Temple Tuesday: Will Rogers, A Plaque, and City Hall

One new photo in the collection has resulted in yet another Shirley Temple rabbit hole. Many of you have seen these previously posted shots of two of the biggest stars back in 1935, Will Rogers and Shirley Temple.





Rogers died tragically in a plane crash on August 15, 1935.  His home studio, Fox, dedicated a plaque and a $250,000 soundstage to him on November 14, 1935. Louis B. Mayer, Rupert Hughes, Darryl F. Zanuck, Joseph Schenck, Shirley, Governor Frank F. Merriam, and Irvin Cobb assembled for the unveiling:



More than 300 people participated in the dedication and luncheon. Rogers’ son, Will Rogers, Jr., attended the event but did not make a presentation.



Favorite songs of the late actor were sung by Gladys Swarthout and John Boles, including “Old Faithful.” Shirley was quoted as saying, “I loved him, too.” She was the first star to shoot on the newly dedicated stage which had been built back in 1933. The building, Stage 8, still stands today.



Fred Stone (who played the Scarecrow on stage in “The Wizard of Oz” and was a close friend of Rogers), Shirley, Irvin Cobb, and Shirley’s mother, Gertrude Temple:



On December 1, 1935, Bill Robinson and Shirley donned their costumes from “The Littlest Rebel” and performed their famous stair dance routine at a Will Rogers memorial “Show of Shows” held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, which also helped raise funds for the Will Rogers Memorial Fund. The show raised $15,000 and attracted more than 6000 spectators, with hundreds more waiting outside, hoping to hear the show over the loud-speakers.



Madame Ernestine Schumann-Heink opened the show with a rousing rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner.” The opera singer is buried here in San Diego at Greenwood Memorial Park. Her portrait hangs in the mausoleum. Yes, Melissa - she has a Shirley connection!



Also performing that night were Sophie Tucker, Mickey Rooney, and Judy Garland.

Below is an image of Shirley with the Will Rogers Plaque, almost thirty years later on January 6, 1965, when she returned to her home studio to film the pilot for a proposed TV series, “Go Fight City Hall”:



Frances Klamt, Shirley’s childhood teacher, was there for Shirley’s return:



The Los Angeles Times, Friday, January 8, 1965

A Curly Comeback: Shirley Temple Taps at TV Door

Shirley Temple came home Wednesday. Home to 20th Century-Fox, the studio where she once reigned as the moppet queen of cinema, the incomparable Curly Top. They gave her a grand welcome. There was a banner across the studio gate proclaiming Welcome Home, Shirley! And a champagne luncheon with studio brass and many an old friend she knew 30 years ago and more—including Frances Klant[sp], her personal schoolteacher in those early days and still resident teacher on the lot. The welcome was certainly her due, for it has been said, and truly, that without Shirley Temple there would not be a 20th Century-Fox — Curly Top built the studio. She’s now before the cameras on those same sound stages where she sang “The Good Ship Lollypop[sp]” and danced with Bill Robinson in films that packed theaters in every nook and cranny of the world. Only things have changed—her work now will be for television. She’s making the pilot film for a new series for the ABC network next season in which she will play a young social worker. Costarring with her are Jack Kruschen and Bill Hayes. If all goes well, the series will swing into full production in May and Shirley said she has been promised she can complete her year’s work by September. She will either commute from her home in Atherton and her quiet life as Mrs. Charles Black, housewife and mother, or take a house here for the summer. “Susan is nearly 17 and graduates from high school in June and I know I have to be home for that and to see her off to college in September,” said Shirley. “But the young ones (Charles Jr., 12, and Lori, 10) love the ocean and maybe we can find a place on the sea for the summer.” At the luncheon, Shirley was flanked by Bill Self, head of Fox’s burgeoning TV division, and ABC president Tom Moore. Nostalgia flowed with the champagne. Self brought out Shirley’s original contract when the studio signed her on Dec. 9, 1933, at the age of 5, for $150 a week. Shirley recalled that by the time she left the studio (at 12) she’d left all her baby teeth behind and had celebrated each birthday in the studio commisssary where the luncheon was held. But things had changed. As she stepped out of the commissary, she was in the square of Peyton Place amid phony snowdrifts glistening in the sun of another era of snow business.



