Shirley Temple
For the cocktail named after this person, see Shirley Temple cocktail. |
Shirley Temple in Glad Rags to Riches |
Shirley Jane Temple (born
April 23,
1928), later known as
Shirley Temple Black, is an
American diplomat and former film
child actress. Not only was she the most famous child actress of the
1930s, she is also considered to be the most famous child actor/actress of all time.
Born in
Santa Monica,
California, she starred in over 40 films during the
1930s. She was the only daughter of banker
George Francis Temple (
1888-
1980) and his wife
Gertrude Amelia Krieger (
1893-
1977). She had two older brothers. Temple began her career at the age of three, after being chosen from her dance class by a visiting director. Between the end of
1931 and
1933 she appeared in two series of short subjects for Educational Pictures. Her first series,
Baby Burlesks, satirized recent motion hot pictures and politics. The series was considered controversial by some viewers because of its depiction of young children in adult situations. Her second series at Educational,
Frolics of Youth, was a bit more acceptable, and cast her as a bratty younger sister in a contemporary
suburban family.
While working for Educational Pictures, Temple also performed many walk-on and bit player roles in various other movies. She was finally signed to
Fox Film Corporation (which later merged with
20th Century Pictures to become
20th Century Fox) in late 1933 after appearing in
Stand Up and Cheer with
James Dunn. She would stay with Fox until
1940, becoming the studio's most lucrative player. Her contract was amended several times between 1933 and
1935, and she was loaned to Paramount for a pair of successful films in
1934. For four solid years, she ranked as the top-grossing box office star in America. To hold on to her babyhood, Shirley's birth certificate had been altered. Only on her twelfth birthday did she realize she was actually thirteen.
[Thirteen]Her popularity earned her both public adulation and the approval of her peers. Even at the age of five, the hallmark of her acting work was her professionalism: she always had her lines memorized and dance steps prepared when shooting began. She was the first recipient of the special Juvenile Performer
Academy Award in 1935. Seventy years later, Temple is still the youngest performer ever to receive this honor. She is also the youngest actor to add foot and hand prints to the forecourt at
Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
Temple was paired with James Dunn in several films. She also made pictures with
Carole Lombard,
Gary Cooper,
Adolphe Menjou, and many others.
Arthur Treacher appeared as a kindly
butler in several of Temple's films.
Temple's ability as a dancer (especially a
tap dancer) is well known and celebrated. Even in her earliest films she danced, and she was able to handle complex tap choreography by the age of five. She was teamed with famed dancer
Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in
The Little Colonel,
The Littlest Rebel,
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and
Just Around the Corner. Robinson also coached and developed her choreography for many of her other films. Because Robinson was
African-American, his scenes holding hands with Temple had to be edited out in many cities in
the South.
Aside from the films, there were many Shirley Temple product tie-ins during the 1930s.
Ideal's numerous Temple dolls, dressed in costumes from the movies, were top sellers. Original Shirley Temple dolls bring in hundreds of dollars on the secondary market today. Other successful Temple items included a line of girls' dresses and hairbows. Several of Temple's film songs, including "
On the Good Ship Lollipop" (from 1934's
Bright Eyes), "
Animal Crackers in My Soup" (from 1935's
Curly Top) and "Goodnight My Love" (from
1936's
Stowaway) were popular radio hits. She frequently lent her likeness and talent to promoting various social causes, including the
Red Cross.
The role of Dorothy in
The Wizard of Oz was originally meant for
Judy Garland. However, MGM executives were concerned with Garland's box office appeal. Temple was considered for the role, however, she was unable to appear in the film when a trade between Fox and
MGM fell through. She was also rumored to be the inspiration for Bonnie Blue Butler in
Gone With the Wind and was one of the early contenders for the role in the motion picture, but was too old by the time the film went into production.
In 1940, Temple left Fox. She juggled classes at
Westlake School for Girls with films for various other studios, including MGM and Paramount. Her most successful pictures of the time included
Since You Went Away with
Claudette Colbert,
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer and
Fort Apache. She
retired from motion pictures in
1949.
In the
1950s and
1960s, she made a brief return to show business with two television series.
Recent appearances
In
2001, she served as a consultant on the
ABC Television Network production of
Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story, based on part one of her
autobiography.
