Temple Tuesday: Shirley and Leroy rabbit holes

A few “new” recent acquisitions of Shirley and Baby Leroy have initiated today’s rabbit hole post, tying together a few odds and ends in my collection. Although I have other shots from this series of the two toddlers in a toy car on the Paramount lot, I’d never noticed that Leroy appears to be wearing one of Shirley’s coats! In the photo below from “Stand Up and Cheer” (1934) with Warner Baxter, you can see Temple wearing the coat in one of her opening scenes.



I adore these photos of the two peering into the mirror:



Leroy seems more excited about this shoot than Shirley, which is not surprising since he is a bit younger than her.



In this publicity still, Leroy is offering Shirley a cold beverage. She is wearing what is known as the Sailboat Dress:



A better shot of the same dress in this Otto Dyer portrait from Shirley’s days at Fox Studio:



I don’t know the occasion for this 1934 Fox publicity shot, but Shirley is again wearing the Sailboat Dress. The gal in the gray suit/dress in the front row at left is Toby Wing; on the right in the white dress is June Knight:



A rare shot of Shirley with a less than photogenic expression, most likely because the sun was in her eyes. I love how it candidly captures her!



Claire Trevor is also in this image with the Naval Officers:



The Sailboat dress was recreated by the Ideal Toy Company for their popular 1930s composition Shirley Temple doll, available in a variety of colors:



In the 1990s, the Danbury Mint did a series of Shirley Temple dolls holding a miniature version of the Ideal doll, mimicking the publicity stills from the 1930s that Shirley posed for:



At least the miniature doll is adorable! I’ll leave it at that…



Shirley’s Sailboat Dress came up for sale in 2015 at the Theriault’s Love, Shirley Temple auction. From the catalog description:

Of crisp white cotton poplin, the middy-style dress has inset bands of navy blue, short puffed sleeves with navy blue banding, and an applique blue sailboat on the front enhanced with embroidered blue "waves". The dress has the cloth label of "De Betty Alden Shoppe Los Angeles". Generally excellent condition. Included is a studio photograph of Shirley Temple wearing this dress and holding a Shirley Temple prototype doll wearing a similar dress. Shirley Temple appeared in various publicity photographs wearing the dress, including one with Spencer Tracy, indicating a connection with the 1934 film "Now I'll Tell" in which both Temple and Tracy appeared. The dress was also used in doll costuming with variations of construction, but always with the same sailboat theme.



This outfit that Shirley wore in the final scene for “Bright Eyes” (1934) also came from “Ye Betty Alden Shoppe” (a typo on Theriault’s part) as did the coat worn by Baby Leroy in the first image from this post:



From the Miracle Mile LA website I found this image of Betty’s store, located in the Wilshire Tower, which is still located at 5514 Wilshire Boulevard:



The R. John Wright Company released a felt version of the Shirley doll wearing the Sailboat dress (shown below at left) in 2018:



Phew! That’s it for today’s rabbit hole - I need a nap!

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: W.C. and Shirley

It would appear that Shirley Temple and W.C. Fields ALMOST starred together three times, but sadly, nothing of those attempts came to fruition. Today’s post gives what information I could dig up on the subject.

1. It’s A Gift (1934) appears to be the first opportunity for Shirley and Fields. Released by Paramount on November 30, 1934, the production for the film occurred between September 4 and October 12, 1934; production on Paramount’s “Now and Forever” with Shirley wrapped up on August 29, so the timing would have been about right. The way I first heard about this was by listening to the commentary on the recently released Kino Lorber blu-ray for “It’s A Gift,” by film historian James L. Neibaur where he reveals this:

Fields originally wanted two daughters, and he even suggested Shirley Temple for the younger child’s role, but they eventually decided on a son, played by Tommy Bupp.



Above, Kathleen Howard is shown playing Field’s wife in “It’s A Gift,” alongside Tommy Bupp and Jean Rouverol as their kids. I bought Neibaur’s book on Fields to see if he cited a source or gave any more information about the potential casting of Shirley, but nada, zip, zilcho. In the excellent James Curtis biography on Fields, the author describes that “It’s A Gift” was based on a silent film called “The Comic Supplement.”

Fields went to work massaging “The Supplement” into a new eleven-page story outline to which he affixed the title “Back Porch.” “The opening scene is in a grocery store,” he began, laying the groundwork. “I own the store. I have a wife and a young daughter, about 17 years of age (Joan Marsh type) and a younger daughter (about the age of Shirley Temple). A little boy is never so funny with me as a little girl. I can’t explain very well why. The little girl is annoying the father all the way through, and the wife is the type that is bullying me all the time.”…Next came the “Back Porch” scene, which he thought “really was awful” in the first film. “This is where a baby works. I feel Shirley Temple wouldn’t hit me over the head. She’s a little too old, but a baby would. So have Baby LeRoy in this sequence.”