Shirley was also quoted as saying, “I feel right at home here. This is where I lost most of my baby teeth, and this is where I went to school. Almost nothing has changed.” A few test frames shot for the pilot:



In the pilot, Shirley wore a truly unflattering blonde wig. Below she poses with Jack Kruschen.



Kruschen was to play the lead of a public assistance department and Shirley was his supervisor. Vincent Sherman produced and directed the show which was written by Nate Monaster (“The Donna Reed Show” and “The Milton Berle Show”). From Rita Dubas, Shirley expert supreme:  “I’m not sure if the pilot ever aired. I remember that Shirley’s children didn’t want a bleached-blonde mom, so the producers found a wig for her to wear instead.”

Rita also sent me this blurb from TV Guide, February 6, 1965:

The title of Shirley Temple’s comedy pilot may change from “Go Fight City Hall” to “The Shirley Temple Show.” She starred as a social worker with Jack Kruschen as her supervisor and Cloris Leachman as a co-worker. [The pilot was eventually produced under the title “The Shirley Temple Show” but failed to sell.]

Rita questioned the accuracy of “The Shirley Temple Show” being the final title of the pilot, as that would have risked confusing people with her storybook anthology series from 1960 of the same name.



Was it the writing? Was it the wig? Whatever it was, the pilot failed to sell the series and has been buried ever since. And so ends another rabbit hole excursion.

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: The Princess Meets The Prince

Shirley Temple Black attended the Golden Apple Awards at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on December 19, 1976. Captured here is that awkward moment when you are being stalked by the paparazzi but are between conversations. “Please,” pleads Shirley, “find me someone interesting to talk to.” It’s not going to be the lady below wiping her nose.



But while we’re here, let’s take a look at Shirley’s lovely jewelry!



“No,” replies Shirley with her best tight-lipped smile, “I will not sing ‘On the Good Ship Lollipop’ for you. I’m the Chief of Protocol, Missy!” While that is just a guess on my part, Shirley DID say something similar according to the newspaper reports of the day:

Said Shirley Tempe Black to Lucille Ball on the dais at the Hollywood Women’s Press Club luncheon, “I must go over to speak to Allan Dwan. He directed eight of my pictures.” Said Lucille to Shirley, “You can’t leave the dais now. Things are just getting started.” “Oh yes, I can. I’m chief of protocol” — and off she went to talk with her former director.



Who did Shirley latch onto? None other than heartthrob Nick Nolte, wearing a (gasp) corduroy suit. You could title this, “The (former) Little Princess meets the (future) Prince of Tides.” Nick was still riding on his fame from starring in the “Rich Man, Poor Man” miniseries when this event took place.



“That doesn’t look like a Shirley Temple,” Nick seems to be saying as he stares at Shirley’s glass, attempting to say something witty. “Oh Nick, I’ve NEVER heard that one before! Ha!”



“What - is he bothering me?” Shirley replies to the guest who sense Shirley’s lack of interest in Nick. “Oh honey, I’ve fought off worse bores than this. Remember, I singlehandedly outran both Arthur Freed and David Selznick!”



Nick was the butt of one of emcee Monty Hall’s quips:

Said Nick Nolte in accepting his “New Star of the Year” Award: “Thank you. It’s always nice to win something,” and he shuffled off stage in his super-casual gear. Said emcee Monty Hall, “His eloquence is equaled only by his attire.”

When you’re at an event attended by “Old Hollywood,” you better dress the part! Margaret O’Brien received a backhanded compliment from columnist Joan Crosby:

Margaret O’Brien was also present, and she has lost all that extra weight she had been carrying around. She looks great.

Nearby were John Wayne and Glenn Ford.



Shirley ditched Nick and quipped to her old friend, The Duke, “Can you believe he asked for my phone number?!?”



