Monday at the Museum, Part 1

For all the times I’ve driven by it, I can’t believe it took me this long to finally go inside the Hollywood Heritage Museum, located across from the Hollywood Bowl on Highland Avenue. Housed inside the oldest movie studio in Hollywood (1912), the museum’s collection is jaw-dropping. Since today is the anniversary of Judy Garland’s birth in 1922, part one of this post is squeaking by just in time! From the collection of Woolsey Ackerman comes this blouse worn in Garland’s 1944 classic, “Meet Me In St. Louis”:



When Judy’s character, Esther Smith, mistakenly beats up the boy next door (Tom Drake), she is wearing this blouse.





These shoes were worn by Garland in the same movie, primarily in the “Skip to my Lou” and “Under the Bamboo Tree” musical numbers.



The shoes can be seen in this still from the movie with Joan Carroll, Lucille Bremer, Garland, Henry H. Daniels Jr., and Margaret O’Brien:



It would seem that the jeweled bow was lost at some point over the years:



This blouse (part of the museum’s permanent collection) was worn in 1938’s “Everybody Sing” starring Judy:





Here’s the number that Garland performs while wearing the same schoolgirl outfit. It is one of my favorite early Garland MGM songs, “Swing Mr. Mendelssohn.”



Also from the Ackerman collection is this original Judy Garland “Wizard of Oz” Dorothy doll by the Ideal Toy Company:



Need more Oz? How about this extremely rare 1939 Scarecrow doll:



Later this week I’ll share more gems from my trip to this incredible Museum. See more Hollywood Heritage Museum photos at my main website.

Shirley Palooza Four Pt. 4: Santa Monica History Museum Tea

The 4th Annual Shirley Temple Birthday event at the Santa Monica History Museum was titled “Shirley Temple & Hollywood’s Season of Fantasy.” The meeting that Melissa (aka “The Colonel”), Woolsey Ackerman (classic Hollywood expert supreme), and I attended last November with museum staff Sara and John was where the idea was born, and after a lot of thought and work came to brilliant fruition! Woolsey was the driving force of the exhibit and the majority of the items on display were from his AMAZING personal collection. In the first photo, Melissa stands next to an original “Blue Bird” poster from 1940 that I lent to the museum for the exhibit.

Woolsey lent Shirley’s main “Blue Bird” costume that her character Mytyl wore through the majority of the film:





Also on display were the blue velvet shoes that she wore during the Land of Luxury scene:





Here’s Woolsey surrounded by two blue birds, Shirley Jean (named after Shirley Temple of course!) and Melissa:



An extremely rare Shirley Temple “The Blue Bird” composition doll of Woolsey’s:



Vintage “Wizard of Oz” dolls released to coincide with the 1939 film:



Recently, Woolsey was alerted to a Shirley Temple Cinderella dress on eBay; the source also erroneously told him it was merchandise related to “The Blue Bird.” To err on the side of caution, Woolsey did what any Shirley fan would do. He immediately purchased it and paid for overnight shipping so that it could be part of the exhibit. Now THAT’S dedication!



Shirley Temple expert supreme Rita Dubas shared this 1936 promotional photo of Shirley wearing the same dress (with a few slight differences). While it was disappointing that this dress was not related to “The Blue Bird,” it is still a VERY cool vintage Shirley item that Woolsey cherishes regardless, and was a true stunner in the exhibit.



Also on display was a photo of Shirley’s birthday party at Fox, April 23, 1938:



Zooming in you can see Shirley at center, with her mother directly behind her, wearing a stylish hat:



Each table had a centerpiece of blue birds, fresh flowers, and a white cage:



Melissa ordered these very festive hats for attendees:



The place settings for the tea were beautiful:



Shirley fans supreme Paul and Lori Breen (and an all-around super nice couple, too) sat at our table with Shirley Jean:



A few words from Museum President Susan Potter and Vice Chair Terri Decker. These ladies have tirelessly championed this Shirley event every year and it is greatly appreciated.



Guest speaker Tony Haig told us a bit about his experience on the September 25, 1960 episode of “The Shirley Temple Show.”



Haig played the title character of the story called “Kim.” Here he is on the right:



Academy Award nominated actress Terry Moore was on hand, and gave warm remembrances of her friend, Shirley. What a gracious lady who still to this day cannot bear to remove Shirley’s phone number from her cellphone. She enjoyed the warm chats that they used to share when Shirley was still alive.



A photo of Terry with Richard Jaeckel in “Come Back Little Sheba,” 1952:



Terry and her assistant graciously posed for a photo with me, taken by Melissa:



What a wonderful afternoon! If you think that’s the end of the story, you are mistaken. Still one more installment to come!

See more Santa Monica History Museum photos at my main website.

