In 1937, returning from his honeymoon in Europe, Goodman and his wife had tickets on the "Hindenburg", but were unable to secure seats together, so they took alternative transportation instead, avoiding the "Hindenburg" disaster. A story that they took a plane is incorrect as commercial trans-Atlantic flights were not available until 1939. In 1937, trans-Atlantic flights were still stunts that made aviators such as Dick Merrill and Beryl Markham famous and recipients of offers from Hollywood for movies.