Curtis’ book also never mentions how far the casting of Shirley got or why the character was changed. While at Paramount, Shirley did a number of promotional shots with Baby LeRoy, perhaps in anticipation of her being featured with him in a Fields movie. Here she is in costume for her first Paramount feature, “Little Miss Marker” with Baby LeRoy and director Alexander Hall:



In a staged publicity shot for a story about the two kids going on a “date,” the studio naturally promoted another one of their stars, Mae West, by using an a-frame for her film “It Ain’t No Sin” in the photo.





2. Dimples (1936) The American Film Institute website tells us that Fields and Temple ALMOST teamed up for this 20th Century-Fox production. The following cast suggestions were listed in material in the Fox Produced Scripts Collection: W. C. Fields as “Professor Eustace Appleby”; Edna May Oliver as “Mrs. Caroline Drew”; Michael Whalen as “Allen Drew”; Claude Gillingwater as “Colonel Loring”; Warren Hymer as “Patrolman”; and Borrah Minevitch and His Gang. A December 1935 Hollywood Reporter news item states Fox was negotiating with Paramount to borrow Fields. What happened to those negotiations is unknown.



Frank Morgan ended up with the role, just as he did with…

3. The Wizard of Oz (1939) There are many famous stories about how Shirley Temple almost got the part of Dorothy in this classic children’s tale. “Almost” is stretching it. 20th Century-Fox’s Darryl Zanuck never approved a trade of his studio’s biggest moneymaker, and the creative team behind “The Wizard of Oz” always favored Judy Garland, so Shirley’s casting in the film never really amounted to much. On the other hand, Fields came very close to playing the parts of Professor Marvel and The Wizard. Curtis’ book gives us this information:

Across town, just two days prior to Fields’ calamitous Chase & Sanborn broadcast [June 5, 1938], the purchase of “The Wizard of Oz” was finalized by M.G.M.…plans were to shoot the film with Judy Garland as Dorothy and Ed Wynn in the title role. Wynn was the choice of producer Mervyn LeRoy, who was making his first picture for MGM, but Arthur Freed, LeRoy’s assistant, and E.Y. “Yip” Harburg, the lyricist, both wanted Fields for the part.…With the abrogation of his Paramount contract, it was a job Fields was perfectly amenable to doing.…The screenwriting team of Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allen Woolf had already expanded the role for a player of Fields’ stature, creating a real-world counterpart for the Wizard in the person of Professor Marvel. Actor Frank Morgan was on their minds when they first broached the idea of adding the Professor, an old medicine man, tot he film, but by the time their first revision of the script was delivered, on June 13, 1938, Marvel had taken on a dwarf assistant and the Professor spoke with a distinctly Fieldsian bravado. Fields began making notes on how he would play the character—brief scribbles on random bits of paper, carefully tethered together and typed by Magda Michael. He envisioned Marvel as an old con man working “the fortune telling racket like they do in Chicago” and sleeping on park benches. Among the ideas: Oiling the Tin Man’s joints • When F. sees the lion—“My gosh, that’s wonderful, he even smells like a lion.” • Someone says, “I want to light a cigarette—put the cyclone machine in reverse.” • Re cyclone: Tell about the big wind in Ireland. It blew a cow up against the side of a barn and he stick there and starved to death. • When Prof. Marvel is telling Dorothy’s fortune (aside): “Yes, your aunt wants you back. She wants to put you in moving pictures like Shirley Temple.”



In the meantime, Fields signed a contract with Universal, allowing him to do an original story (“You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man”).

At first, Fields thought he could work “The Wizard of Oz” into his schedule—Yip Harburg had written the Wizard’s climactic speech with him in mind—but now he was, apart from Deanna Durbin, the biggest star on the Universal lot, and no time would be lost in announcing his engagement. After pained exchanges over conflicting dates—both pictures were set to start in October—Fields reluctantly withdrew from “The Wizard of Oz,” relinquishing the part to Frank Morgan.

In hindsight, Morgan was a much better choice. He made his characters memorable, but they didn’t overshadow Garland’s performance. In addition, there is a tenderness to Morgan’s performance that would have been lacking if Fields had played the role instead.



