Paulette Goddard

Paulette Goddard (born Marion Levy; June 3, 1910 – April 23, 1990) was an American actress notable for her film career in the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Born in Manhattan and 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 and gained notice as the romantic partner of actor and comedian Charlie Chaplin, appearing as his 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 with roles in '' 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 — '' Kitty'' (1945) with Ray Milland, and '' Unconquered'' (1947) with Gary Cooper.

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

Early life

Goddard was born in New York City, as Marion Levy, the daughter of Joseph Russell Levy, the son of a prosperous cigar manufacturer from Salt Lake City, and Alta Mae Goddard.Gilbert, Julie (1995). ''Opposite Attraction – The Lives of Erich Maria Remarque and Paulette Goddard.'' Pantheon Books; , pp. 37–41 for parents' names and backgrounds, as well as Alta's birth year; pp. 159–60 for Levy's death year and p. 477 for Alta's death year. Her father was of Russian Jewish heritage, while her mother an Episcopalian of English ancestry. They had married on December 28, 1908, in Manhattan. Although named Marion, her mother had called her Pauline from a young age. Goddard moved with her parents to Kansas City, Missouri when she was young, where her father worked for a film company. Shortly thereafter, her parents separated and divorced in 1926. According to Goddard, her father left them, but according to J. R. Levy, Alta absconded with the child; to avoid a custody battle, she and her mother moved often during her childhood, including relocating to Canada at one point. Goddard did not meet her father again until the late 1930s, after she had become famous.Gilbert, pp. 159–60 In a 1938 interview published in '' Collier's'', Goddard claimed Levy was not her biological father. In response, Levy filed a suit against his daughter, claiming that the interview had ruined his reputation and cost him his job, and demanded financial support from her; Goddard admitted her loss in the case in a December 1945 interview with ''Life'', and was forced to pay her father $35 a week.

Goddard began modeling after her parents' separation, working for Saks Fifth Avenue, Hattie Carnegie, and others. An important figure in her childhood was her mother's paternal uncle Charles Goddard, the owner of the American Druggists Syndicate. He played a central role in Goddard's career, introducing her to Broadway impresario Florenz Ziegfeld. In 1926, she made her stage debut as a dancer in Ziegfeld's summer revue, ''No Foolin under the stage name Paulette Goddard.Gilbert, p. 43 Ziegfeld hired her for another musical, ''Rio Rita'', which opened in February 1927, but she left the show after only three weeks to appear in the play ''The Unconquerable Male'', produced by Archie Selwyn.Gilbert, p. 46 However, it was a flop and closed after only three days following its premiere in Atlantic City. Soon after, Goddard was introduced to Edgar James, president of the Southern Lumber Company, located in Asheville, North Carolina, by Charles Goddard.Gilbert, pp. 46–51. Aged 17, considerably younger than James, she married him on June 28, 1927, in Rye, New York. It was a short marriage, and they separated in 1929; Goddard was granted a divorce in Reno, Nevada, in 1932, receiving a divorce settlement of $375,000.

Film career

Goddard first visited Hollywood in 1929, when she appeared as an uncredited extra in two films, the Laurel and Hardy short film ''Berth Marks'' (1929) and George Fitzmaurice's drama ''The Locked Door'' (1929).Gilbert, pp. 53–70. Following her divorce from James, Goddard and her mother briefly visited Europe before returning to Hollywood. Upon her return, Goddard signed her first film contract with producer Samuel Goldwyn to appear as a Goldwyn Girl in ''Whoopee!'' (1930). She also appeared in '' City Streets'' (1931), ''Ladies of the Big House'' (1931), and ''The Girl Habit'' (1931) for Paramount, ''Palmy Days'' (1931) for Goldwyn, and ''The Mouthpiece'' (1932) for Warners. However, Goddard and Goldwyn did not get along, and she also began work for Hal Roach Studios in 1932, appearing in a string of uncredited supporting roles for the next four years.

1932–38: Charlie Chaplin and David Selznick

The year she signed with Hal Roach, Goddard began dating Charlie Chaplin, a relationship that received substantial attention from the press. It marked a turning point in Goddard's career when Chaplin cast her as his leading lady in his next box office hit, '' Modern Times'' (1936). Her role as "The Gamin", an orphan girl who runs away from the authorities and becomes The Tramp's companion, was her first credited film appearance and garnered her mainly positive reviews, Frank S. Nugent of ''The New York Times'' describing her as "the fitting recipient of the great Charlot's championship".

