In this photo stamped September 22, 1936, Shirley Temple meets Rosa Ponselle. From the accompanying caption:
TWO PRIMA DONNAS MEET AND PLAY
Shirley Temple, star of motion pictures, and Rosa Ponselle, famous grand opera star rehearsing an Italian lullaby in Miss Temple’s bungalow at the 20th Century-Fox studios. The two great artists entertained each other with their favorite songs and when Miss Ponselle sang the lullaby to Shirley she immediately wanted to learn it to sing to her dolls. Now it is one of her favorite numbers.
Ponselle attempted a career in Hollywood, making screen tests for MGM and Paramount, but that was as far as things went. She retired about one year after the above photo was taken, settling down with her husband Carle Jackson at her estate, Villa Pace, located near Baltimore.
Since one photo for Temple Tuesday would not be enough, here are a few other shots of Shirley at the piano, starting with a behind-the-scenes image from “Young People” (1940) with Charlotte Greenwood:
Shirley with an unidentified woman, circa 1940:
Also 1940:
At her home on Rockingham, 1943:
The songs on her piano included “As Time Goes By” from “Casablanca” and “I’ll Be Seeing You.”
An alternate shot from the same shoot:
Last but most important of all, the image that began it all. The very first time I ever saw Shirley Temple was in this scene from “Curly Top” (1935), where she danced on top of a white piano being played by John Boles. The rest is history!
See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.
In honor of April Fools’ Day, today’s post shows Shirley getting fooled or her costars portraying a fool, beginning with “Just Around the Corner” (1938). In the plot of this musical comedy, Shirley mistakes wealthy businessman Samuel G. Henshaw (Claude Gillingwater) for the beleagured Depression-weary Uncle Sam.
In order to help poor old “Uncle Sam,” Shirley stages a benefit in his honor, making him the laughing stock of New York City.
When all is figured out, the benefit goes on as planned and Henshaw single-handedly saves the world from the Depression. Sound far-fetched and stretched? It sure is, but somehow Shirley makes it all work out. She may have been fooled, but she was definitely no fool!
In “The Little Princess” (1939), Shirley Temple’s costar, Arthur Treacher, portrays the Court Jester/Fool in a dream sequence.
It is fairly hilarious to see the typically dignifed-butler-portraying Teacher in satin and tights, prancing around with his jester puppet.
He may have portrayed stiffs, but Treacher knew how to do a good turnout, as seen by his pose below!
Treacher’s faded tunic came up for sale in the Debbie Reynolds auction:
Arthur Treacher court-jester tunic designed by Gwen Wakeling from the Shirley Temple movie, "The Little Princess," 1939. SOLD FOR $650. Veteran British character actor Arthur Treacher plays a frustrated ex-vaudevillian forced into subservience to his cruel sister running the girls boarding school which Shirley Temple attends. This humorous split-color satin jester’s outfit by Gwen Wakeling is worn by Treacher to great effect in Shirley’s dream fantasy number in The Little Princess. United Costumers label inside reads, “ARTHUR TREACHER B931”. The special blue dye for costumes in 3-strip Technicolor films is one of the most fragile, and has here faded to aubergine; else, with minor handling and aging, Very Good overall.
His tights appeared at a later date. Hard to believe they survived all this time!
My favorite Treacher line from this dream sequence referring to Mary Nash’s evil character:
Listen to the old grand-mommy, You’re a nasty peeping tommy!
In “Young People” (1940), as Shirley’s father, Jack Oakie portrays the biggest fool of them all.
Blustery and a bit full of himself, he is the butt of every joke. Below, daughter (Shirley) and wife (Charlotte Greenwood) have to remind him that their dressing room is in the opposite direction of where he is heading.
When the family retires from showbiz to settle down in a hick farming community, they are not readily accepted by the conservative townfolk, who appoint Oakie is a one-man-chamber-of-commerce as a joke. The problem is, Oakie thinks it’s for real.
When Oakie’s character helps the kids stage a somewhat raunchy musical number for the townsfolk, the joke is revealed and the town spinster reveals to him exactly what everyone thinks of him.
Sad to find out that her dad has been made out to be a fool, Shirley drowns her sorrows in multiple sodas.
Fear not, as Shirley never stays down for long. Dad saves the kids from certain death during a hurricane and is hailed a hero. The family ends the film on a high note by entertaining a more receptive community with a musical number.
