Temple Tuesday: Shirley and Santa

Every star/starlet had to do their share of publicity photos, and Shirley Temple was no exception to the rule. For the 1939 holiday season, Shirley posed for these shots at 20th Century-Fox. This would be her last Christmas shoot for the studio before her first “retirement” in 1940. Even though Shirley musters all the excitement and anticipation of a little girl peering through the stairs to catch a glimpse of Santa, we all know it’s a lot of hooey. As Shirley herself admitted years later:

I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph.



I call this one “O Holy Night.” Yes, stars were allowed to do religious photos.



These two previously posted shots show a much younger Shirley, this time posing as Santa Claus herself:



Shirley looks like she could barely squeeze through this chimney; how would Santa have ever made it?!?



In later years, Shirley authorized The Danbury Mint to produce a porcelain doll that faithfully recreated the vintage still and appropriately titled it “Santa’s Helper”:



Final one for today shows Shirley posing with a gigantic teddy bear, wearing the beautiful red velvet coat ensemble from “Heidi”:



Selling for $10,000, this beauty came up for auction in 2015:



From the Theriault’s catalog description:

RED VELVET COAT, BONNET AND BOOTS WORN BY SHIRLEY TEMPLE IN THE 1937 FILM "HEIDI"

Of luxurious burgundy velvet, the coat features a fitted double-breasted bodice with soutache loop closures and flared skirt. The coat is decorated with rich sable collar and hem border. Along with a matching bonnet with silk streamers and a pair of high velvet boots with sable trim. The extraordinary luxury costume, designed by Gwen Wakeling, was worn by Heidi (Shirley Temple) during a winter sleigh ride through Frankfurt when suddenly she hears Grandfather calling out for her, and she frantically begins to look for him.

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.