Following the success of ''Modern Times'', Chaplin planned other projects with Goddard in mind as a co-star, but he worked slowly, and Goddard worried that the public might forget about her if she did not continue to make regular film appearances. She signed a contract with David O. Selznick and appeared with Janet Gaynor in the comedy ''The Young in Heart'' (1938). Selznick, who was pleased with Goddard's performance in the film, strongly considered her for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in ''Gone With the Wind''. Initial screen tests convinced Selznick and director George Cukor that Goddard would require coaching to be effective in the role, but that she showed promise,Haver, pp. 251, 259-60. By December 1938, Selznick had narrowed the choices to Goddard and Vivien Leigh, who won the role after the two completed the only Technicolor screen tests for the role. Goddard's losing out on the role was attributable to several factors. Notably, the head of Selznick's publicity department Russell Birdwell had strong misgivings about Goddard, writing "Briefly, I think she is dynamite that will explode in our very faces if she is given the part." Chaplin's biographer Joyce Milton wrote that Selznick also worried about legal issues by signing Goddard to a contract that might conflict with her pre-existing contracts with the Chaplin studio.Milton, Joyce. ''Tramp: The Life of Charlie Chaplin'', Harper Collins (1996), pg. 373.

During this time, Selznick lent Goddard to MGM for two films: '' Dramatic School'' (1938) and the all-female ensemble '' The Women'' (1939). The first, with Luise Rainer, received mediocre reviews and failed to attract an audience. However, ''The Women'' – directed by Cukor following his firing from ''Gone with the Wind'' – was one of the year's most successful films. Of her role Miriam Aarons, film critic Pauline Kael later wrote of Goddard, "she is a stand-out. Fun."

1939–49: Paramount

In 1939, Goddard signed a contract with Paramount Pictures and was promptly teamed with comedian Bob Hope for the horror comedy film '' The Cat and the Canary'' (1939). The film became a turning point for both their careers, and they were promptly reteamed for ''The Ghost Breakers'' (1940) and '' Nothing but the Truth'' (1941), both of which also featured Willie Best. She was also cast for the musical comedy ''Second Chorus'' opposite Fred Astaire, Artie Shaw, and future husband Burgess Meredith. Astaire later described it as "the worst film I ever made" while Shaw admitted the film made him reconsider an acting career. In September 1939, Chaplin also began production on his next film ''The Great Dictator'' (1940) in which Goddard again co-starred alongside him as Hannah. The film was released the following year to critical and audience acclaim. However, it would also be her final film with Chaplin, as their marriage fell apart soon after.

In 1940, Goddard made the Cecil B. DeMille Western film '' North West Mounted Police'' opposite Gary Cooper and Madeleine Carroll. The film, her first dramatic role for Paramount, became one of the year's top-ten grossing films. She also starred in another musical comedy '' Pot o' Gold'' opposite James Stewart, which was released the following year. Stewart expressed similar feelings toward his film as Astaire, while Goddard's biographer Julie Gilbert claimed Goddard did not like Stewart's acting, reportedly saying "anyone can gulp". Her other film for 1941, romantic drama ''Hold Back the Dawn'' with Charles Boyer and Olivia de Havilland, received positive reviews.

In 1942, Goddard gave one of her better-remembered film appearances in the variety musical '' Star Spangled Rhythm'', in which she sang "A Sweater, a Sarong, and a Peekaboo Bang" with Dorothy Lamour and Veronica Lake. The studio also began to pair her with Ray Milland. Her first pairing with Milland, ''The Lady Has Plans'', was panned by critics and had a tepid box office performance. However, she quickly reunited with him and DeMille for the adventure film ''Reap the Wild Wind''. The film, which also co-starred John Wayne and Susan Hayward, saw Goddard in a Scarlett O'Hara-type role and became the studio's best-grossing film for the year. Their third film, '' The Crystal Ball'', was bought by United Artists – a studio co-founded by Chaplin – and released the following year to tepid box office receipts. That same year, Goddard headlined ''So Proudly We Hail!'' with Claudette Colbert and Veronica Lake. Her performance as Lt. Joan O'Doul, a nurse serving in the Battle of the Philippines, earned Goddard a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 16th Academy Awards. She reteamed with her co-star in that film, Sonny Tufts, in ''I Love a Soldier'' the following year with less successful results.

In May 1944, Goddard renegotiated her contract with Paramount to make two films per year over a seven-year period. The first film under this deal, costume drama '' Kitty'', reunited her with Milland. The film required Goddard to learn a cockney accent, for which she was coached by Connie Lupino, mother of actress Ida Lupino. The film was released the following year, becoming her most successful film for the studio. The following year, she starred in '' The Diary of a Chambermaid'' opposite her husband Burgess Meredith; the couple also produced the film for United Artists.

In 1947, she starred in two box office disasters: the historical epic '' Unconquered'', which reunited her with Cooper and DeMille; and comedy '' An Ideal Husband'', which she made in Britain for Alexander Korda

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