Temple Tuesday: Shirley and The Egyptian

A radiant 1950s Shirley Temple can be seen above with her handsome husband, Charles Black, sitting in a theater surrounded by other celebrities, including filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille and actor Henry Wilcoxon. That’s the only info I had about the negative I recently purchased.



Unfortunately, there were no programs or other bits of info to help identify the date or event that Shirley was attending.



Shirley and DeMille had worked together before on radio, as seen in this image below from January 27, 1941 when she did the Captain January broadcast:



DeMille and Wilcoxon had worked together on “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952) and “The Ten Commandments” (1956). Looking up those leads on newspapers.com didn’t provide any info on Shirley, so I went to the expert, the great Rita Dubas! Not surprisingly I had an answer faster than the speed of light: 

She was watching “The Egyptian,” an “epic historical drama” by 20th Century-Fox, which premiered on September 1, 1954 at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood! I remembered the lacy dress and found the Modern Screen magazine clip I had [below]. Darryl Zanuck produced the film, and it stands to reason that Hollywood elite would show up for this important film at the time. Shirley and Charles were back in Hollywood before their move to Atherton. It was a busy time for Shirley—her dolls had just gone on loan to Science and Industry to benefit Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and the March of Dimes, and she had started her work for the MS Society.



That’s a lot to unpack there! Zanuck was Shirley’s former boss during her childhood movie career at Fox, so naturally she would be on the guest list. Shirley’s famous doll collection of 523 dolls was put on permanent display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Exposition Park, Los Angeles (now called the California Science Center). At the time, they had an estimated value of $50k. The collection was sold off by the family in 2015 along with Shirley’s other costumes and memorabilia at the Theriault’s Love, Shirley Temple auction. Back to today’s rabbit hole, below is a full-page ad for “The Egyptian” from Photoplay magazine:



The September 1, 1954 ad from the LA Times promotes the premiere and lists Shirley as one of the star-studded attendees:



From elsewhere in the Times that day:



A trio of screenshots from the historical epic, filmed in CinemaScope with color by DeLuxe:



On eBay I found this ribbon from the Hollywood Premiere:



More from the L.A. Times, September 1, 1954:

“The Egyptian,” 20th Century-Fox Cinemascope film of the best-selling novel, will be given its premiere showing tonight in the Grauman's Chinese Theater with all the traditional fanfare and glitter of the Hollywood first night. Curtain time is 8:30. The theater is sold out for the event, according to Charles P. Skouras, president of Fox West Coast Theaters, with scores of top filmland celebrities scheduled to alight from limousines to enter the foyer over a red carpet spread out before the fan grandstands. The film is based on Author Mika Waltari’s novel about a turbulent era in the Egypt of 14 centuries before Christ. It was produced in Technicolor and stereophonic sound by Darryl F. Zanuck at a cost of $5,000,000. As one phase of the producer’s striving for historical authenticity, technical advice on the use of the ancient armillary, a device used by Egyptian astronomers and astrologists of the era, was obtained from Carroll Righter, astrologian for The Times. “The Egyptian” cast includes Jean Simmons, Edmund Purdom, Gene Tierney, Victor Mature, Bella Darvi, Michael Wilding, Judith Evelyn, Peter Ustinov, and Anitra Stevens, who plays the beautiful Queen Nefertiti. The studio said all will attend the premiere. Others expected include Lana Turner, Jess Barker, Joan Caulfield, Gary Cooper, Joan Crawford, Janet Leigh, Tony Curtis, Kirk Douglas, Alan Ladd, Arlene Dahl, Cyd Charisse, Tony Martin, Jane Powell, Tyrone Power, Linda Christian, George Raft, Shirley Temple Elizabeth Taylor, and Clifton Webb.…KTLA (5) will be on hand to catch some of the highlights for televiewers starting at 8:30 p.m. George Fisher will be mike-side to introduce the stars who aren’t barred by studio regulations from appearing in living rooms.

Bella Darvi was a discovery of Zanuck and his wife Virginia, who renamed Bajla Węgier by taking “Dar” from Darryl and “Vi” from Virginia. The next “discovery” was that she had become Zanuck’s mistress, which led to some cloudy judgment on his part when it came to pushing her career. Darvi was chosen over Ava Gardner for her role in “The Egyptian.” She left Hollywood by the end of the year, with Zanuck admitting, “I was guilty of egomania.”

From columnist Sheilah Graham for the LA Evening Citizen News, September 3, 1954:

Katy Jurado wore a matador’s heavily embroidered coat, complete with crucifix, for the flashy premiere of “The Egyptian.” She bought it in Spain.…And Bella Darvi, the Babylonian menace in the film, twoed with Brad Dexter who was married for a short spat to Peggy Lee…“How d’ye like my guy?” Sonja Henie asked me. I did a double take and there was Superman — George Reeves on her arm…Cecil B. DeMille twoed with his daughter, Cecilia, ad she goes with the virile old man to Egypt Sept. 19 for his Egyptian picture, “The Ten Commandment.”…It was interesting to see Edmund Purdom in the role vacated by Marlon Brando. But I can see why Marlon took off to his psychiatrist. The role was wrong for him…Shirley Temple can come back to pictures any time she wants to. Shirley received the biggest hand from the bleacher fans. And her husband, Charlie Black, is handsome enough to be a movie star.

Entertainment Editor Dick Williams for the LA Mirror, September 3, 1954 added this bit of gossip:

Any trouble at the Lana Turner, Lex Barker domicile? They had a spat at the Sonja Henie party last week end. And they failed to show, although expected at “The Egyptian” premiere.

