Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938. Later, she was named United States Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia, and also served as Chief of Protocol of the United States.
Temple began her film career in 1931 when she was three years old and was well-known for her performance in Bright Eyes, which was released in 1934. She won a special Juvenile Academy Award in February 1935 for her outstanding contribution as a juvenile performer in motion pictures during 1934 and continued to appear in popular films through the remainder of the 1930s, although her subsequent films became less popular as she grew older.[1] She appeared in her last film, A Kiss for Corliss, in 1949.[2][3]
In 1958, Temple returned to show business with a two-season television anthology series of fairy tale adaptations called Shirley Temple's Storybook, which was very popular at the time. She sat on the boards of corporations and organizations, including the Walt Disney Company, Del Monte Foods, and the National Wildlife Federation.
She began her diplomatic career in 1969, when she was appointed to represent the U.S. at a session of the United Nations General Assembly, where she worked at the U.S. Mission under Ambassador Charles Yost. Later, she was named U.S. Ambassador to Ghana, and also served as the first female U.S. Chief of Protocol. In 1988, she published her autobiography, Child Star.[4] After her biography was published, she served as the U.S. Ambassador to Czechoslovakia (1989–1992).
Temple was the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Kennedy Center Honors and a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. She is 18th on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female American screen legends of classic Hollywood cinema.
Shirley Jane Temple was born on April 23, 1928[5] at Santa Monica Hospital (now UCLA Medical Center) in Santa Monica, California,[6] the third child of homemaker Gertrude Temple and bank employee George Temple. The family was of Dutch, English, and German ancestry.[7][8] She had two brothers: John and George, Jr.[8][9][10] The family moved to Brentwood, Los Angeles.[11]
Temple's mother encouraged her to develop her singing, dancing, and acting talents.[12][13][14] At about this time, her mother began styling Temple's hair in ringlets.[15]
While at the dance school, Temple was spotted by Charles Lamont, who was a casting director for Educational Pictures. She hid behind a piano while he was in the studio. Lamont liked Temple and invited her to audition. He signed her to a contract in 1932. Educational Pictures launched its Baby Burlesks,[16][17][18][19] 10-minute comedy shorts satirizing recent films and events, using preschool children in every role. In 1933, Temple appeared in Glad Rags to Riches, a parody of the Mae West feature She Done Him Wrong, with Temple as a saloon singer. That same year, she appeared in Kid 'in' Africa as a child imperiled in the jungle and in Runt Page, a pastiche of the previous year's The Front Page. The younger players in the cast recited their lines phonetically.
Temple became the breakout star of this series, and Educational promoted her to 20-minute comedies in the Frolics of Youth series with Frank Coghlan Jr. Temple played Mary Lou Rogers, the baby sister in a contemporary suburban family.[20] Temple and her child costars modeled for breakfast cereals and other products to fund production costs.[21][22] She was lent to Tower Productions for a small role in the studio's first feature film, The Red-Haired Alibi (1932),[23][24] and in 1933 to Universal, Paramount and Warner Bros. Pictures for various parts,[25][26] including an uncredited role in To the Last Man (1933), starring Randolph Scott and Esther Ralston.
After viewing one of Temple's Frolics of Youth films, Fox Film Corporation songwriter Jay Gorney saw her dancing in the theater lobby. Recognizing her from the screen, Gorney arranged a screen test for Temple for the film Stand Up and Cheer! (1934). Temple auditioned on December 7, 1933 and won the part. She was signed to a $150-per-week contract that was guaranteed for two weeks by Fox. The role was a breakthrough performance for Temple. Her charm was evident to Fox executives, and she was ushered into corporate offices almost immediately after finishing "Baby, Take a Bow", a song-and-dance number that she performed with James Dunn.
