More Than Just a Child Star: Remembering Shirley Temple
By Olivia French
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| Shirley Temple poses during her prime acting years. Source: www.doctormacro.com |
She was an
American icon.
When you think of child stars, you think of her.
Just a glimpse of her spiral curled tawny hair and mischievous young grin can
conjure up mental images of tap dancing and singing; uplifting movies and songs.
She was America’s
Sweetheart.
She had an appropriately sweet and bubbly drink named after her.
She had an appropriately sweet and bubbly drink named after her.
She was Shirley
Temple.
“I remember
watching her as a little girl and wanting to be just like her,” said Jeune
Bitzer, an 80-year-old Pennsylvania native and lifelong movie lover on Monday.
Dubbed "Little Miss Miracle" by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Shirley Temple was the epitome of a child star. Born April 23, 1928 in Santa Monica, CA, she began
her film career in 1932 at the age of three.
In 1934, she was
catapulted to international fame with the release of Bright Eyes, which was created to specifically underscore her
talents.
From then on, she
continued stealing scenes and hearts alike. Starring in more than two dozen
movies in the 1930s alone, Temple earned a then record-breaking salary of
$50,000 per film.
Temple was known
for not only being a talented child actress, but for being an exceptional
dancer and singer as well — a true triple threat.
Temple led 20th
Century Fox as the greatest asset to the studio. Because she had four
successful films to her name at the ripe old age of seven, producer and studio
head Darryl F. Zanuck decided to focus on just Temple, trying to catapult her
to superstar status. Thus the Shirley Temple Story Development team was created
to form 11 original stories and some original adaptations of the classics for
her to star in.
Her most iconic movie scene could
arguably be from the film The Little
Colonel with her costar Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. In the scene Temple and
Robinson tap and hum their way up and down the stairs.
“Oh I remember
that perfectly,” said Bitzer. “That was such a fun movie. It made you happy to
jus watch her sing and dance.”
Her films did more
than just entertain the population of the time.
“Amid gloom, she
encouraged everyone to keep on the sunny side of life,” wrote John F.
Kasson in his biographical novel The
Little Girl Who Fought the Great Depression.
Films in general
were important to the American population during the Great Depression. In a
time when so much was going wrong, people loved having the chance to escape
reality — even if just for a few hours — within the cool dark walls of the
cinema.
Temple’s films in
turn were especially good for propelling this escapism because they featured a
bright and bubbly young girl that believed she could conquer the world.
In her movies, she
crossed racial boundaries, beat villains, and proved that good really does win
out in the end, all while smiling and dancing along.
"She's
indelible in the history of America because she appeared at a time of great
social need, and people took her to their hearts," said
Roddy McDowall, a fellow child star and friend.
Temple retired
from acting at the age of 22, choosing instead to serve the U.S. in a different
way: acting as an ambassador instead of an entertainer.
She became active
in politics, unsuccessfully running for Congress as a Republican candidate in
1967.
In 1969, President
Richard Nixon appointed her to be a member of the U.S. delegation to the United
Nations General Assembly. This delegation led her to become the U.S. ambassador
to Ghana in the 1970s and then later the U.S. chief of protocol. She later
served as the U.S. ambassador to Czechoslovakia, arriving in Prague just months
before the communist rule was overthrown.
Temple related her
background in the entertainment industry to her success in the political world.
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| Temple with the American Exemplar Medal. Source: www.theweek.com |
"Politicians
are actors too, don't you think?" she said. "Usually if you like
people and you're outgoing, not a shy little thing, you can do pretty well in
politics."
When she was just
17 years old, Temple married John Agar, an Army Air Corps seargant. Together,
they had a daughter, Linda, and costarred in two movies, Fort Apache (1948) and Adventure
in Baltimore (1949). Their marriage became troubled, though, and they
divorced in 1949.
Temple became
Shirley Temple Black on December 16, 1950when she married Charles Alden Black,
a WWII United States Navy intelligence officer. They had one son, Charles Alden Black, Jr.
Temple was
diagnosed with breast cancer in 1972. She did not reveal her diagnoses, however,
until after she had the tumor removed and a radical mastectomy was performed.
Afterward,
however, she became one of the first prominent women to speak out about breast
cancer, announcing her diagnoses via television, radio, and an article in the February
1973 issue of McCall’s magazine.
“My doctors have
assured me that they are 100 percent certain the cancer is removed,” Temple said
at the time. “The only reason I am telling you this is to convince other women
to watch for any lump or unusual symptom. There is almost certain cure for this
cancer if it is caught early enough.”
Temple received
more than 50,000 letters of support after revealing her diagnoses. She
continued to speak out for the disease for the rest of her life, and in 2012
the Journal for Women’s Health praised her as the first public figure to come
forward and write about breast cancer and for her contributions to the consumer
health movement.
Now, more than 80
years after her first film was released, and more than 40 years after her sting
in politics, the legacy of Shirley Temple lives on, even after her death.
“I watched her
movies when I was growing up,” said 21-year-old college student Lindsay
Christel. “I don’t even remember the exact story lines, just that watching her
made me happy.”
Temple lived a
long and happy life. She died in February at the age of 85 at her home in
Woodside, CA.
Shirley's Famous Songs
Here are a few of the more famous scenes from Temple's various childhood films
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