Temple Tuesday: Two Cakes for Shirley

Shirley’s home studio, Fox, celebrated her seventh birthday at least twice. In the photo above, Shirley is seen at the party given in the studio commissary on Friday, April 26. The accompanying publicity blurb calls it her sixth birthday, as a year had been shaved off her life to make her appear more remarkable to the public.

SHIRLEY TEMPLE CELEBRATES SIXTH BIRTHDAY

Shirley Temple, Fox Film Star, was hostess to 25 children today at a birthday party given on the studio lot. The youngsters entertained by the diminutive actress are the children of Los Angeles newspaper men. Shirley celebrated her sixth birthday and cut into a cake weighing 14 pounds. 4/27/35



I was hoping the child seen below was Spanky, from the “Our Gang” comedies, but alas, it is not.



On the same day, Shirley posed in front of the recently unveiled Alberto Vargas mural in the Fox Commissary.

Shirley Temple points with pride to her picture on the wall of the Café de Paris at Fox Film studio. Fox stars who have made five successful pictures are honored in this Mural Hall of Fame. Shirley has the honor of representing Hollywood in the collection. The portrait is by Alberto Vargas, noted Peruvian artist.



The party was supposed to be held ON her birthday, Tuesday, April 23, 1935, as reported by the Los Angeles Citizen News on April 22:

Shirley Temple Will Give Birthday Party

Being six years old is the occasion for Shirley Temple, child screen star, to celebrate tomorrow at the Fox Studio. She has invited 25 friends, some of them playmates from Santa Monica.

A day later, the plans were changed, as reported by the Daily Breeze:

‘Sniffles, Keep Shirley Abed on Sixth Birthday

Shirley Temple, the screen’s tiny but mighty star, observed her sixth birthday anniversary today in bed in her Santa Monica home, confined, according to her own diagnosis, by “sniffles.” A studio party to which 35 guests had been invited was postponed by personal messages the little actress dispatched over telegraph wires. The message read: “My birthday party has been postponed because I have the sniffles and have to stay at home. We will have the party in a few days and I will let you know about it and hope to see you there.” The child’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. George P. Temple, said Shirley was not seriously ill and that the party was deferred until probably Friday merely to safeguard her guests from possibly contracting the “sniffles.” Meanwhile, more than 100 birthday remembrances from fans, friends and relatives remained unopened, a pleasure to be reserved for Shirley at her party. At Shirley’s own request, the party is to be devoted principally to playing. To assure the little star of what she regards as a good time, Mrs. Temple said she had invited two of Shirley’s old-time friends who “play with her instead of staring at her.” The rest of the guests will be children of Southern California newspapermen. “Many of the children Shirley meets nowadays and wants to play with stand and stare at her,” Mrs. Temple said. “They seem awed by her presence. For this reason two of her old playmates will be at the party. They consider her merely another girl and not a novelty.” In addition to ice cream and cake and games, Shirley’s party will boast a Punch and Judy show and an act by trained animals. A motion picture show also will be presented and the movie will be the kind Shirley and all other children prefer, a comedy.

By April 29, the L.A. Times reported concerned readers that “Shirley Temple all better after a bad cold.” The party ended up occurring on Friday, April 26, and made the Daily News on the 29th:



One tiny mystery remains. If Shirley had the “sniffles” on the day of her birthday and the Fox party had to be postponed, then what is the backstory of the photo below and the accompanying caption?



Shirley Temple, who is starred in “Our Little Girl,” is shown looking at a fine cake Nick Janios, manager of the Fox Film Café de Paris, had made for her. Nick took the cake 55 miles to the baby star, who is working on location at Sherwood Forest, California.

Possibly Shirley filmed on the morning of her birthday where a cake was delivered to Sherwood Forest, and decided to postpone the party at the studio. Either way, it looks like Shirley scored TWO cakes! Janis can be seen again at Shirley’s April 1940 20th Century-Fox birthday with another one of his amazing creations:



See more Shirley Temple birthday photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: 96th Birthday Bonanza!

Today marks the 96th “Heavenly Birthday” for Shirley Temple Black, actress, diplomat, wife, mother, and author. One of the most infamous tales about Shirley was how her movie studio, Fox, got her mother to agree to shave a year off of her birthdate to make her antics appear all the more precocious. Above, you can see her original Santa Monica Hospital birth certificate, with the true year of 1928. Below is a shot of Shirley at age one.



