Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard had a significant relationship both personally and professionally in the 1930s and early 1940s. The two met in 1932 when Paulette Goddard, an aspiring actress, was looking to establish her career in Hollywood. Chaplin, already a legendary figure in the film industry, was drawn to her charm, beauty, and vivacious personality.
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 during their time together. On June 3, 1942, Goddard filed for divorce in Mexico that was granted the following day. In his autobiography and her divorce filing, the couple claimed that they were married in June 1936 in Guangdong, China; while the couple did tour the area at this time, no record of a ceremony survives. However, Chaplin also reportedly told relatives that they were married only in common law. The two nonetheless maintained a friendly relationship following the divorce, and Goddard remained close with Chaplin’s two elder sons Charles Chaplin Jr. and Sydney Chaplin.
Jean Renoir, director of The Diary of a Chambermaid, a film starring Paulette, remembered this way: “I asked her how Chaplin could be so mad as to break up their marriage, and she answered that it was not he who had left her but she who had left him. The reason was that genius is hard to live with. It is very exhausting to stay on the high mental level of an exceptional person. One needs to sink back into mediocrity to get one’s breath.”
Goddard and Chaplin met quite often even after their divorce. The press was really interested in their “dinner dates,” but they were probably nothing more than friendly appointments. It’s surprising to know that Goddard also settled in Switzerland towards the end of her life, just like Chaplin did, with her fourth husband, writer Erich Maria Remarque. They even had dinner with Chaplin and Oona once. They met (most probably for the last time) when Chaplin was back in America for the Oscar ceremony in 1972. This was the last conversation in their life:
“Hello Baby!” Chaplin’s eyes filled with tears as he replied “Oh my little baby!” “Yes, your only little baby,” she added.
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