Remember any other fools from Shirley’s films?
See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.
Today marks the 96th “Heavenly Birthday” for Shirley Temple Black, actress, diplomat, wife, mother, and author. One of the most infamous tales about Shirley was how her movie studio, Fox, got her mother to agree to shave a year off of her birthdate to make her antics appear all the more precocious. Above, you can see her original Santa Monica Hospital birth certificate, with the true year of 1928. Below is a shot of Shirley at age one.
For the earliest deep dark secrets about Shirley, look no further than this Important Event card, diligently recorded by her mother, Gertrude:
Gertrude also charted Shirley’s growth progress:
Shirley’s studio birthday parties at Fox were legendary. Here’s the first one, from April 1934. Is that little boy on the right actually using a toothpick while the camera is snapping his photo? Such poor manners - bet he wasn’t invited back again!
By the time of her 1936 birthday, Shirley looks a little bored with it all, despite the spectacular cake! Shirley would later recall:
Fox would have (a party) for a large number of people I didn’t know, a lot of children I’d never seen in my life and never saw again. And I was hostess. It was kind of strange. I figured it was part of the job. Fox would pay h alf the cost of the parties and my mother and father - or I - would pay the other half. Why I had to pay for the parties at all is a mystery, but that’s how it went. And there’d be two hundred kids, maybe more. I thought those parties were a big bore.
Shirley’s first stand-in, Marilyn Granas, had this recollection about the parties:
They always had lovely food and lovely prizes. Everybody got a favor and I remember one of the favors was a beautiful leather autograph book that Shirley had autographed. I’ve still got mine.
Shirley’s last studio birthday at Fox was held during the filming of “Young People.” Stand-in Mary Lou Isleib is two over from Shirley’s left.
For 1940, Shirley got not one, but TWO incredible birthday cakes! That’s what happens when you’re the most beloved child star of all time. The shot below was from her party at the studio commissary, which had a Dutch theme. Dickie Moore, Shirley’s first on-screen kisser in “Miss Annie Rooney” (1942), recalled this birthday celebration in his autobiography, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star:
The day of Shirley’s party all guests parked their cars in the main parking lot and were met by buses and driven to the commissary. There Shirley stood at the head of a long reception line, gravely shaking hands with all arrivals, telling each of us how glad she was we had come, and thanking us for the presents we had brought, which were passed along to join the growing mountain of unopened packages, most of which were later sent to an orphanage. Everyone ate cake, while mothers tried to get Hymie Fink to take their children’s pictures. There were many party favors, including a pen with a magnifying glass on one end and Shirley’s name inscribed on it.
If you’re wondering about the art on the wall, here’s a closeup:
By 1944, Shirley was working for Producer David O. Selznick. Her sweet sixteen birthday party was attended by her costars from “I’ll Be Seeing You.” L-R: Dorothy Mann, Tom Tully, stand-in Mary Lou Isleib, Guy Madison, Shirley, and John Derek.
In 1946, Shirley turned eighteen and celebrated the milestone birthday on the set of “Honeymoon” with then husband, John Agar.
Shirley’s last movie-birthday party was held during the filming of “The Story of Seabiscuit” (1949). At left is co-star Barry Fitzgerald, Director David Butler, Shirley, and John Agar.
See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.
Shirley manages to give me an education every week! Recently, as the result of a graphic design project I was working on, I was informed of something I’d never heard of before regarding the American Red Cross. I didn’t believe the tale at first, until I consulted with good ol’ Google! Here’s the story, direct from NPR:
During World War II, the Red Cross had comfort stations for soldiers overseas, with free coffee and free doughnuts. Then, in 1942, the Red Cross started charging for the doughnuts. Soldiers have held a grudge ever since. The organization started charging only because the U.S. Secretary of War asked it to. British soldiers had to pay for their snacks, and the free doughnuts for Americans were causing tensions. So the Red Cross complied, after protesting to no avail. It didn't last long — for most of the last 70 years, Red Cross doughnuts have remained free — but veterans haven't forgotten. Chalk it up to something called categorical change, says Uri Simonsohn, a University of Pennsylvania business professor. Price changes, people can adjust to. But this was different. “Imagine, for Thanksgiving, you go to your parents' for dinner and after a nice dinner they say, ‘That's going to be $10 per person,’” Simonsohn says. “You would be upset.”
