Temple Tuesday: Shirley and Claude

Picture this: March 14, 1947. A very glamorous Shirley Temple descends the staircase of her Brentwood home, ready to attend the Oscars. That evening, she gave Claude Jarman, Jr. a special Juvenile Performance Oscar for  “The Yearling” (1946). This was the same award she had received at the 1934 ceremonies, held in 1935. From the vintage publicity blurb:

HOLLYWOOD, MARCH 14 — YOUNG ACTOR WINS SPECIAL AWARD — Claude Jarman, Jr., 12-year-old Tennessee boy who played Jody in The Yearling,” gets a special award, presented by Shirley Temple, as “Oscars” were passed out last night in the Annual Academy Award Presentations.



The gown Shirley wore that night came up for auction in 1945:


From the catalog description:

Of black silk with constructed darts, and cord lacing at the front bodice, full-length net and tulle gathered skirt, decorated with double-tiered cutwork ruffles at the bodice and hips. The dress was worn by Shirley Temple during the mid-1940s, on one occasion during her presentation of the Academy Juvenile Actor Award to Claude Jarman, Jr. in 1946 for his performance in “The Yearling,”an award which Shirley herself had been the first to win in 1934.



Below, Shirley is sandwiched between Harold Russell and Claude, in what appears to be a slightly uncomfortable shot for her. Her brain was saying, “Social Distance!” Russell was a WWII veteran who won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in “The Best Years of Our Lives” (1946). He holds the distinction of being the first non-professional actor to win an Oscar, as well as the only person to win two Oscars for the same role. Doubtful that he would win, the board of governors wanted to salute Russell regardless; earlier in the evening he was given an honorary Oscar for “bringing aid to disabled veterans through the medium of motion pictures.”



In 1992, Russell sold his Best Supporting Actor Oscar sold to a private collector for $60,500, saying he needed money for his wife’s medical expenses (he did retain his special Oscar). After Russell died, the unidentified collector was revealed to be Lew Wasserman, studio executive and talent agent (“The Last of the Legendary Movie Moguls”), who donated it back to the Academy.



What became of Jarman? He left Hollywood behind in his early twenties and went to college at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. He made one more movie in 1956 (Disney’s “The Great Locomotive Chase”) and was in the “Centennial” miniseries on TV (1978), portraying struggling farmer Earl Grebe. For the most part, he went behind the cameras in the biz, running the San Francisco International Film Festival (1965-1980) and creating a number of documentaries. As of this post, he is eighty-eight years old.



Above, a shot of Shirley with then husband John Agar at the Oscars, which were held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, shown below in 2014:



Watch the silent Pathé News highlight footage from March 1947:



See more Shirley Temple teen photos at my main website.

Palooza Finale: Confused at MGM

Just when I thought the weekend couldn't get better, it ended with a bang. Not even a bang...more of a sonic boom. I arrived at the Sony Pictures Studio on Monday morning for the final event of the Shirley Palooza weekend. Once the home of the mighty Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studio, the Culver City facility was minus its famous backlot and had gone through a major rebranding since its heyday of the 1930s and 1940s. I was in shock to learn that our tour guide for the morning was none other than Keith Mitchell. If that name doesn't ring a bell, his stage name might: Keith Coogan, the grandson of Jackie Coogan. And please don't say "Jackie who?" or I might have to banish you from my blog. Jackie Coogan played Uncle Fester on "The Addams Family" TV show (below at far left) and also costarred with Charlie Chaplin as "The Kid" back in 1921.



But I digress...back to Keith Mitchell. He starred in one of my ashamedly favorite movies of all time, "Adventures in Babysitting," with Elisabeth Shue and can be seen on the right of this photo:



Our tour began with Keith introducing a movie about the history of the Studio. I was expecting Judy and Mickey; and instead I saw Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, and the Three Stooges. It was odd to see a reel about the history of Columbia Pictures while sitting on the old MGM lot. It wasn't until well into the film that MGM's presence here was even acknowledged.



Studio 15 was where Munchkinland once existed. Although we didn't get to go inside, it sure was cool to at least be able to walk by it. Let me spell it out for you..."The Wizard of Oz" was filmed here back in 1938.



We did get to see where "Wheel of Fortune" is filmed. My mom would be so jealous; many an evening we rushed through dinner so that she and her hubby could watch "Jeopardy" and "Wheel." Before seeing the studio we got to see some of Vanna White's costumes on display. Ooooooh......



The actual set for one of America's favorite game shows, currently on hiatus and slipcovered for cleanliness:



Keith told us a few behind the scenes secrets about the show and kept us all entertained.



Yes, you can see his name tag.



Like most tours, I would have preferred to wander off on my own to study the details and stick my nose where it probably wouldn't be allowed, but still, I really enjoyed being able to walk around this historic property. Just check out some of these original architectural details:







An original MGM manhole cover; at least Sony left a few things untouched!



Then I was reminded that Columbia had moved in. Check out the Ectomobile from "Ghostbusters":



The Capra Building, named after Frank Capra, director of Columbia's 1934 runaway hit, "It Happened One Night."



Murals based on Columbia's hits of the past:





The most iconic building of the lot is the Thalberg building, where many an MGM star was photographed walking down these very steps:



Here are Clark Gable, Shirley Temple, Mickey Rooney, and Judy Garland in 1941:



...and little old me in the exact same spot in 2018 (Thanks Kelly K. for the photo!):



Inside you can see the Oscar for "Oliver!":



and a large photo of Thalberg himself:



Back outside, we got to see the fancy doors for Studio 8:



zooming in, you can see Melissa (aka The Colonel) and me in the reflection.



Right by the Thalberg Building is a piece of sculptural "art" representing the rainbow from "The Wizard of Oz." I'll refrain from my commentary.



Many thanks to Gayle S. for encouraging me to get this reflection shot:



This historic recording stage where Judy Garland, Lena Horne, and MGM's orchestra recorded some of the most beautiful and memorable music is still being used today. I had to try hard not to get sick to my stomach when I saw what it had been renamed.



And then before we knew it, the tour was over. And the weekend. I cannot say enough good things for all that Melissa and David S. did to make this a very special time for all of the people who came to celebrate Shirley Temple's 90th birthday. It was an incredible time that I will not forget and definitely set the bar high for next year!



See more MGM/Sony Pictures Studio photos at my main website.