For the earliest deep dark secrets about Shirley, look no further than this Important Event card, diligently recorded by her mother, Gertrude:



Gertrude also charted Shirley’s growth progress:



Shirley’s studio birthday parties at Fox were legendary. Here’s the first one, from April 1934. Is that little boy on the right actually using a toothpick while the camera is snapping his photo? Such poor manners - bet he wasn’t invited back again!



By the time of her 1936 birthday, Shirley looks a little bored with it all, despite the spectacular cake! Shirley would later recall:

Fox would have (a party) for a large number of people I didn’t know, a lot of children I’d never seen in my life and never saw again. And I was hostess. It was kind of strange. I figured it was part of the job. Fox would pay h alf the cost of the parties and my mother and father - or I - would pay the other half. Why I had to pay for the parties at all is a mystery, but that’s how it went. And there’d be two hundred kids, maybe more. I thought those parties were a big bore.



Shirley’s first stand-in, Marilyn Granas, had this recollection about the parties:

They always had lovely food and lovely prizes. Everybody got a favor and I remember one of the favors was a beautiful leather autograph book that Shirley had autographed. I’ve still got mine.

Shirley’s last studio birthday at Fox was held during the filming of “Young People.” Stand-in Mary Lou Isleib is two over from Shirley’s left.



For 1940, Shirley got not one, but TWO incredible birthday cakes! That’s what happens when you’re the most beloved child star of all time. The shot below was from her party at the studio commissary, which had a Dutch theme. Dickie Moore, Shirley’s first on-screen kisser in “Miss Annie Rooney” (1942), recalled this birthday celebration in his autobiography,  Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star:

The day of Shirley’s party all guests parked their cars in the main parking lot and were met by buses and driven to the commissary. There Shirley stood at the head of a long reception line, gravely shaking hands with all arrivals, telling each of us how glad she was we had come, and thanking us for the presents we had brought, which were passed along to join the growing mountain of unopened packages, most of which were later sent to an orphanage. Everyone ate cake, while mothers tried to get Hymie Fink to take their children’s pictures. There were many party favors, including a pen with a magnifying glass on one end and Shirley’s name inscribed on it.



If you’re wondering about the art on the wall, here’s a closeup:



By 1944, Shirley was working for Producer David O. Selznick. Her sweet sixteen birthday party was attended by her costars from “I’ll Be Seeing You.” L-R: Dorothy Mann, Tom Tully, stand-in Mary Lou Isleib, Guy Madison, Shirley, and John Derek.



In 1946, Shirley turned eighteen and celebrated the milestone birthday on the set of “Honeymoon” with then husband, John Agar.



Shirley’s last movie-birthday party was held during the filming of “The Story of Seabiscuit” (1949). At left is co-star Barry Fitzgerald, Director David Butler, Shirley, and John Agar.



See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Palooza Pt. 1: The Fox Lot

The 90th Anniversary of Shirley Temple's birthday caused a celebration of epic proportions for the group of people who flock to Southern California annually for what has been dubbed "Shirley Palooza." If it sounds nutty, well...you'll just have to go with it for the next few posts. I was hooked as a young tot the first time I saw her dancing on a milk white piano and have continued to be a fan. As most of my trips to LA do, this one began at the Chateau Marmont. It was my third time to stay in Room 33...and I wasn't going to complain about it. I had one night to get some rest before the action-packed itinerary for Palooza began. Unfortunately, a loud industry party going on in the courtyard did not cooperate with those plans. Still, it's the Chateau. Who cares. It's all good.



The next morning I journeyed to Century City for my first ever tour of the Fox Studios lot where Shirley filmed all her classic movies. I was excited beyond belief, but still had to stop to photograph the St. Timothy Catholic Church down the street from the Studio.



When I have a camera in hand, there are lots of "squirrel" moments.



Back to Fox. Our designated meeting place was the Fox Studios restaurant, which was once called the Café de Paris because it was built on the site of one of the semi-permanent sets, a French restaurant.



Note the rooster detail which still exists from the original Café entrance which is now the Studio Retail Shop:



This art deco styled mural from the interior of the restaurant was unveiled in 1935 and includes a portrait of Shirley.





Before:



After:





Service was good here and so was the food, as the group exchanged stories of their travel to arrive in Hollywood that day.



Portraits of famous Fox stars were strategically placed throughout the building:



One of the rooms has been dubbed the Shirley room, with walls covered in shots of the Child Star herself.



A group shot was necessary; one of the few times Melissa (aka "The Colonel" of the gang) would willingly allow a photo of herself.



Is everyone ready for the lot tour to begin?



Line up in single file and be sure to return tomorrow for more!

See more Fox Studios photos at my main website.