Eighty years later, my online friend still tells the tale she was told from the previous generation and the American Red Cross bears the brunt of a government issued edict. This is a cautionary tale about transitioning from a “free” business model to a paid subscription based model. Remember the uproar when there was talk about being charged for the internet? Same durn thing. Back to Shirley and the American Red Cross.
In 1936, Shirley filmed an adorable public service announcement encouraging all to donate to this organization. The American Red Cross was founded by Clara Barton (an American nurse) in 1881 after a trip she made to Geneva, Switzerland. She worked tirelessly for almost thirteen years (and a few Presidents!) to get the U.S. Government to finally acknowledge the need for such an organization. Here’s a Spanish version of a leaflet with Shirley for the Red Cross. Here photo was a powerful tool even outside of America.
On June 22, 1940, Shirley was involved with an American Red Cross nationwide radio broadcast held at the Westwood Village Theatre that would help raise war relief funds.
A photo shoot was held at Shirley’s Brentwood home with the young star and singing cowboy Gene Autry, who had a long association with the American Red Cross. Gene Autry and Shirley Temple were photographed at Shirley's home in Brentwood California, to promote the “Radio Benefit for War Relief” event.
Wearing a dress from her final childhood 20th Century-Fox movie, “Young People” (1940), Shirley seems to be having a good time with Gene, who is playing his Gibson J-200 guitar (part of the Gene Autry Museum collection).
A promo photo of Shirley on the day of the broadcast:
Shirley’s father is in the foreground of this shot:
From the back of this shot, written in pencil: “Shirley Temple & Gloria Jean meet for first time at Red Cross broadcast. They chatted for a few minutes and said s’long.” Is that the 1940s equivalent of “buh-bye”?
Here, Shirley shakes hands with her “Young People” costar, Jack Oakie. Her father, George, does not seem amused, as mother Gertrude gives George a “Smile honey, the cameras are on you!” look through gritted teeth.
Notice Oakie’s monogrammed shirt? Fancy!
Shirley chats with Charles Laughton, her costar for the broadcast:
Shirley and Laughton are amused; Paul Muni (at right) appears to be left out of the joke.
When her part in the broadcast was finished, Shirley apparently had time to sit in the audience and enjoy the rest of the event.
George’s Red Cross Radio Show Committee ribbon:
A heckler? How rude!
Shirley yucks it up with a fan:
Want to see Shirley’s program from that evening? Why do I bother asking?
Auctioned off by Theriault’s, here is the catalog description:
SOUVENIR PROGRAM FOR 1940 RED CROSS BENEFIT FOR WAR RELIEF, WITH PERSONAL SCRIPT
Lot Number: 66
12" x 9". The program describes the events of the June 22, 1940 performance at Stage 6 of the Warner Bros. Sunset Studios, designed to raise funds for the Red Cross’ war relief efforts. The performance was broadcast across America, Europe and South America, with performers ranging from Orson Welles to Burns and Allen, Bing Crosby to Gene Autry and dozens more. Heading the second half of the program was a dialogue “The Loudest Voice” performed by Shirley Temple and Paul Muni. Included is Shirley's typewritten script with pencil additions in which she pleads that people remember the lost children of the wars, as “nobody can ever get used to the sound of children crying, who are lost, hungry and looking for one friendly face (pauses...almost crying). Please don't tune out your hearts.” Realized Price: $500
Presale Estimate: 300+
The program has the event being held at Warner Brothers studio; my vintage publicity stills all have “Westwood Village Theatre” marked on the back in pencil as the location. Here’s how that theatre looked when I photographed back in 1989:
Were there two events on that day? Or are the photos marked incorrectly? Always a mystery to solve…
Even after “retiring” from the movies (for a brief period), Shirley continued her work for the Red Cross, as you can see from this 1940 publicity tidbit.
At a later Red Cross fundraiser broadcast, Shirley (right) is shown with actresses Alice Scott and Mary Pickford.
The Danbury Mint released a porcelain doll commemorating Shirley’s 1936 PSA:
Want to see that PSA for yourself? Here you go!
And please…forgive the Red Cross for something they had no control over from over eighty years ago. I’m sure our WWII veterans would understand if they heard the background!
