Paulette Goddard | American Actress, Modern Times, Charlie Chaplin (2024)

American actress

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Also known as: Paulette Remarque, Pauline Marion Goddard Levy

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Paulette Goddard

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Original name:
Pauline Marion Goddard Levy
Born:
June 3, 1905, Great Neck, Long Island, N.Y., U.S.
Died:
April 23, 1990, Ronco, Switz. (aged 84)
Notable Works:
“The Lady Has Plans”
Notable Family Members:
spouse Burgess Meredith

See all related content →

Paulette Goddard (born June 3, 1905, Great Neck, Long Island, N.Y., U.S.—died April 23, 1990, Ronco, Switz.) was an American actress known for her spirited persona and for her association with Charlie Chaplin.

Goddard worked as a fashion model in her early teens, and at age 16 she appeared as a chorus girl in the Broadway revue No Foolin’. Within the next four years, she married, divorced, and moved to Hollywood to become a movie star. To that end, she worked as an extra in a number of Hal Roach short comedies and as a chorus girl in several Eddie Cantor movies, including The Kid from Spain (1932). Although still unknown as a performer, she attracted the attention of Charlie Chaplin. They were soon living together and, before she had even starred in a film, Goddard became well known to movie fans as Chaplin’s beautiful companion (there is much uncertainty as to whether they were ever married). For two years Chaplin tutored Goddard in the art of acting, and he displayed the results in his final silent film, Modern Times (1936), in which Goddard portrayed the Gamine, an effervescent female companion to Chaplin’s famous Little Tramp.

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Her performance in that film brought her to the attention of other producers, but her relationship with Chaplin caused her to lose a part that could have changed her career, that of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939). Producer David O. Selznick thought she was perfect for the role, but he withdrew his offer when she could not produce a marriage license validating her relationship to Chaplin.

Despite this setback, Goddard did not lack for work. She teamed with Bob Hope for the comedies The Cat and the Canary (1939), The Ghost Breakers (1940), and Nothing but the Truth (1941); she was part of the all-female cast of The Women (1939); and she starred in the drama Hold Back the Dawn (1941). In 1940 she again worked with Chaplin in his first all-talking feature, The Great Dictator (1940), but in 1942 she and Chaplin officially divorced—though it still was not clear they had ever married. Goddard met actor Burgess Meredith while filming Second Chorus (1940) with Fred Astaire. They married in 1944 and divorced in 1949.

Cecil B. DeMille cast her in several films, including Northwest Mounted Police (1940), Reap the Wild Wind (1942), and Unconquered (1947). Her supporting performance as an armed forces nurse in So Proudly We Hail! (1943) earned Goddard her only Oscar nomination.

Though she had been one of the most popular stars of the early 1940s, Goddard was not in demand by the end of the decade. Her final Hollywood film was Charge of the Lancers (1954); thereafter she worked intermittently in television. In 1958 she married novelist Erich Maria Remarque and moved to Switzerland, where she lived as a private citizen. She returned to the screen one more time in 1964 for the Italian production Gli indifferenti (Time of Indifference).

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Paulette Goddard | American Actress, Modern Times, Charlie Chaplin (2024)

FAQs

What did Charlie Chaplin's character do in Modern Times? ›

Chaplin s character is released from a mental institution and is not paying attention and ends up arrested as a communist leader. Chaplin s character has more trouble in another scene when he just did what his boss told him to, instead of thinking and did not think about the consequences of his actions.

Who played Paulette in Chaplin? ›

Chaplin (1992) - Diane Lane as Paulette Goddard - IMDb.

What happened to actress Paulette Goddard? ›

Her career was just about finished, although she did appear in a made-for-TV film called The Female Instinct (1972) as Norma Treet. She retired from the film world for good. On 23 April 1990, she died of emphysema and heart failure in Ronco, Switzerland, at the age of 79.

Does Charlie Chaplin talk in Modern Times? ›

The film did attract criticism for being almost completely silent. Chaplin feared that the mystery and romanticism of the Tramp character would be ruined if he spoke, and also that it would alienate his fans in non-English speaking territories.