Rita also discovered that Shirley wore the same dress almost two months later at a gala for the Old Vic Company’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” as reported by the San Francisco News on October 28, 1954 below:



Also reported in the accompanying article:

Completely captivating and gracious, Shirley…and her equally handsome husband have moved to Atherton and it is rumored that she is going into the decorating business.



I wonder how many homes Shirley worked on?

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Little Miss Sunshine in CA, Pt. 2

Day 2 of Little Miss Sunshine’s CA trip began at the Lafayette Hotel in North Park. We met Christy’s bed-jumping bestie (Marlene) there for breakfast. How they looked when they first met in 2014 at the Chateau Marmont:



12 years later and they’re ready for the next adventure, this time at Beginner’s Diner. Marlene is all about the boozy milkshakes!



The obligatory group selfie with the breakfast bounty:



Since Christy had never been to the Lafayette before, we gave her the grand tour.



I still have yet to swim in this pool.



The 1961 Showalter Fountain on the Indiana University campus was a frequent spot for us to pose, as in this circa 1994 photo:



One of our post-midnight visits to the Fountain included a Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction. Yes, it can happen!



32 years later, Christy still has the urge:



Christy and I bid Marlene “adieu” and then drove to Los Angeles for another big adventure. Literally.



I finally made the trek to the film location used in “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure” (1985). While the house is a different color now, it still looked the same. Just without all the tchotchkes.



My outfit was an homage to Pee Wee.



I brought along my NECA action figure for a photo. The next best thing to Pee Wee himself.





Next up: The Buxton Mansion, where Pee Wee confronted Francis on the theft of his precious bike.



How it looks today. The commentary track says that they used a wide-angle lens to make it look bigger; even taking that into consideration, there have obviously been a lot of renovations to the property since 1985.



The next stop was the Chateau Marmont hotel on Sunset Boulevard. This time it was room 67, one I hadn’t stayed in before!



Always a warm welcome.



While I took my obligatory photos of the room, Christy hung out on the balcony and called her mom.



Once done, I joined Christy and took some shots of Monteel Road below from the balcony.



When I tried to get back in, I realized that the latch on the inside had fallen back into place, locking us out of the room. Oops! I tried everything I could to get back in but to no avail.



Christy got a good laugh out of this one. “Why don’t you just call the front desk?” she asked. “Because I don’t want to look stupid,” I replied. Still on the phone, her mom shot back, “Well, ya’ kinda’ are already!” Sad but true! I called the front desk and they were up in a jiffy and all was well. No, I won’t tell you what they said when I asked, “Has this ever happened before?”



Two Christys for the price of one!



We had a view of the pool below, so we headed down for a quick bite and beverage before our evening event began.



Nothing like a Garden Gimlet to take away the embarrassment of being locked out on the balcony. The Chateau’s burger and fries are second to none.



A quick change of clothes and then it was off to the Orpheum Theatre in downtown LA:



As President of the James Dean Museum in Fairmount, Christy had been invited out for the L.A. Conservancy’s Last Remaining Seats showing of “Rebel Without a Cause” (1955).



We’ll just leave you here at the entrance until the next installment!



See more of my photography at my main website.

Little Miss Sunshine in CA, Pt. 1

It was a case of perfect timing - just when I needed my bestie of 30+ years most, Christy (aka Little Miss Sunshine) came to visit me in California. It had been seven years since we’d last hung out in person, but it was as if no time had passed at all. Some say she’s the Grace to my Will, but since I never really cared for the Grace Adler character (self-centered, whiny, and obnoxious), I will skip that comparison and just say I am grateful to still have her in my life! Faithful readers of my blog will not be surprised to find out that the first stop for us when she arrived was Station Tavern for a “light snack” of their legendary tater tots. For Christy, it was love at first bite. 



And because it’s all about the food, our next event was dinner at Sonny’s in University Heights, one of my new faves.



This is the go-to place when my friend Kevin and I grab dinner, so he tagged along for the ride and got to meet Christy. With Kevin, it’s typically a text at 6pm-ish: “Sonny's?” Nothing else needs to be said other than “yes” or “no.” Back to Sunshine…of course she enjoyed the Pepp Rolls.



I really love the vibe of this place, and so do Kevin & Christy!



The dessert options at Sonny’s are meh, so we headed over to Jeni’s afterwards.





The next morning, Christy had her first addictive taste of the vanilla bean lattés at Communal Coffee in South Park:



Making ourselves more presentable, we drove over the bridge to Coronado Island into Nirvana, aka Little Frenchie’s:



In the early years of our friendship, this is what we did:



Now we sample French pastries. A much better choice!



We kind of walked off the calories with a stroll along the beach in front of the Hotel del Coronado:



…just like Marilyn Monroe did in 1959 for “Some Like it Hot.”



A cute tiki sand sculpture:



Inside the Hotel del was this display with pieces related to Frank Baum and his Oz books:



Christy had never seen the Crown Room before. That wooden ceiling is GOR-GEOUS!



The prices of gas in Indiana looked much better after Christy saw what they were in San Diego!



We attempted to catch a movie at Coronado’s Village Theatre, but unbeknownst to me it had shut down and was undergoing a change in ownership. Nothing like a dinner at San Diego’s best Italian restaurant, Il Posto, to make things better!







Until the next meal…this concludes Pt. 1 of Little Miss Sunshine’s California visit!
 
See more of my photos at my main website.