Temple Tuesday: Shirley, Soda, and More

Legend has it that W.C. Fields (shown above with Baby LeRoy) once said, “Never Work With Children Or Animals.” Why? Because invariably they are either unpredictable and/or they will steal the scene from the adults. In truth, humorist and author Leo Rosten once joked ABOUT Fields saying “Any man who hates dogs and babies can't be all bad,” which eventually morphed into being attributed to W.C.

Shirley Temple never had to worry about that; whether as a child, a teen, or an adult, she always held the focus of the audience, and was never afraid to share a scene with an animal, especially a dog, as seen below.



From the accompanying caption:

Shirley Temple makes friends with Soda, the pet English bulldog appearing with her in “Since You Went Away.” The picture was taken on the set of this Selznick International Picture directed by John Cromwell with an all star cast including: Claudette Colbert, Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Monty Woolley, Robert Walker, Hattie McDaniel and others of note.



Shirley had previous experience with a bulldog in “The Blue Bird” (1940). She didn’t have many scenes with the dog though, as the animal was transformed into a human early on in the film and played by Eddie Collins:



What a cutie!



Shirley surrounded by Collins and Gale Sondergaard:



Back to Soda…Shirley’s affection for dogs is visible throughout the film with this lovable bulldog.



The publicity machine continued to generate “news” about Shirley and Soda even as she was making her next film without him.



Favorite pin-up boy on the wall of Shirley Temple’s dressing room on the set of Selznick International’s “I’ll Be Seeing You” is Dick Whittington, English Bulldog who recently appeared with Shirley in David O. Selznick’s “Since You Went Away.”

Shirley truly loved dogs and had them throughout her life On set it was Soda; at home it was her beloved Ching Ching:



Below is an image of Shirley and then husband John Agar outside their home:



A 1949 image at home with Agar and her collie:



Shirley from 1960 at home with her Boxer, Chris:



See more “Since You Went Away” 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.