to the much older and wealthy lumber tycoon Edgar James. Their nuptials were held on June 28, 1927 when Paulette was just 17 years old.

The couple moved to North Carolina and separated two years later; finally divorcing in January of 1932.

This is the only picture I could find of Edgar James and Paulette Goddard together…

PAULETTE’S 2nd Husband CHARLIE CHAPLIN (1927-1932)

There is much mystery surrounding Goddard’s ‘marriage’ to Chaplin. She began a relationship with him in 1932.

In 1932, Goddard began a relationship with Charlie Chaplin and moved into his home in Beverly Hills.

Aside from referring to Goddard as “my wife” at the October 1940 premiere of The Great Dictator, neither Goddard nor Chaplin publicly commented on their marital status.

On June 3, 1942, Goddard filed for divorce in Mexico that was granted the following day.

Although Goddard claimed in her filing that they had been married in Canton, China, in June 1936, Chaplin privately told relatives that they were married only in common law.

The two nonetheless maintained a friendly relationship, and Goddard remained close with Chaplin’s elder two sons Charles Chaplin Jr. and Sydney Chaplin.

Charlie Chaplin became Goddard’s first husband as she became his third wife.

Unlike his previous two wives, Paulette was strong enough to survive the intense experience of living with Chaplin and they parted without bitterness.

Among Chaplin’s leading ladies, Paulette Goddard stands out for a number of reasons.

She was the female lead in his last silent film (Modern Times 1936) and in his first talkie (The Great Dictator 1940).

She enjoyed a success beyond and independent of Chaplin, right up in to the 1970s, with the TV film, The Snoop Sisters (1972).

Goddard made forty-seven films in all.

By all accounts, Paulette was a good match for Chaplin – strong willed, independent, a lover of life – her very personality was an influence on the characters Charlie wrote for her in the two Chaplin films she appeared in.

PAULETTE GODDARD’S 3rd HUSBAND BURGESS MEREDITH (1944-1949)

In May 1944, Goddard married Burgess Meredith at David O. Selznick‘s home in Beverly Hills.

In October 1944, she suffered a miscarriage of their son. It was the only pregnancy of hers reported, and she had no children from any of her marriages.

In the latter part of their marriage, Meredith was placed on the Hollywood blacklist.

On the way to a premiere, the two were mobbed by a baying crowd screaming “Communists!”

Goddard was reported to have said “Shall I roll down the window and hit them with my diamonds, Bugsy?” (citation needed)

They divorced in June 1949.