She Died 10 Years Ago, Now Her Children Confirm the Rumors

she was the tiniest little superstar a beacon for a country way down with economic turmoil crackers and rabbits and Shirley Temple 2 was often weighed down by extreme expectations rigorous work schedules and no small amount of objectifying but she bravely wore a smile for the cameras so let's find out who Shirley was when the camera stopped rolling lollipop it's a sweet trip to a candy shop I'm your host nostalgic Nick here to board The Not So Good Ship Lollipop and explore the darker side to the life and career of Shirley Temple thankfully it's not all bad and this Immortal Starlet Rose above it all and did remarkable things if you enjoy our Shirley Deep dive be sure to give it a thumbs up and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss a memory but without further Ado let's jump back in time upbringing Shirley Temple was born on April 23 1928 in Santa Monica California and as it is with most child stars her mother fully embraced the Arts at just three Shirley began dance lessons and cultivated her singing and acting skills her mother Gertrude had once dreamed of stardom and was determined to see her daughter in the Limelight so Mom began styling the young girl's hair with those iconic gold ringlets Temple was shy at first hiding behind the piano in the studio but even timid and peeking around the piano she still caught the attention of an educational pictures casting director soon she had a contract and began her acting career with baby burlesque's comedy shorts satirizing the latest film and TV Trends starring a bunch of kids but the Dark Side of Show Business began creeping in right there a bunch of kids in diapers performing subject matter that could get dicey Shirley said in her autobiography that the skin kits were occasionally racist and sexist further saying it was quote a cynical exploitation of our childish innocence in the short film politics in Washington it's heavily implied Temple's character is an analog for a prostitute strutting into baby Senator's office after fussing over her appearance and jewelry and the two exchanged kisses now we know today the rights and safety of our children are supposed to be carefully protected so what happened here context is key it was a different world when Shirley Temple Rose to fame for one thing film was pretty new and so was any work associated with it history calls this the pre-code era of Hollywood before the birth of the haze code which set up some conservative guidelines for what could be filmed and so this cool new medium kind of started like the Lawless West for filmmakers and that wasn't the only reason audiences took whatever they were shown Temple was born on the eve of the Great Depression unemployment Crazy Prices and not to mention a huge blow to morale and just after we wrapped up a devastating war overseas people were United in chronic distress and in danced Shirley Temple a literal bright spot in one of our Darkest Hours who could sing a smile onto even the grumpiest face her films played out what Americans wanted to happen for them some infectious joy to turn their pessimism around and once you know it life imitated art and she reinvigorated a nation reminding everyone of childhood innocence and most importantly hope the price of the spotlight Temple was pretty familiar with hard work she was expected to work after a foot injury and the day after she had an ear surgery the result among Temple's 40 plus films 12 of them were done in 1934 alone Shirley remembers the guy in charge Charles Lamont saying quote this isn't Play Time kids it's work so Shirley took play time when she could usually after filming for the day and she was a total tomboy climbing trees and playing cops and robbers a little childhood respite for her full-time actress Her Name In Lights wherever Temple worked her career thrived 20th Century Fox Universal Warner Brothers you name it contract disputes actually kept her from nabbing the role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz I'll get you my pretty and your little dog too and as America climbed out of the depression Temple became the face of Hope and appeared in advertisements 20 times over per day not to mention dolls clothing even dishes there were toys movie posters even look-alike contests she got the economy moving so much Temple has been called a one-man or one kid economic relief program and she got plenty of Industry accolades too to this day she's the youngest Oscar winner thanks to a 1935 juvenile Academy Award not for any one role but for her contribution to the Arts in general they made the award a smaller version a fact that Temple didn't actually appreciate the rumor mill everybody's a Critic even when the star is a child and there were all sorts of myths and rumors the biggest was that Temple wasn't a child at all but an adult with dwarfism people rudely pointed to her stocky frame as proof even the Vatican sent someone to confirm she was a child in a sense you could argue she was treated as an adult but all that responsibility was on a kid's shoulders okay but what about her teeth why wasn't she ever seen missing any on this flat flat Earth of course Shirley lost teeth but she either kept her mouth closed or danced to distract from it and they also utilized Dental caps to hide the gaps people even went after her hair and called it a wig even though it was widely reported about her mother meticulously styling her do into a style called pin curls made up of exactly 56 curls in case you want to go as surely for Halloween small circle at the end of The Strand and roll it up to the scout fish this is the reverse curl whatever you do don't twist The Strand and so she became a namesake to a hairstyle some dance moves and even a drink as Legend has it Temple was at the Brown Derby restaurant when served this drink non-alcoholic and delicious but apparently she didn't actually like it but hey countless children thank her for this creation which makes going out to a restaurant's fun and exciting then there was one woman's accusation that Temple stole her daughter's soul and the only way to free it was to kill Shirley Temple geez this sounds like a wild Quentin Tarantino movie or something Security even caught the woman raising a