Palooza Pt. 4: The Party

To get the Shirley Temple Palooza kicked off with a bang, David Silverman from Sony Pictures Entertainment put together an incredible event in Brentwood that blew everyone away. Throughout the night, the large screen TV was playing Shirley clips as well as those of her Hollywood contemporaries from the 1930s and 1940s. Here David poses with Shirley Jean Rogers and hiding in the back is Melissa Tonnessen, aka the "Colonel" of "Shirley's Army," the group that has been key in keeping Shirley's legacy alive.



Heather, a reporter from Closer Magazine was at the party as well; here she talks to Tonya Bervaldi and Melissa. You might remember Tonya as the owner of "The Little Princess" costume that was temporarily lost along with a number of other original costumes that she owns from Shirley's most famous films.



On the left is 1930s child star Cora Sue Collins who has lost NONE of her spunk from the days that she charmed audiences with her natural talent. On the right is Hollywood Historian Woolsey Ackerman.



David gave an amazing presentation about Shirley which focused on the home in Brentwood that she once lived in at the height of her fame with her parents. The original three acre estate has now been portioned off into 5 lots. The original home was split into two. Huh? Yup...only in Hollywood, folks.



This salary chart REALLY puts into perspective the earnings and celebrity of the most famous little girl in the world.



A rare color clip of a teenage Shirley was shown:



Following David's spectacular presentation, Cora Sue gave a little fireside chat. She kept the audience engaged with stories about her films as well as her personal friend, Shirley Temple. Unlike Shirley, Cora Sue was able to have a life out of the public eye when she retired at the age of 18 after a Hollywood "wolf" promised her a career changing role...if she'd sleep with him. The brave young girl said "no," even after studio boss LB Mayer told her that's just the way the business is. Without a trace of bitterness, Cora Sue said she left the movies and never looked back. While she enjoys her anonymity, she is by no means a wallflower. Sharp as a tack, I thoroughly enjoyed speaking with her.



Daniel Selznick, son of famous producer David Selznick ("Gone with the Wind," "A Farewell to Arms") and Irene Mayer Selznick, followed Cora Sue with his own memories of Hollywood. A producer, writer, and director, Daniel shared stories about his famous father, who became a victim of Benzedrine and Dexedrine while making "Gone with the Wind." Prescribed by a pharmacist, back in the 1930s these energy-giving drugs were not known for their harmful side effects. They allowed David to work 21 hours in a 24 hour day. Ouch.



She's so adorable I had to share another photo of Cora Sue, listening to Daniel's presentation.



There was also entertainment, as Cathie Nicholas, one of the famous dancing Nicholas Brothers' granddaughters arranged for a girl from her dance studio to sing "On the Good Ship Lollipop." While the little girl's wig might have been questionable, her natural singing ability and charisma were off the charts as Cathie watched proudly.



My last pic from the party shows Marilyn Granas, who was Shirley Temple's first stand-in. She was also a very lovely lady who had nothing but kind memories of Shirley, especially being able to be 10 feet away from her as she did the famous Stair Dance with Bill Robinson in "The Little Colonel," 1935. Marilyn was happy to leave the business as an actress and instead returned as an agent.



Here is Marilyn with Shirley back in 1934:



Still more to come from the weekend—stay tuned!

See more photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: More Santa Monica History Museum

Back to the Shirley Temple exhibit at the Santa Monica History Museum! I took a ton of photos, but will do my best to keep it to the highlights. "The Little Princess" (1939) was represented by this beautiful velvet costume. You can see Shirley modeling it here.



How about a detail of that lace:



The Holy Grail stuff for me: costumes and memorabilia from "The Blue Bird."





The shoes look brand new. Incredible. The care that Shirley took in storing these outfits show that she could have had a future as a museum curator!



How Shirley looked wearing this outfit in the 1940 film:



These shoes were worn by Shirley when she visited the Land of Luxury:



The best I could do for a corresponding photo:



The very rare "Blue Bird" doll; thanks Woolsey Ackerman for being so generous in sharing these treasured pieces from your collection!



An original script from the movie:



Woolsey poses with his items on loan to the museum:



The highlight of the visit to the museum was to get to meet Charlie Black, Shirley's son. Here he is with entertainment reporter Amanda Champagne and Shirley expert supreme, Melissa Tonnessen.



I have always wondered what happened to part two of Shirley's autobiography. This volume which Shirley announced that she had completed long before she passed would have covered her political career. Charlie explained that since most of the people talked about in her first book had died, Shirley had no problem publishing that volume. However, with many of the people still alive and kicking from her days as an Ambassador to Ghana and Chief of Protocol, she thought it best to wait. The family is moving forward and hopefully it will be available in the next year or two. He was very gracious in answering my questions and flashed a smile that showed he was definitely the offspring of the world's most famous child star.

One last item to post for today, and this one really made me laugh when I saw it. I was amazed that Shirley had kept these spectacles that she wore in "Curly Top" (1935) during the "When I Grow Up" sequence. The corresponding photo can be seen in the background. This gal kept EVERYTHING; and I'm so glad she did.



Want to see more? Check out the Santa Monica History Museum photos at my main website.