Shirley Temple
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Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, politician, 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 to Czechoslovakia, and also served as Chief of Protocol of the United States.
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Shirley Jane Temple was born on April 23, 1928, at Santa Monica Hospital in Santa Monica, California, the third child of homemaker Gertrude Amelia Temple and bank employee George Francis Temple. The family was of Dutch, English, and German ancestry. She had two brothers: John and George Jr. The family moved to Rockingham Avenue, Brentwood, Los Angeles.
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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, 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.
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Continue
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.
Continue
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 Loyd Wright to represent them. On July 18, 1934, Temple's contractual salary was raised to $1,000 per week (equivalent to $24,067 in 2025), and her mother's salary was raised to $250 per week (equivalent to $6,017 in 2025), with an additional $15,000 (equivalent to $361,007 in 2025) bonus for each finished film. Cease-and-desist letters were sent to many companies and authorized corporate licenses began to be issued.
Continue
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. Temple's salary was $2,500 per week (equivalent to $58,708 in 2025) by the end of 1935. 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.
Continue
Continue
As her contract with 20th Century-Fox was coming to a close, Temple's mother applied her for entrance into the Westlake School for Girls in September 1939. There, Temple would enroll as a seventh-grader. Temple noted that she had difficulty adapting to a school environment after having spent much of her youth with adults and private tutors. However, her classmate June Lockhart described her as having "integrated herself right away" and seeming "delighted to be there". Temple frequently attended school dances and extracurricular activities, and according to Lockhart, "students did not treat her differently despite her successful film career." Temple graduated from the school in May 1945.
Continue
After leaving 20th Century-Fox, Temple signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . However, upon meeting with MGM producer Arthur Freed for a preliminary interview, he allegedly exposed his genitals to her. According to Temple, when she responded with nervous giggles, Freed threw her out of his office and ended their contract before any films were produced. The next idea was teaming Temple with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland for the musical Babes on Broadway. Fearing that either of those two could easily upstage Temple, MGM replaced her with Virginia Weidler. As a result, Temple's only film for MGM was the unsuccessful film Kathleen, released in December 1941. Miss Annie Rooney (1942) distributed by United Artists, was also unsuccessful. The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947) starring Cary Grant and Fort Apache (1948) starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda were two of her few hit films in the 1940s. Her then-husband John Agar also appeared in Fort Apache. She and future U.S. president Ronald Reagan were both in That Hagen Girl (1947). Temple formally announced her retirement from films in 1950.
Continue
False claims circulated that Temple was not a child, but a 30-year-old dwarf, due in part to her stocky body type. Temple claimed in her autobiography that the Vatican dispatched Father Silvio Masante to investigate whether she was indeed a child; no further evidence was given to corroborate her claim as newspapers of the time simply reported that she was interviewed by the priest who worked as a correspondent for the L'Osservatore Romano. 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. Another rumor said her teeth had been filed to make them appear like baby teeth. 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, bemoaning the nightly process she had to endure in the setting of her curls as tedious and grueling, with weekly vinegar rinses that stung her eyes. 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.
Continue
Continue
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. 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. She was appointed as a delegate to the 24th United Nations General Assembly (September – December 1969) by President Richard M. Nixon and United States Ambassador to Ghana (December 6, 1974 – July 13, 1976) by President Gerald R. Ford.[87] She was appointed first female Chief of Protocol of the United States (July 1, 1976 – January 21, 1977).
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Continue
Temple had hoped after Ronald Reagan's victory in the 1980 presidential election that she would be given a cabinet position or another ambassadorship. Reagan did send Temple as his representative to Paris as part of American inaugural celebrations abroad; however, she was not given any new posting during the Reagan administration. Writer Anne Edwards suggested that this was because Temple had supported Reagan's rival, George H. W. Bush, in the 1980 Republican primaries. When rumors circulated that Reagan was planning to reappoint Temple as chief of protocol after Lenore Annenberg's resignation, Temple remarked that she didn't "believe in looking back". She served as the United States Ambassador to Czechoslovakia (August 23, 1989 – July 12, 1992), having been appointed by President George H. W. Bush, and was the first and only woman in this job. Temple bore witness to two crucial moments in the history of Communist Czechoslovakia.
Continue
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 assisted their efforts. She 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, traveling on the same plane.
Continue
In 1943, 15-year-old Temple met 22-year-old John Agar, whom she married two years later in 1945, at age 17. She gave birth to Linda Susan Agar in 1948. Agar was reportedly an alcoholic and had extramarital affairs. Temple divorced Agar in 1950 on the grounds of mental cruelty. In 1950, in Hawaii, Temple met Charles Alden Black at a cocktail party. Temple was married to Black from 1950 until his death on August 4, 2005. They had a son, Charles Alden Black Jr., and a daughter, Lori, who 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 not typically discussed openly, and Temple's public disclosure was a significant milestone in improving breast cancer awareness and reducing stigma around the disease.
Continue
Continue
Temple died at age 85 on February 10, 2014, at her home in Woodside, California. The cause of death, according to her death certificate released on March 3, 2014, was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Temple was a lifelong cigarette smoker but avoided displaying her habit in public because she did not want to set a bad example for her fans. She is buried at Alta Mesa Memorial Park.
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Transcript
Shirley Temple
Let's go!
Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, politician, 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 to Czechoslovakia, and also served as Chief of Protocol of the United States.
Continue
Shirley Jane Temple was born on April 23, 1928, at Santa Monica Hospital in Santa Monica, California, the third child of homemaker Gertrude Amelia Temple and bank employee George Francis Temple. The family was of Dutch, English, and German ancestry. She had two brothers: John and George Jr. The family moved to Rockingham Avenue, Brentwood, Los Angeles.
Continue
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, 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.
Continue
Continue
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.
Continue
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 Loyd Wright to represent them. On July 18, 1934, Temple's contractual salary was raised to $1,000 per week (equivalent to $24,067 in 2025), and her mother's salary was raised to $250 per week (equivalent to $6,017 in 2025), with an additional $15,000 (equivalent to $361,007 in 2025) bonus for each finished film. Cease-and-desist letters were sent to many companies and authorized corporate licenses began to be issued.
Continue
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. Temple's salary was $2,500 per week (equivalent to $58,708 in 2025) by the end of 1935. 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.
Continue
Continue
As her contract with 20th Century-Fox was coming to a close, Temple's mother applied her for entrance into the Westlake School for Girls in September 1939. There, Temple would enroll as a seventh-grader. Temple noted that she had difficulty adapting to a school environment after having spent much of her youth with adults and private tutors. However, her classmate June Lockhart described her as having "integrated herself right away" and seeming "delighted to be there". Temple frequently attended school dances and extracurricular activities, and according to Lockhart, "students did not treat her differently despite her successful film career." Temple graduated from the school in May 1945.
Continue
After leaving 20th Century-Fox, Temple signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . However, upon meeting with MGM producer Arthur Freed for a preliminary interview, he allegedly exposed his genitals to her. According to Temple, when she responded with nervous giggles, Freed threw her out of his office and ended their contract before any films were produced. The next idea was teaming Temple with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland for the musical Babes on Broadway. Fearing that either of those two could easily upstage Temple, MGM replaced her with Virginia Weidler. As a result, Temple's only film for MGM was the unsuccessful film Kathleen, released in December 1941. Miss Annie Rooney (1942) distributed by United Artists, was also unsuccessful. The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947) starring Cary Grant and Fort Apache (1948) starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda were two of her few hit films in the 1940s. Her then-husband John Agar also appeared in Fort Apache. She and future U.S. president Ronald Reagan were both in That Hagen Girl (1947). Temple formally announced her retirement from films in 1950.
Continue
False claims circulated that Temple was not a child, but a 30-year-old dwarf, due in part to her stocky body type. Temple claimed in her autobiography that the Vatican dispatched Father Silvio Masante to investigate whether she was indeed a child; no further evidence was given to corroborate her claim as newspapers of the time simply reported that she was interviewed by the priest who worked as a correspondent for the L'Osservatore Romano. 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. Another rumor said her teeth had been filed to make them appear like baby teeth. 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, bemoaning the nightly process she had to endure in the setting of her curls as tedious and grueling, with weekly vinegar rinses that stung her eyes. 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.
Continue
Continue
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. 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. She was appointed as a delegate to the 24th United Nations General Assembly (September – December 1969) by President Richard M. Nixon and United States Ambassador to Ghana (December 6, 1974 – July 13, 1976) by President Gerald R. Ford.[87] She was appointed first female Chief of Protocol of the United States (July 1, 1976 – January 21, 1977).
Continue
Continue
Temple had hoped after Ronald Reagan's victory in the 1980 presidential election that she would be given a cabinet position or another ambassadorship. Reagan did send Temple as his representative to Paris as part of American inaugural celebrations abroad; however, she was not given any new posting during the Reagan administration. Writer Anne Edwards suggested that this was because Temple had supported Reagan's rival, George H. W. Bush, in the 1980 Republican primaries. When rumors circulated that Reagan was planning to reappoint Temple as chief of protocol after Lenore Annenberg's resignation, Temple remarked that she didn't "believe in looking back". She served as the United States Ambassador to Czechoslovakia (August 23, 1989 – July 12, 1992), having been appointed by President George H. W. Bush, and was the first and only woman in this job. Temple bore witness to two crucial moments in the history of Communist Czechoslovakia.
Continue
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 assisted their efforts. She 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, traveling on the same plane.
Continue
In 1943, 15-year-old Temple met 22-year-old John Agar, whom she married two years later in 1945, at age 17. She gave birth to Linda Susan Agar in 1948. Agar was reportedly an alcoholic and had extramarital affairs. Temple divorced Agar in 1950 on the grounds of mental cruelty. In 1950, in Hawaii, Temple met Charles Alden Black at a cocktail party. Temple was married to Black from 1950 until his death on August 4, 2005. They had a son, Charles Alden Black Jr., and a daughter, Lori, who 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 not typically discussed openly, and Temple's public disclosure was a significant milestone in improving breast cancer awareness and reducing stigma around the disease.
Continue
Continue
Temple died at age 85 on February 10, 2014, at her home in Woodside, California. The cause of death, according to her death certificate released on March 3, 2014, was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Temple was a lifelong cigarette smoker but avoided displaying her habit in public because she did not want to set a bad example for her fans. She is buried at Alta Mesa Memorial Park.
Continue
Thank you!
Start