gun at temple on stage close call indeed unwanted attention as a movie star Temple crossed paths with a lot of sleazy types when she was just 12 and joined MGM she got called into a meeting with Studio producer Arthur freed a private meeting where freed reportedly undid his zipper and told the pre-teen quote I have something made just for you the youngster's response was a nervous laugh and she was then dismissed absolutely horrid Behavior sadly this wasn't a one-off at 17 she got similar treatment from David selsnick and sure enough in a meeting he went over to her side of the desk and grabbed her he locked the door but it was Shirley's agility as a dancer that helped her keep distance between them another producer approached her and told her sex is like water if you want some get some and Shirley would add one more claim that comedian George gessel groped her and tried to lift her skirt until she kicked him in the groin Financial Follies flourishing against the backdrop of a recovering America Shirley Temple earned three million dollars by the time she was 14. that's over 30 million accounting for inflation on top of that she helped the then bankrupt 20th Century Fox Repair its Financial Outlook but once she reached adulthood she only had forty four thousand dollars in her bank account so what went wrong good old dad who didn't put all the money into a court ordered trust fund when she found out Temple says she felt quote neither disappointment nor anger a reaction that she knew not many people would understand child star in her own words Shirley Temple helped shape an era and was as much of a product of her time as she influenced it but her Reign can feel pretty distant but you can read her experiences in her own words thanks to the 1988 autobiography child star with over 500 pages of intimate accounts get ready for a lot of emotional talk about Bill Robinson her scene partner in the littlest Rebel together their friendship defied racial divides our friends sadly Robinson was treated unfairly by the rest of the crew but for Shirley Temple he was the best friend she could hope for who taught her to dance by listening instead of looking and his encouragement gets its due attention here readers compare it to sitting down for a talk with temple exposed to her remarkably upbeat and enduring attitude in the face of exploitation abuse and a childhood turned upside down horrific husband and health when she was 17 Temple married film and TV actor John Agar and in 1948 she became a mom to daughter Linda Susan but Temple married into a dangerous situation because agar turned out to be a violent alcoholic he cheated on her and even when she was still a teen he abused her no find your own business when you win 49 the two divorced and Temple One custody of Linda the next year when she was 22 Shirley Temple's acting career ended Temple would find stable ground outside of the hype of Hollywood but first trouble found her again when she ended up diagnosed with cancer but even in this Temple broke major ground and helped change how we do things today polytics again there was no room for a grown-up temple on the Silver Screen roles were slowing before she even bowed out but that was okay she still had Big Dreams and set out to achieve each one some things just aren't meant to be her first marriage fell apart but finally she and businessman Charles Black dated for barely two weeks before getting married and the two would stay married for 55 years and the biggest kick black had never seen a single one of her films now armed with a new name Shirley Temple Black she was treading on some semi-familiar ground politics because as a child star Temple was often invited into very important places with very important people including J Edgar Hoover and Eleanor Roosevelt Temple now with two more kids had an unsuccessful bid for congress but caught the attention of President Nixon leading her to the United Nations General Assembly there she Drew attention to the needs of Aging Americans the environment and refugees and in 1975 4 Shirley Temple became ambassador to Ghana and she even helped teach other ambassadors before transitioning to ambassador of Czechoslovakia she was the first woman ever with that title which was considered the job for career diplomats but then Temple was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to undergo a mastectomy back then cancer was talked about in hushed tones but of course Temple defied that Trend and went public which helped others breach this sensitive topic Temple also helped give women a voice in their own health since back then doctors caught a lot of the shots over the patients but all in a day's work no wonder she called the personal rewards of Public Service Great the childhood icon passed away in 2014 at the age of 85 but she never stopped helping after acting even after all her Public Service she taught us that we can always be better that we can put good into this world and have something to be proud of when the day is done who could have imagined one little three-year-old wouldn't just charm us she'd teach us along the way what a life an actress a diplomat very briefly a kid so let's toast to Mrs Temple what was your favorite project of hers did she get any of you into tap dancing please get in the comments and share all your surely Memories the past is full of real stories like hers that are more remarkable Than Fiction and we aim to cover them all for you so if you enjoy this episode be sure to give it a thumbs up and don't forget to subscribe so you catch our next Deep dive but from all of us here at do you remember we want to thank you for watching

Channel: DoYouRemember?

Views: 1,709,691

Keywords: News, star, star news, entertainment news, Life, Breaking News, singer, musician, family, home, actress, world star, comedian, film, Shirley Temple, Explore With Us, stories, true story, true stories, shirley temple, creepy stories, shirley temple movies, story time, shirley temple black, horror story, shirley, temple, biography, shirley temple movie, the life and sad ending, life and sad ending, mini bio, 10 Years Ago, Now Her Children Confirm the Rumors, Rumors, Children, She

Id: tswoMehuYO0

Length: 13min 40sec (820 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 18 2023