Biographer John Kasson argues:
Biographer Anne Edwards wrote about the tone and tenor of Temple's films:
President Franklin D. Roosevelt praised her performances, saying, "It is a splendid thing that for just 15 cents, an American can go to a movie and look at the smiling face of a baby and forget his troubles."[29]
On December 21, 1933, Temple's contract was extended to one year at the same $150 per week (equivalent to $3,531 in 2023) with a seven-year option, and her mother Gertrude was hired at $25 per week as her hairdresser and personal coach.[30] Released in May 1934, Stand Up and Cheer! became Shirley's breakthrough film.[31] She performed in a short skit in the film alongside popular Fox star James Dunn, singing and tap dancing. Fox executives rushed her into another film with Dunn, Baby Take a Bow (named after their song in Stand Up and Cheer!). Temple's third film, also with Dunn, was Bright Eyes (1934), a movie written especially for her.[32]
After the success of her first three films, Temple's parents realized that she was not being paid sufficiently. Her image also began to appear on numerous commercial products without her legal authorization and without compensation. To regain control over the use of her image and to negotiate with Fox, Temple's parents hired lawyer Lloyd Wright to represent them. On July 18, 1934, Temple's contractual salary was raised to $1,000 per week, and her mother's salary was raised to $250 per week, with an additional $15,000 bonus for each finished film.[33] Cease-and-desist letters were sent to many companies and the authorized corporate licenses began to be issued.[34]
Bright Eyes, written with her acting style in mind, was released in 1934[35][36] The film included the song "On the Good Ship Lollipop", which is considered to be her signature song. She was awarded a miniature Juvenile Oscar in 1935.[37][38][39]
Temple's quota of films in each calendar year was increased from three to four in the contract that her parents signed in July 1934. Now and Forever starring Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard (with Temple billed third with her name above the title beneath Cooper's and Lombard's), The Little Colonel, Our Little Girl, Curly Top (with the signature song "Animal Crackers in My Soup") and The Littlest Rebel were released after the contract was signed. Curly Top was Temple's last film before the merger between 20th Century Pictures and the Fox Film Corporation.[40]
Temple's salary was $2,500 per week by the end of 1935.[41] Elaborate sets were built for the production at the famed Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, where a rock feature at the heavily filmed location ranch was eventually named Shirley Temple Rock.[42]
Heidi was the only other Temple film released in 1937.[43] Midway through shooting of the movie, the dream sequence was added to the script. Temple herself reportedly was behind the dream sequence and she had enthusiastically pushed for it, but in her autobiography, she vehemently denied this. Her contract gave neither her parents nor her any creative control over her movies. She saw this as Zanuck's refusal to make any serious attempt at building upon the success of her dramatic role in Wee Willie Winkie.[44]
One of the many examples of how Temple was permeating popular culture at the time is the references to her in the 1937 film Stand-In; newly minted film studio honcho Atterbury Dodd (played by Leslie Howard) has never heard of Temple, much to the shock and disbelief of former child star Lester Plum (played by Joan Blondell), who describes herself as "the Shirley Temple of my day", and performs "On the Good Ship Lollipop" for him.
The Independent Theatre Owners Association paid for an advertisement in The Hollywood Reporter in May 1938 that included Temple on a list of actors who deserved their salaries while others' (including Katharine Hepburn and Joan Crawford) "box-office draw is nil".[45]
In 1939, she was the subject of the Salvador Dalí painting Shirley Temple, The Youngest, Most Sacred Monster of the Cinema in Her Time, and she was animated with Donald Duck in The Autograph Hound.[46] In 1940, Lester Cowan, an independent film producer, bought the screen rights to F. Scott Fitzgerald's Babylon Revisited for $80. Fitzgerald thought his screenwriting days were over, and with some hesitation, accepted Cowan's offer to write the screenplay titled "Cosmopolitan" based on the short story. After finishing the screenplay, Fitzgerald was told by Cowan that he would not do the film unless Temple starred in the lead role of the youngster Honoria. Fitzgerald objected, saying that at age 12, the actress was too worldly for the part and would detract from the aura of innocence otherwise framed by Honoria's character. After meeting Temple in July, Fitzgerald changed his mind, and tried to persuade her mother to let her star in the film. However, her mother demurred. In any case, the Cowan project was shelved by the producer. Fitzgerald was later credited with the use of the original story for The Last Time I Saw Paris starring Elizabeth Taylor.[47]