In that wonderful alternate universe, it would have been interesting to see Temple and Fields together in a film. I have a feeling that the chemistry would have been off the charts!

See more Classic Movie and TV photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Shirley in the Mirror

While working at Paramount in 1934, Shirley Temple posed for a set of photos with their reigning kiddie star, Baby LeRoy. Known for being the arch nemesis of comedian W.C. Fields, the little tot was obviously younger than Shirley. This particular pose shows them fascinated by their reflections. Let’s take a look at the photo flipped:



That’s it for today; it’s been a busy week, and it’s only Tuesday!

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Six Degrees of Fields, Pt. 4

Today marks the fourth in a series of posts documenting costars that W.C. Fields and Shirley Temple had in common. Charles Sellon is the featured actor today and he could have had a series of common Temple costars all on his own. But first, let’s talk about Charles. In the Universe of Fields, he is known as the blind Mr. Muckle from 1934’s “It’s A Gift.” How do you make a blind man walking through a store unintentionally breaking everything in his path a comic bit? You make the guy out to be a complete asshole.



When seeing Mr. Muckle wreak havoc on Fields’ inventory, you are very much made aware that regardless of his impairment, he is a loud and demanding jerk who doesn’t care about anyone else. Fields’ character, Harold Bissonette, attempts to be as accommodating as possible for the blind man, and even goes out of his way to preempt Mr. Muckle’s holy reign of terror but all to no avail. Just about everything including the front door is decimated by Muckle and his walking stick. In addition, Muckle doesn’t hear too well, either.



Quick aside: also in “It’s A Gift” is Baby Leroy, who is featured on the window card art at the beginning of this post. While he never appeared in a film with Shirley, the two were often paired together in publicity stills, like this one on the set of “Little Miss Marker.”



Sellon’s next film after “It’s A Gift” was the Shirley classic “Bright Eyes.” Even though Sellon’s character, Uncle Ned, has a gruff and loud exterior, he’s a bowl of mush on the inside. Naturally he falls for Shirley’s charms hook, line, and sinker and ends up adopting her at the end. Watching the movie, I always assumed Sellon was in his seventies or so; nope...he was only sixty-three years old.



Other Sellon films include “Sea Legs” (1930) with future Temple costar Jack Oakie (1940’s “Young People”):



…and “Laugh and Get Rich” (1931) with future Temple costar Edna Mae Oliver (1938’s “Little Miss Broadway):



Sellon’s last movie was also Will Rogers’ final film, 1935’s “In Old Kentucky.” Sellon died at the age of sixty-six on June 26, 1937 and was buried in Valhalla Memorial Park in North Hollywood.

To see his memorable bit from “It’s A Gift,” check out this youtube clip:



See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Baby LeRoy

Born May 12, 1932, Ronald Le Roy Overacker was the birth name of Baby LeRoy, who is best known as a comic foil for the bombastic W. C. Fields. His career on the silver screen began when he was less than a year old, co-starring with Maurice Chevalier in "A Bedtime Story" (1933) and ended with a cameo role as himself in "Cinema Circus" (1937). Today's photo shows Baby LeRoy with Fields in "The Old Fashioned Way" (1934), which was his second feature with the bulbous-nosed comedian ("Tillie and Gus," 1933, was the first, and "It's a Gift," 1934, was the third).

Here's the vintage publicity blurb that accompanied this photo:

HOW ABOUT A HUNK? Baby LeRoy celebrated his birthday with a new Paramount contract, and this cake, which W. C. Fields seems to want a large slice of. The old feudists are working together in "The Old-Fashioned Way."



I guess it took four gals to help Baby LeRoy sign his contract.



There are also a number of photos that exist showing Baby LeRoy paired with Shirley Temple. This still is from the set of "Little Miss Marker." The two are held by director Alexander Hall.



In Hollywood Magazine's September 1934 issue, they ran a story titled "Baby LeRoy's First Date." Here are a few photos from that feature.





I guess Baby LeRoy was making more money at this point, as it appears he paid for the date.



Nothing like a soda fountain beverage to finish off the perfect date.



A starring role in the 1940 film "The Biscuit Eater" was to have been LeRoy's comeback, but due to illness, the director was forced to recast, and LeRoy never appeared in another film. Instead, he became a merchant seaman. In 1957, he appeared as a guest challenger on the TV panel show "To Tell The Truth." He died in Van Nuys, California on July 28, 2001.

I found this photo on the web, which is supposed to be Baby LeRoy all grown up.



See more Daveland Classic Movie & TV photos at my main website.