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 and Jane, together again

Established in 1941, The Golden Apple Award is bestowed upon actors and actresses by the Hollywood Women’s Press Club. Founded by gossip columnist Louella Parsons in 1928, The Hollywood Women’s Press Club was originally a luncheon club for women magazine and newspaper journalists.

The December 19, 1976 ceremony was held at the swanky Beverly Wilshire, best known as the hotel that Richard Gere's "Pretty Woman" character was shacking up with a heart-of-gold-hooker played by Julia Roberts.

A star-studded event, Shirley Temple Black posed with a shiny red apple. At the time, she was Chief of Protocol for the White House. At the luncheon, she was given the Louella O. Parsons Award by Louella’s daughter, Harriet, who was one of the first female film producers.



In this shot, current 70's child star Jodie Foster poses with 30's child star Shirley, with John Wayne barely visible on the left-hand side of the frame.



In 1934, Shirley played a sweet little girl opposite the bratty Jane Withers in "Bright Eyes."



42 years later, the two were reunited at the Golden Apple luncheon.



Here they are, holding up photos from the past.



Jane appears to be having a much better time than Shirley does! Jane seems like she'd be a blast to hang out with!



The press noted that the two “…had been long-time-no-see.” Jane told reporters:

For me, five babies, for her, three. We shared thoughts about the things our lives as children prepared us for—and the things they didn’t. We really didn’t have much chance to share thoughts when we were kids.



Here, Shirley herself gets interviewed by the press:



According to Jill Jackson's Hollywood, it sounds like this particular luncheon was a real hoot:

I was President of the Hollywood Women’s Press Club, and we were having our annual Golden Apple Awards Banquet. It was held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. The ballroom was packed with celebs. On the dais with me were “Big” John Wayne, Lucy, producer Ross Hunter (who gave us such greats as "Airport," “Madame X” and on and on) and Shirley Temple, who was then Ambassador Shirley Temple Black. Monty Hall was the emcee. Quite an array of talent, wouldn’t you say? Actually they were just as "human" as "thee and me." Big John was a nervous wreck over having to make a speech, and he kept writing and rewriting his notes on those little lined cards (which I saved). Lucy was drinking martinis faster than I could order them. The others were pretty calm. As the show progressed and the awards were being made, Lucy, getting a wee bit sloshed, kept poking me with her elbow and pointing to her empty glass. The show continued and Lucy kept poking. But when it was her turn to make the presentation, you would have thought she had been drinking water. They "don’t hardly make them like that any more."

Below is a cute photo from the event printed in the Los Angeles Times:


See more Shirley Temple photos on my Shirley Temple web page.