Shirley signed with MGM after leaving 20th Century-Fox. However, upon meeting with Arthur Freed for a preliminary interview, the MGM producer exposed his genitals to her. When this elicited nervous giggles in response, Freed threw her out and ended their contract before any films were produced.[48] The next idea was teaming her with Garland and Rooney for the musical Babes on Broadway. Fearing that either of the latter two could easily upstage Temple, MGM replaced her with Virginia Weidler. As a result, her only film for MGM was the relatively unsuccessful film Kathleen, released in 1941. Miss Annie Rooney followed for United Artists in 1942, but was unsuccessful. The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer starring Cary Grant and Fort Apache starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda were two of her few hit films in the 1940s.[49] Her then-husband John Agar also appeared in Fort Apache. She and former US president Ronald Reagan were both in That Hagen Girl (1947). She did not formally announce her retirement from full-length films until 1950.[50][51]
Temple briefly had her own radio series on CBS. Junior Miss debuted March 4, 1942, in which she played the title role. The series was based on stories by Sally Benson. Sponsored by Procter & Gamble, Junior Miss was directed by Gordon Hughes, with David Rose as musical director.[52] The series ended on August 26, 1942. [53]
John Kasson states:
Successful Shirley Temple items included a line of girls' dresses and many other items.[54]
Alongside licensed merchandise came counterfeit items bearing Temple's likeness to capitalize on her fame, from dolls, clothing, and other accessories to even cigars with her face printed on the label.[55] Temple lamented in her memoirs that it "made no economic sense" to pursue litigation against those who made unlicensed goods under her name; a successful lawsuit was filed by Ideal Toy Company against a certain Lenora Doll Company, which manufactured and sold Shirley Temple dolls without authorization, with Temple herself cited as a co-plaintiff befitting her celebrity status.[56]
At the height of her popularity, Temple was the subject of many myths and rumors, with several being propagated by the Fox press department. Fox publicized her as a natural talent with no formal acting or dance training. As a way of explaining how she knew stylized buck-and-wing dancing, she was enrolled for two weeks in the Elisa Ryan School of Dancing.[57]
False claims circulated that Temple was not a child, but a 30-year-old dwarf, due in part to her stocky body type. The rumor was so prevalent, especially in Europe, that the Vatican dispatched Father Silvio Massante to investigate whether she was indeed a child. The fact that she never seemed to miss any teeth led some people to conclude that she had all her adult teeth. Temple was actually losing her primary teeth regularly through her days with Fox, for example during the sidewalk ceremony in front of Grauman's Theatre, where she took off her shoes and placed her bare feet in the concrete, taking attention away from her face. When acting, she wore dental plates and caps to hide the gaps in her teeth.[58] Another rumor said her teeth had been filed to make them appear like baby teeth.[59]
A rumor about Temple's trademark hair was that she wore a wig. On multiple occasions, fans yanked her hair to test the rumor. She later said she wished all she had to do was wear a wig. The nightly process she endured in the setting of her curls was tedious and grueling, with weekly vinegar rinses that stung her eyes.[60]
Rumors spread that her hair color was not naturally blonde. During the making of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, news spread that she was going to do extended scenes without her trademark curls. During production, she also caught a cold, which caused her to miss a couple of days. As a result, a false report originated in Britain that all of her hair had been cut off.[59]
Temple became active in the California Republican Party. In 1967, she ran unsuccessfully in a special election in California's 11th congressional district after eight-term Republican J. Arthur Younger died of leukemia.[62][63] She ran in the open primary as a conservative Republican and came in second with 34,521 votes (22.44%), behind Republican law school professor Pete McCloskey, who placed first in the primary with 52,882 votes (34.37%) and advanced to the general election with Democrat Roy A. Archibald, who finished fourth with 15,069 votes (9.79%), but advanced as the highest-placed Democratic candidate. In the general election, McCloskey was elected with 63,850 votes (57.2%) to Archibald's 43,759 votes (39.2%). Temple received 3,938 votes (3.53%) as an independent write-in.[64][65]
Temple was extensively involved with the Commonwealth Club of California, a public-affairs forum headquartered in San Francisco. She spoke at many meetings throughout the years, and was president for a period in 1984.[66][67]
