Temple Tuesday: Shirley and Santa

Every star/starlet had to do their share of publicity photos, and Shirley Temple was no exception to the rule. For the 1939 holiday season, Shirley posed for these shots at 20th Century-Fox. This would be her last Christmas shoot for the studio before her first “retirement” in 1940. Even though Shirley musters all the excitement and anticipation of a little girl peering through the stairs to catch a glimpse of Santa, we all know it’s a lot of hooey. As Shirley herself admitted years later:

I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph.



I call this one “O Holy Night.” Yes, stars were allowed to do religious photos.



These two previously posted shots show a much younger Shirley, this time posing as Santa Claus herself:



Shirley looks like she could barely squeeze through this chimney; how would Santa have ever made it?!?



In later years, Shirley authorized The Danbury Mint to produce a porcelain doll that faithfully recreated the vintage still and appropriately titled it “Santa’s Helper”:



Final one for today shows Shirley posing with a gigantic teddy bear, wearing the beautiful red velvet coat ensemble from “Heidi”:



Selling for $10,000, this beauty came up for auction in 2015:



From the Theriault’s catalog description:

RED VELVET COAT, BONNET AND BOOTS WORN BY SHIRLEY TEMPLE IN THE 1937 FILM "HEIDI"

Of luxurious burgundy velvet, the coat features a fitted double-breasted bodice with soutache loop closures and flared skirt. The coat is decorated with rich sable collar and hem border. Along with a matching bonnet with silk streamers and a pair of high velvet boots with sable trim. The extraordinary luxury costume, designed by Gwen Wakeling, was worn by Heidi (Shirley Temple) during a winter sleigh ride through Frankfurt when suddenly she hears Grandfather calling out for her, and she frantically begins to look for him.

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Vintage Charleston

Picture this: March 14, 1953, Charleston, South Carolina. Need some assistance? How about this photo showing St. Philips Church at 142 Church Street in Charleston, South Carolina? This National Historic Landmark was built in 1836. Zooming in we see a tourist being taken around town in a horse-drawn carriage.



The driver has his faithful dog sitting next to him.



A contemporary photo I shot of the church during my November 2016 visit:



From the same day in 1953, our time traveling photographer captured The Dock Street Theatre:



The historic theatre began life as the Planter’s Hotel in 1809, and was converted into a lavish theatre during the Depression in 1937.



Another vintage shot of the theatre, from June 1966:



Can’t quite read it; I hate when that happens!



My November 2016 shot of the theatre:



Cruising back to April 1960, here’s one of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, at the corner of Meeting and Broad. It is Charleston’s oldest surviving religious structure, built in the 1750s:



The hotel was demolished in 1963. Their post card stated: “Opposite City Hall Park. Rates Reasonable. Homelike atmosphere.”



My November 2016 view of the church:



Happy Monday! See more Charleston photos at my main website.

Fantasyland: The Secret Entrance!

When entering Fantasyland, most people walk dead-center through the Sleeping Beauty Castle and encounter the vista of all that Walt intended guests to see. However, there were/are two side entrances that can give guests that feeling of being special, exploring the paths less traveled. This vintage 1950’s image shows a guest who chose to enter Fantasyland via the tunnel on the left. Zooming in, you can see Merlin’s Magic Shop as well as the signage for the other side exit/entrance into Fantasyland.



And speaking of castles…here’s a 1956 shot of the Sleeping Beauty Castle. Ho hum, right?



Zooming in, you can see Robin Hood fraternizing with the guests:



Some previously posted shots of Robin and Will Scarlet:







I hope you have an amazing weekend and remember to explore the roads less traveled!

See more Disneyland Fantasyland photos at my main website.

Meet Me At Pelican’s Landing

Where the heck is Pelican’s Landing at Disneyland?!? If you zoom into this July 1960 image, you can see the FUTURE home of this newly christened section of the Park, approximately where the Keel Boat is located.



This is what happens when you haven’t been to Disneyland in six years; they change, add, and subtract to the Park. I was recently notified by one of my faithful readers that the area near the Harbour Galley restaurant and Fowler’s Inn had been turned into a seating area for those who are eating. Just to be clear, it’s not a new restaurant, but rather a place to take your food and park your derrière. At least Joe Fowler’s tribute was kept, as the nearby Inn still bears his name.