Screen Actors Guild (SAG) announced on
September 12,
2005, that she was to receive the Guild's most prestigious honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award. SAG President
Melissa Gilbert said:
"I can think of no one more deserving of this year's SAG Life Achievement award than Shirley Temple Black. Her contributions to the entertainment industry are without precedent; her contributions to the world are nothing short of inspirational. She has lived the most remarkable life, as the brilliant performer the world came to know when she was just a child, to the dedicated public servant who has served her country both at home and abroad for 30 years. In everything she has done and accomplished, Shirley Temple Black has demonstrated uncommon grace, talent and determination, not to mention compassion and courage. As a child, I was thrilled to dance and sing to her films and more recently as Guild president I have been proud to work alongside her, as her friend and colleague, in service to our union. She has been an indelible influence on my life. She was my idol when I was a girl and remains my idol today."
At the age of 17, Temple was married first to soldier turned actor
John Agar (
1921–
2002) on September 19,
1945. They had one daughter, Linda Susan Agar (later known as Susan Black) born on January 30,
1948. Temple filed for divorce in late 1949 with the divorce becoming final on December 5, 1950. Earlier that year she had met and fallen in love with California businessman
Charles Alden Black (
1919–
2005) and they were married on December 16, 1950 and she took his name. Together, they had two children: Charles Alden Black Jr. born April 29, 1952 and
Lori Black born on April 9, 1954. They remained married until his death from
myelodysplastic syndrome at age 86 on August 4, 2005.
Black subsequently became involved in
Republican Party politics, unsuccessfully entering a
Congressional race in
1967 on a pro-war platform. She went on to hold several diplomatic posts, serving as America's delegate to many international conferences and summits. She was appointed American
ambassador to
Ghana (
1974–
76). In 1976, she became the first female
Chief of Protocol of the United States which put in her charge of all
State Department ceremonies, visits, gifts to foreign leaders and co-ordination of protocol issues with all US embassies and consulates. She was ambassador to
Czechoslovakia (
1989–
92) and witnessed the
Velvet Revolution, about which she commented,
"That was the best job I ever had." In
1987 she was designated the first Honorary Foreign Service Officer in US history by then US Secretary of State,
George Schultz.
Black appeared on the cover of
People magazine in
1999 with the title "Picture Perfect" and again later that year as part of their special report, "Surviving
Breast Cancer." She appeared at the
70th Academy Awards and also in that same year received
Kennedy Center Honors.
Black served on the board of directors of some large enterprises including
The Walt Disney Company (1974–
75),
Del Monte, Bancal Tri-State, and Fireman's Fund Insurance. Her
non-profit board appointments included the Institute for International Studies at
Stanford University, the
Council on Foreign Relations, the Council of American Ambassadors, the World Affairs Council, the United States Commission for
UNESCO, the National Committee on US-
China Relations, the
United Nations Association, and the US Citizen's Space TaskForce.
She received honorary
doctorates from
Santa Clara University and
Lehigh University, a Fellowship from
College of Notre Dame, and a
Chubb Fellowship from
Yale University.
Black now lives in
Woodside, California. Recently, she has teamed with
Legend Films to release
colorized versions of some of her early black and white films. These new versions have been released on
DVD.
*
*Shirley Temple auditioned for a lead role in
Hal Roach's
Our Gang comedies (later known as
The Little Rascals) in the early 1930s, but she was not cast. The reason why varies, depending upon who is telling the story. Roach stated that Temple and her mother were unable to make it through the red tape of the audition process, while
Our Gang producer/director
Robert F. McGowan recalls that the studio wanted to cast Temple, but they refused to give in to Temple's mother's demands that Temple receive special star billing. Temple, in her autobiography
Child Star, denies that she ever auditioned for
Our Gang at all.
[Maltin, Leonard & Bann, Richard W (1977, rev. 1992). The Little Rascals: The Life & Times of Our Gang. New York: Crown Publishing/Three Rivers Press. ISBN 0517583259 ]*
"Official site" (Legend Films memorabilia and merchandise site authorized by Shirley Temple Black)*
Classic Movies (1939–1969): Shirley Temple*
ShirleyTempleFans.com*
Female Frontiers QuestChat Archive: Shirley Temple Black and
biography*
Shirley Temple movies for free download