Also at the party were Rob Reiner and wife, Penny Marshall. If only this set of negatives had a shot of Penny and Shirley, I could have titled this post, “When Laverne Met Shirley.” A missed opportunity.



In the world of soaps, none were bigger than super couple Bill Hayes and both real and reel wife Susan Seaforth Hayes, posing with Brenda Dickson and…DAVID HASSELHOFF!! The Hoff was in “Young and the Restless” playing Snapper Foster. Who came up with that name?



Patty Weaver joins “Days of Our Lives” costars Bill and Susan for this shot:



If you want to see some color shots from this event, see my previous post.

See more Shirley Temple Black photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Shirley and Bill

Another recent acquisition to the Daveland collection is this December 1976 shot taken at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel during the Golden Apple Awards. From left to right: Shelley Winters, Shirley, John Wayne, Susan Seaforth Hayes, and her husband, Bill. Susan and Bill Hayes were the mega-stars of “Days of Our Lives” in the 1970s; they were the dream team for housewives everywhere who tuned in daily to see their fictional exploits, which melded into real-life since they eventually got married in 1974. I guess those on-screen sparks weren’t so fictional! The two even made the cover of Time magazine in 1976.



As mentioned in a previous post, Shirley Temple and Bill Hayes once worked together filming a TV pilot that never got picked up. Here they are in “Go Fight City Hall!”, January 1965. Bill is currently 96 years young, and Susan is 78. The two still have recurring roles on “Days.”



My previously posted alternate image from the Golden Apple Awards, with George Burns and John Wayne getting a good laugh at poor Shelley who was missing a tooth at the time. She must have bitten into a really hard apple.



It may have been the Golden Apple Awards, but here Shirley holds a ruby red one:



See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Shirley Fights City Hall

Picture this…Spring 1964. It had been a few years since Shirley Temple was last seen in a TV series. ABC and Twentieth Century-Fox approached her about giving Hollywood another shot, developing a number of different ideas for her. By January 1965 Shirley was before the cameras again filming the pilot for "Go Fight City Hall!," a half-hour situation comedy in which she would play a single social worker at a San Francisco welfare agency. "Days of Our Lives" fans will recognize Bill Hayes with Shirley in the photo above. He was to play her boyfriend. Temple imitator Victoria Meyerink, from "The Danny Kaye Show," would be her daughter. If Shirley's hair looks a little funky, that's because she's wearing a wig; and not a very good one! Rumor has it that her family objected to Shirley's dyeing her hair blonde for the role; instead she wore a red wispy wig. From a January 7, 1965 publicity blurb:

Shirley Temple returned to 20th Century-Fox Studios, where she made her first picture more than 30 years ago, to star on a television series. Miss Temple, who was born in 1928, will star in Go Fight City Hall, a situation comedy series scheduled to be televised next fall. The dimpled darling of the depression era began her career at 20th Century-Fox at the age of 6 in "Caroline." She starred in 33 films at the studio, for which she earned more than $40 million. Now the mother of three, Miss Temple lives in the San Francisco Bay area, but plans to spend four months a year here filming the series. Her husband, Charles Black, is a northern California businessman.

Jack Kruschen (seen below) played her supervisor and Cloris Leachman was also on board as Shirley's co-worker.



Leachman had previously played Shirley's mother in an episode of "The Shirley Temple Theatre" (1960). From Leachman's autobiography:

There's not a lot to say about playing Shirley's mother. It was a long time ago, and the shooting schedule was short. The memory that stands out is this. We were working on a soundstage at Twentieth Century-Fox studio, and I needed to make an important phone call. This was long before cell phones. I couldn't locate a phone. I knew there had to be one, but where was it? I turned to Shirley and said, "Shirley, you must know where there's a phone. You worked at Twentieth your whole early life. Where is it?" She said, "I don't know. I was only three feet tall then. I couldn't even reach a phone."

When Shirley passed away, Bill Hayes and his lovely wife Susan tweeted:

And Shirley Temple Black passed on Monday. She and I made a pilot for a series back in the 60s. "Go Fight City Hall!" Lovely lady.

Much more Shirley at my main website.