More closeups from the July 1960 shot: a trio of Tom Sawyers (or are they Huck Finns?) are ready to take another batch of guests across the Rivers to Tom Sawyer’s Island:



The entrance turnstile to the rafts:



Here are two consecutively shot images taken from the Mark Twain’s journey around the Rivers from June 1965:





And one from April 1963 with the Mark Twain in the background:



See more Disneyland Rivers of America photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Shirley and A League of Their Own

Just when you think you know everything about Shirley…

Recently I was reading the book Dirt in the Skirt, by Pepper Paire Davis, which tells the true story of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1940’s. Not familiar with it? Perhaps you’ve seen the movie “A League of Their Own” directed by Penny Marshall. Pepper’s book is the real deal, and gives a colorful you-are-there feeling of what those times were like and will make you sigh with regret about how times are now. Davis was raised in Santa Monica, and as I turned the pages, I kept wondering if she and Shirley (also Santa Monica born) ever crossed paths. Davis was born in 1924; Shirley in 1928. As I became more interested in Pepper’s story, Shirley (shown in today’s photos at the Brown Derby with first husband John Agar) was pushed to the back of my mind until I got to the part about World War II. Pepper met John Agar on a double date!



Faye called me about midnight and said: “Get over here, Pepper. John Agar is serenading me on my door step and he’s got a cute friend with him.” I said, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, and Clark Gable is over here with me.” Faye said: “No really, really, Pepper. He’s drunk as a skunk, and they’ve got a beautiful, red Cadillac convertible! They want to drive us around and they’ll let me drive, too!” Well, I knew I couldn’t let that happen, so I went over to check on things. Sure enough, it was true. There he was, big as life and twice as cute. The other guy wasn’t bad looking either. He was also an actor, but not famous like John. John Agar was a leading man, movie star and very handsome. He was one of Shirley Temple’s leading men after she “grew up”! After he got out of the Army, he starred with her in “For Apache” and they fell in love! It started out like a fairy-tale romance. Later on, they wound up getting married (but it didn’t end well). At first, I was a little worried about what the guys wanted from us, but they just wanted somebody to play games with. They already had beautiful women that would sleep with them anytime they wanted. John wasn’t married to Shirley Temple at the time. We weren’t really surprised when their marriage broke up later. We knew John really had a drinking problem. He was very handsome and talented! He was also a very nice guy, but his habit hurt his career. He could have been a huge star! Later on, he became clean and sober and went on to have a distinguished career, but he was past his prime and did a lot of sci-fi. John was a gentleman!



What an interesting connection! Only one problem…the timing does not line up. Pepper put this anecdote in her book as if it happened in 1941/1942 when she would have been seventeen or eighteen. Agar didn’t make movies until AFTER he married Shirley. So…either Pepper and Faye met Agar when he was single during the war and the years muddled her memory…or she met him while he was still married to Shirley and once again, the years muddled her memory. Unfortunately, based on the vivid surprise Pepper expresses about her friend being with movie star John Agar, I have a feeling it was the latter. 



This previously posted shot shows Shirley and John on a Hollywood tour at the Vine Street Tropics for cocktails. The same tour that had them dining at the Derby. I hope they had a designated driver.



See more Shirley Temple and John Agar photos at my main website.

A Little Boy and His Wings

An August 1958 view of two little boys in front of the red Horseless Carriage. At first, my intention of zooming in on the little boys was to see the camera (note the Carriage driver in the background):



But then I noticed the pin the little boy had attached to his shirt:



Perhaps a souvenir from his trip on a plane? I remember when the airlines used to give these out to the tots. Any other guesses?

See more Disneyland Town Square photos at my main website.

Fun with Hoarding

A few years ago I discovered the Punchy Players on YouTube. From their description:

Favorite personalities of Old Hollywood are celebrated in these satirical videos. Produced and conceived by Chris Tassin. Featuring the voice talent of Jeff Marquis with visuals and additional voice work from Chris Tassin. Written by Jeff and Chris.

Not only is the writing for these brilliant, but the voices nail the personalities they portray. This is a recently discovered favorite. If you are a fan of the old MGM musicals, this will make a great start to your weekend, and it might encourage you to clean out your clutter!

See more Pop Culture fun at my main website.

Welcome to the Jungle

The date is December 1966, and a lone figure walks through an empty Adventureland. This must be the past! This style of trash can with the yellow “x” was found outside Aunt Jemima’s Restaurant:



Zooming in further we can see the main pathway through Adventureland with the Sunkist “I Presume” refreshment stand on the left (which opened in 1962 and closed thirty years later) and the Jungle Cruise attraction on the right:



At the very back of the shot you can see two hostesses for the Tahitian Terrace Restaurant, with a Kodak Picture Spot marked on the far right. In other words, photos for dummies.



Our 1966 photographer continued stalking this woman and took a second shot of her, this time posing next to the sign for “I Presume.”



That’s quite an assortment of merchandise peeking out behind her at the Bazaar:



Once again the entrance to the Jungle Cruise attraction; you can see the Adventureland themed trash can in this one:



As we flash forward to October 1987, we have a front view of the Jungle Cruise entrance, which still sports the theming of the original attraction:



Closing in, it is much more primitive in style and themed towards native art:



By the time I took this 2015 shot, the native art had been minimized and the building had been themed to go along with the Indiana Jones 1930’s attraction next door:



See more Disneyland Jungle Cruise photos at my main website.