Temple got her start in foreign service after her failed run for Congress in 1967, when Henry Kissinger overheard her talking about South West Africa at a party. He was surprised that she knew anything about it.[68] She was appointed as a delegate to the 24th United Nations General Assembly (September – December 1969) by President Richard M. Nixon[69][70][71] and United States Ambassador to Ghana (December 6, 1974 – July 13, 1976) by President Gerald R. Ford.[72] She was appointed first female Chief of Protocol of the United States (July 1, 1976 – January 21, 1977).[72][73]
She served as the United States Ambassador to Czechoslovakia (August 23, 1989 – July 12, 1992), having been appointed by President George H. W. Bush,[74] and was the first and only woman in this job. Temple bore witness to two crucial moments in the history of Czechoslovakia's fight against communism. She was in Prague in August 1968, as a representative of the International Federation of Multiple Sclerosis Societies, and was going to meet with Czechoslovakian party leader Alexander Dubček on the very day that Soviet-backed forces invaded the country. Dubček fell out of favor with the Soviets after a series of reforms, known as the Prague Spring. Temple, who was stranded at a hotel as the tanks rolled in, sought refuge on the roof of the hotel. She later reported that it was from there she saw an unarmed woman on the street gunned down by Soviet forces, the sight of which stayed with her for the rest of her life.[75]
Later, after she became ambassador to Czechoslovakia, she was present during the Velvet Revolution, which brought about the end of communism in Czechoslovakia. Temple openly sympathized with anti-communist dissidents and was ambassador when the United States established formal diplomatic relations with the newly elected government led by Václav Havel. She took the unusual step of personally accompanying Havel on his first official visit to Washington, travelling on the same plane.[68]
In 1943, 15-year-old Temple met 22-year-old John Agar, whom she married two years later in 1945, at age 17.[76][77][78] She gave birth to Linda Susan Agar in 1948.[76][79][80] Agar was reportedly an alcoholic, and had extramarital affairs. Temple divorced Agar in 1950 on the grounds of mental cruelty.[81]
Temple was married to Charles Alden Black from 1950 until his death on August 4, 2005.[82] They had a son, Charles Alden Black Jr. Their daughter Lori became a bassist for the rock band the Melvins.
At age 44, in 1972, Temple was diagnosed with breast cancer. At the time, cancer was typically discussed in hushed whispers, and Temple's public disclosure was a significant milestone in improving breast cancer awareness and reducing stigma around the disease.[83][84]
On March 14, 1935, Shirley left her footprints and handprints in the wet cement at the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. She was the Grand Marshal of the New Year's Day Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, three times in 1939, 1989, and 1999. On February 8, 1960, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 1970, she received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[89][90] In February 1980, Temple was honored by the Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.[91] In 1975, Temple was installed as an honorary deputy paramount chief of the Oguaa people of Ghana.[92]
Her name is further immortalized by the mocktail named after her, although Temple found the drink far too sweet for her palate.[93][94] In 1988, Temple brought a lawsuit to prevent a bottled soda version from using her name.[95][96]
On June 9, 2021, Temple was featured on that day's Google Doodle in celebration of the opening anniversary of "Love, Shirley Temple” a special exhibit featuring a collection of her rare memorabilia at Santa Monica History Museum.[97]
“Baby Burlesks” was followed by five two-reel comedies and a year of casting calls and bit-part auditions, which garnered young Shirley half a dozen small roles. By Thanksgiving 1933 she was growing older. She was 5½, and in the previous two years she had earned a total of $702.50. Her mother did the sensible thing: she shaved a year off her daughter’s age. Shirley would be shocked to discover, at a party for her 12th birthday in April 1941, that she was actually 13.
She entered the private Westlake School for Girls in seventh grade, with little idea of how to cope. She had sat on 200 famous laps and found J. Edgar Hoover’s the most comfortable. Amelia Earhart had shared chewing gum with her. She had conversed with Eleanor Roosevelt. The Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood had created the Shirley Temple — a nonalcoholic drink of lemon-lime soda, grenadine and a maraschino cherry — in her honor. (She didn’t care for it.) But her playmates had been few and carefully chosen.
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