CLASSIC VIDEO SHOWPLACE: Paulette Goddard

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For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.   Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on RCN TV with insights and commentaries on classic television shows, key names in the “Golden Age” of entertainment history and legendary cinematic performances. 

Paulette Goddard is remembered by many as the third wife of cinematic legend Charlie Chaplin.

But it would be a mistake to dismiss her acting career and contributions to filmmaking throughout her life, both before and after Chaplin entered her “picture.”

Born in Queens, New York, the future actress was born Marion Levy. Or Marion Paula Levy. Or Pauline Marion Levy or Marion Goddard Levy — depending on what source you use.

Another of the many disputed claims of Paula’s life includes her birth year. According to biographer Julie Gilbert, she was born in 1910 while various legal documents and passports listed her birth year as either 1905, 1908, 1910 or 1914. In an interview in “Life” magazine years later, she clearly states she was born in 1915.

Contrary to some opinions, Goddard appeared in pictures well before she ever met Charlie Chaplin.

She appeared in two films in 1929 before MGM signed her to her first film contract, appearing in six movies within the first 18 months before a conflict with producers slowed her working opportunities.  While under contract she began dating Chaplin, who starred her in his 1936 classic, Modern Times.

The pair was married that same year and Chaplin reportedly had planned other films featuring his wife, but by this time in his career, the Little Tramp’s method of producing films had slowed to the point where several years went by between his pictures.  Fearing the lack of acting appearances would hurt her career, Goddard signed her next contract with David O. Selznick, who immediately cast her in three films in 1938 and early 1939, including an all-female cast in 1939’s The Women.

Another hotly debated topic about Paula’s life is her potential role as “Scarlett” in the 1939 Academy award-winning film, Gone with the Wind.

Some sources say producers preferred her to Vivien Leigh, the actress who eventually won the role.  Others said that she would have needed “acting training” in order to be seriously considered for that role.  Still another outlet said Goddard was a finalist for the role with Leigh listed as being a “dark horse.”

In the 1992 cinematic biopic, Chaplin, Paulette (as played by Diane Lane) says that she passed the first round of auditions but laughed it off as it was clear the producers wanted Katherine Hepburn for the role.  The film, Chaplin, was largely based on accurate accounts from both Chaplin’s primary biographer and from Chaplin himself. However, it is clear that, in some instances, dramatic license was used.

She appeared in various films throughout the 1940s and early 1950s, including Chaplin’s The Great Dictator.  She also appeared with many elite Hollywood actors like Fred Astaire, Lawrence Oliver, Bob Hope, Fred MacMurray, John Wayne, James Stewart, Olivia de Havilland, Charles Boyer and Burgess Meredith, whom she later married following her divorce from Chaplin.  Goddard received an Oscar nomination as best supporting actress in 1943’s So Proudly We Hail.

She also formed her own production company with John Steinbeck, Monterey Pictures. After marrying her fourth husband, Erich Remarque, in 1957, she moved to Switzerland…the same country Chaplin had moved to following his exile from the United States four years before… and, in fact, lived within a few miles of her former husband’s estate.

She only appeared in a handful of films the rest of her life and passed away from heart failure on April 23, 1990.  Her obituary listed her age at 79 at the time of her death.

Tune in or set your DVRs to see one of Paulette Goddard’s best reviewed roles in Second Chorus, airing this Monday at 1:00 p.m. and next Thursday at 9:00 a.m. on RCN-TV.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website.