How does Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times end? ›

Chaplin shot two endings for Modern Times. After the success of City Lights he first envisaged an epilogue similarly rich in pathos. Upon leaving hospital the tramp discovers that the Gamin, defeated by events, has decided to take religious vows. The two characters therefore meet before having to separate forever.

What type of character did Charlie Chaplin play? ›

In truth, Chaplin did not always portray a tramp; in many of his films his character was employed as a waiter, store clerk, stagehand, fireman, and the like. His character might be better described as the quintessential misfit—shunned by polite society, unlucky in love, jack-of-all-trades but master of none.

What actress is related to Charlie Chaplin? ›

Oona Chaplin(II)

She is also the granddaughter of English film actor Charlie Chaplin, and great-granddaughter of American playwright Eugene O'Neill. She is best known for playing Talisa Maegyr in the HBO TV series Game of Thrones and Zilpha Geary in Taboo.

What is Paulette Goddard famous for? ›

Paulette Goddard was an American film and theatre actress. A former child fashion model and in several Broadway productions as Ziegfeld Girl, she was a major star of the Paramount Studio in the 1940s. She was married to several notable men, including Charlie Chaplin, Burgess Meredith and Erich Maria Remarque.

How much was Paulette Goddard worth when she died? ›

Her final acting role was in 'The Snoop Sisters,' a 1972 made-for-tv movie. She then permanently retired from acting and was living in Switzerland when she died of heart failure at the age of seventy-nine. Goddard left more than twenty million dollars to New York University upon her death.

How long was Charlie Chaplin married to Paulette Goddard? ›

Charlie Chaplin's third marriage lasted from 1936 to 1942 and was to Paulette Goddard (1911-1990), the actress who appeared in Modern Times and The Great Dictator. Though Charlie and Paulette divorced, it was by all accounts, on amicable terms.

Was Paulette Goddard a natural blonde? ›

Not only did he persuade her to forget this dodgy deal, but also to revert her hair color to its natural brunette - Paulette had become a Hollywood platinum blonde, possibly in a bid to win her more parts from studios.

How tall was Charlie Chaplin? ›

The comic actor and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin may only have been 1.65 metres tall, but he was one of the greats. He died on Christmas Day 1977 at the age of 88, having lived an eventful life. Chaplin was laid to rest in the cemetery at Corsier-sur-Vevey, close to the mansion that had been his home for several decades.

Why didn't Charlie Chaplin talk? ›

He thought that sound, in particular the sound of the human voice and spoken language, would likely enslave movie making to a kind of mechanization. "Movement is near to nature, as a bird flying, and it is the spoken word which is embarrassing.

What was Charlie Chaplin singing in Modern Times? ›

🎬 “Modern Times (1936)” Charlie Chaplin's performance of the “nonsense song” marks the first time his voice was ever heard on film.

Did Einstein meet Charlie Chaplin? ›

Who would have thought that one of history's most renowned geniuses and a slapstick silent movie star would hit it off? And yet they did. Charlie Chaplin first met Albert Einstein on the famed physicist's second trip to America, in 1930-31, when he was invited to lecture at the California Institute of Technology.

What was Charlie Chaplin's impact on society? ›

Thankfully, Charlie Chaplin came to Hollywood just as cinema was beginning to develop. Chaplin's humble and quirky film performances brought sanity to modern society and humanized the hardships of daily life in this technologically advanced world.

Why is Charlie Chaplin remembered today? ›

Famous for his slapstick comedy, his ingenuity, and his "Little Tramp" character, Chaplin made nearly 90 films and became a firmly established film icon. Charles Spencer Chaplin was born in 1889 in London, England.

What social issues does Charlie Chaplin's film Modern Times highlights? ›

Chaplin's film Modern Times (1936) marked a significant shift in his career. The subject of his film concerns the pressing social problems of the day, including the dehumanizing effects of a mechanized future, the hardships of modern life due to the Great Depression, and how consumerism connotes social control.

What was Charlie Chaplin's personality like? ›

His intuitive nature allowed him to connect with audiences beyond words and helped him create his art. As a deeply feeling individual, he was able to convey a range of emotions through his performances. Chaplin's perceiving nature allowed him to be spontaneous and adaptable, both essential traits in creating comedy.

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