Temple Tuesday: Shirley saves Dr. Smith

“The Shirley Temple Show” ran on NBC from January 1960 to March 1961. Episode 9, “The Reluctant Dragon,” debuted on November 13, 1960. The above photo was accompanied by this caption:

DRAGON’S DEFENDER: Shirley Temple will portray a village maid, Gillian, who dissuades Saint George, the knight, portrayed by John Raitt, from killing a shy, poetic beast in “The Reluctant Dragon,” a musical version of the Kenneth Grahame fable, on Miss Temple’s program at 7 o’clock this evening over Channel 5. The hour-long presentation recounts how the knight, hired to slay the dragon, isntead stages a fake fight for the benefit of the town. Jonathan Harris will perform as the animal’s voice and Don Weissmuller as its body.

That’s right. Shirley’s character saves the dragon voiced by Jonathan Harris, best known as Dr. Smith from “Lost in Space.”



At least Harris didn’t have to don the pink dragon’s heavy costume. Oh, the pain!



At age 43, John Raitt was a bit long in the tooth to be portraying a prince. At 32, Shirley was somewhat more believable!



Also in the cast was Alice Pearce, the rubber-faced comic who brought Gladys Kravitz to life on “Bewitched.”



In later years, Harris was particularly rude in his memories of working with Shirley:

I’ll never forget the fact that this divine child actor became a non-actor! For “The Reluctant Dragon,” I had a song which they had written for me; Shirley was furious! She wanted a song! Oh yes! And I said to myself, “No, honey, my ass, you’re not getting my song!” And she didn’t! I had my “Reluctant Dragon” song!

In watching “The Reluctant Dragon,” Harris should have relinquished his musical number to Shirley; his voice (especially in the pitch area) was no match for hers! It is somewhat bewildering to hear Harris’ commentary on Shirley, as she definitely retained her star quality and beauty in every performance. If Shirley had known at the time that Harris would be so nasty about her, would she have let the dragon live?



I guess we’ll never know!

See more “Shirley Temple Show” photos at my main website.

Melodyland Monday

This panoramic view of the Disneyland sign on Harbor Drive hails from July 1964. The “new” Disneyland Hotel Tower rates prime real estate on the entrance sign.



Shifting to the left, you can see the Saga Motor Hotel and the sign for the Melodyland Theatre. John Raitt is on the marquee, starring in “The Pajama Game.” The publicity shot below was captioned:

Cute Bonnie West, principal dancer in “The Pajama Game,” current Melodyland Theatre stage attraction, clowns it up with star John Raitt during a rehearsal break. The hit musical runs two weeks and will close Sunday, July 19.

Melodyland opened July 2, 1963 and was Southern California’s first theater-in-the-round, featuring top-notch entertainment such as Ray Charles, The Beach Boys, Sonny & Cher, and The Grateful Dead. In 1969, it became a church, retaining the name and signage out front. Demolished in 2003, it “paved” the way for Anaheim GardenWalk.



Panning a little further to the left, you can see The Lancers Restaurant, which featured lunches, dinners, and cocktails.



According to their matchbook, dinner dancing was available 7 days a week!



I wonder if Walt ever used this ashtray?



See more Disneyland entrance photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

This press photo dates from April 1952. The attached caption:

HAPPY BRIDE: Shirley Temple’s first appearance back in Hollywood following her honeymoon with groom Charles Black was at the Brown Derby, when she lunched with her father, George Temple. Note Shirley’s magnificent diamond star choker, not to mention her blazing marquise diamond engagement ring.

Another year later, in October 1952, it would appear that Shirley had acquired a matching pair of earrings:

NEW YORK, Oct. 22 — MAMA SHIRLEY STEPS OUT — Shirley Temple, the one-time baby sweetheart of the screen, spends an evening on the town with her husband, Navy Commander Charles Black, during a visit to New York from their Bethesda, Md., home. Shirley, retired from the screen since her second marriage, recently recovered from a series of complications following the birth of a son.

 

Director Mitchell Leisen fastens the choker on Shirley for the premiere episode of “Shirley Temple’s Storybook,” January 12, 1958. As the show’s hostess, Shirley had to look her best — and she most certainly did!

Wowza...that’s a lot of carats!

Shirley can be seen wearing the diamond choker and earring set in this publicity shot for “Shirley Temple’s Storybook.” John Raitt, who starred in the 1958 Rumpelstiltskin episode, poses alongside Shirley.

GOR-GEOUS!

I was unable to find any other shots of her wearing this stunning set of star jewelry after 1958, and none of it surfaced in the 2015 Love, Shirley Temple auction. Anybody know the whereabouts of it?

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Rumplestiltskin and Raitt

A few behind-the-scenes shots (you know I dig those) for “Rumpelstiltskin,” the February 2, 1958 episode of “Shirley Temple’s Storybook.”  Shirley sips some coffee while chatting with associate producer Alvin Cooperman (also a producer for “The Untouchables”):

Did Cooperman REALLY think that Shirley wasn’t aware of the cropping of the frame in the television camera?!? Pshaw…Shirley knew it ALL! In all seriousness, he was a huge fan of Shirley’s:

Shirley learned her lines in two days and was ready for direction when she came down from Atherton for rehearsals. She had all the warmth and laughter in her voice that the series needed. She was the storyteller telling stories to her children. Nobody could be better. 

A few images showing her rehearsing the opening of the episode. As the hostess of the show, Shirley would sing the theme song and then tell the audience what fairy tale they would be enjoying that evening.

Oh, to know what she is whispering in this man’s ear!

Shirley chatting it up with John Raitt, who played the King.

Surely you all know that John is singer Bonnie Raitt’s father!

See more “Shirley Temple’s Storybook” photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesdays: Rumpelstiltskin 1958 Pt. 2

More photos from the taping of the February 1958 "Rumpelstiltskin" episode of Shirley Temple's Storybook. In today's shots, Shirley is rehearsing the theme song of the show, "Dreams Are Made for Children."



For the actual show, Shirley "floated" out on a "cloud" and sang the tune, dressed to the nines in Don Loper gowns.





I could only find this poor vocal copy on youtube of Shirley singing the theme song. As an adult, Shirley really did have a very pleasant voice.



Looking fairly serious, Shirley inspects the medal of John Raitt, the star of the episode.



She looks annoyed here; did Raitt use some foul language, or did he flub a line?



Here's a previously posted shot of Raitt and Shirley, all smiles:



More Shirley Temple Storybook photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesdays: Rumpelstiltskin 1958

This set of images from 1958 shows Shirley Temple Black behind the scenes of her television anthology series "Shirley Temple's Storybook." The episode being filmed was "Rumpelstiltskin," starring Jonathan Harris (aka Dr. Smith from "Lost in Space"), John Raitt, Kurt Kasznar, and Celia Lovsky. A detailed shot of the monitor; I believe Kasznar is at the center of the image:



As narrator of the show, Shirley did not act in this episode, which is why she was able to oversee the filming from a TV monitor:



Another detailed view of the monitor:





Smoking was not something Shirley did very much in public, preferring to keep the nasty habit private.



Shirley does seem intrigued by the show:



Airing on February 2, 1958, "Rumpelstiltskin" was the second episode of the series.

More 1950s Shirley Temple photos at my main website.