Shirley Temple’s third LIFE Magazine cover was released on February 3, 1958. She is shown with her daughter, Lori Black, at their Atherton, California home. Below is an alternate shot, showing the vinyl 1950’s Shirley Temple doll that daughter Lori is holding.
Shirley was a marketing wiz and knew that with her old movies being shown on TV and the upcoming release of her TV Storybook Anthology, the time was ripe to re-release the doll bearing her childhood likeness.
Shown below is the book Shirley is sharing with her daughter: Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales: Retold for Young Children, Published by Grosset & Dunlap, 1952, with illustrations by James Caraway.
Shirley also released her own collection of Fairy Tales, featuring the ones that were dramatized on her television show:
Back to LIFE Magazine! From the inside front cover:
Looking lovelier than ever in her original Don Loper gown, (eat your heart out, Lucy!) Shirley garnered a full-page color image inside the magazine.
The other two pages of the feature were black and white, focusing on her family and, of course, her earlier career as an actress. The contemporary shot of Shirley watching herself as a child in “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm” is marvelous, and her quote is somewhat wistful: “It seems like someone else.”
The first episode of Shirley’s anthology series was “Beauty and the Beast,” starring Charlton Heston and Claire Bloom. No, Chuck did not play Beauty.
Claire Bloom tightly hugging one of her wardrobe pieces.
Final image for today’s post shows Shirley getting ready for the LIFE photo shoot, with director Mitchell Leisen behind her.
See more Shirley Temple’s Storybook photos at my main website.
In the first few decades of Disneyland, the Main Street Marquee was changed as much as (if not more than) the Main Street Train Station population numbers. Before the Park opened, the marquee simply said, “Moving Pictures.” By Summer 1955, it heralded a Wm. S. Hart Western and the Keystone Kops:
Actress Gloria Swanson’s name on the left let guests know there was more than just one movie playing inside:
and Mabel Normand on the right:
1956, Rudolph Valentino and Vilma Banky:
The A-Frame at left shows an ad for “The Eagle,” which starred Banky and Valentino.
1957/58, with Mable (sp!) Normand and Fatty Arbuckle. On the right it advertises “The Heart of a Waif,” a 1915 silent film with Edith Peters and John Sturgeon.
From the same time period, Clare Booth’s name is on the left side of the marquee:
June 1958, we can just barely see Ronald Coleman in “Lady Windermere’s Fan,” a 1925 Ernst Lubitsch comedy/drama:
You can watch it here:
December 1959, D.W. Griffith’s “A Girl and her Trust” from 1912:
September 1960 had Lon Chaney in “Phantom of the Opera,” just in time for Halloween:
July 1961 had comedian Buster Keaton in “Allez Oop,” which was actually a talking picture from 1934:
October 1962 has “The Pride of Pikesville” (1927), starring Ben Turpin:
May 31, 1963 it’s back to Lon in “Phantom”:
From May 1964 you can just barely see that the Cinema is still showing a Lon Chaney thriller, “Phantom of the Opera” and a Will Rogers Western:
September 1964 proclaims “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” from MGM, which was not a silent film, but rather from 1941 with Spencer Tracy, Lana Turner, and Ingrid Bergman. The silent version from 1920 was released by Paramount and starred John Barrymore. Could be a marquee screwup. Another possibility is that back in the day, Blackhawk Films released 8mm and Super8mm BW silent versions of both silent AND talkie films; if they were the source company for prints for Disneyland this could account for why some of these “talkies” were being marketed as silent films.
March 1965, “Pathways of Life” with Lillian Gish, from 1916:
September 1965, “The Great Train Robbery” from 1903:
June 26, 1966, “Phantom of the Opera”:
1968, “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” with no credit to Louis B. Mayer!
February 1971, “The Great Train Robbery” returns:
May 1974, “The Rounders,” a 1914 comedy with Fatty Arbuckle and Charlie Chaplin:
And then my collection goes dark until February 2006, when I captured “Steamboat Willie” on the marquee with “Traffic Trouble” on the right. The film’s actual title was “Traffic Troubles.” Somebody was too lazy to add the “s” on the end to this 1931 sound short. The worst part of this photo is that bleeping stroller blocking the entrance to the theater.
July 2006 we see “Mickey’s Polo Team” on the right. Not only was this movie originally a sound cartoon, it was also shot in Technicolor. By this time, the “movies” were being shown on TV screens and typically featured black and white versions of Mickey Mouse cartoons that were not necessarily silent.
No changes in my collection from 2006 to March 2010:
In August 2010, the cinema was featuring “Opening Day at Disneyland,” with footage from July 17, 1955:
By October though, “Steamboat Willie” was back:
The last marquee shot I took was in June 2013:
I hope you enjoyed this chronological documentation of the diverse offerings that once made the Main Street Cinema a very lively place to visit!
See more Disneyland Main Street Cinema photos at my main website.
I’m a sucker when it comes to vintage Disneyland Frontierland Depot shots, and this July 1959 has so much going on! How about the gals wearing the matching style dresses? Did they use the same pattern? Were they best friends? Sisters? Who knows. And check out those positively primitive strollers at right. Note the Disneyland mailbox, for all those who want to send a postcard home to the loved ones.
This other shot, also from July 1959, was taken a few feet back, and shows the Ride the Fast Freight signs out front.
Highball in open air?
Not sure about the correlation between “Highball” and standing up in these open air freight cars.
Anyone? See more Disneyland Frontierland Depot photos at my main website.
The U.S. Grant Hotel is one of the oldest hotels in downtown San Diego, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Why was it named after the 18th President, you ask? Because his son, aka Junior, and wife, Fannie Chaffee, were the owners. They purchased the property in 1905 and Junior oversaw the building of the Grant Hotel. From the hotel website:
On October 15, 1910, with great pomp and circumstance, THE US GRANT opened her doors. Five years of construction in the heart of San Diego had built up a flurry of curiosity, a storm of excited press, and a staggering cost of $1.9 million. Thousands of guests flocked from all across the region to take part in the opening ceremonies of this hotel of untold luxury.
The architect was Harrison Albright, who also designed another Daveland favorite, the West Baden Springs Hotel. The hotel boasted two swimming pools and a ballroom on the top floor. The Grant was also the site of the very first San Diego Comic-Con International, held in 1970. The hotel is currently operated by Marriott Hotels & Resorts as a part of its Luxury Collection.
The U.S Grant was also home to the local radio station KFSD for a long time between early 1930’s and 1939 (note the towers visible in the above 1954 photo). Famous guests have included Albert Einstein, Charles Lindbergh, Woodrow Wilson, five former First ladies, and 12 United States Presidents.
The below image is from July 2014:
From March 2015:
These spectacular views of downtown San Diego and the Gaslamp District were from my stay at the Grant, circa December 2007:
Last week, I found myself back at the Grant to shoot a wedding.
Below is the entrance to the Grant Grill, the hotel’s signature restaurant. When it opened in 1952, ladies were not permitted to enter before 3pm, as the restaurant was known for its boys’ club power lunches. In 1969, a sit-in resulted in the end of that antiquated policy!
The decorate of the Grill has a sense of humor!
The historic hotel has definitely given itself a decorative facelift, attempting to stay fresh and modern.
One of the fresh florals found in the lobby:
A letter box can be found near the elevators. Most hotels originally had these boxes, as guests would want to send postcards and letters home to loved ones.
The Groom and Bride:
She may not have been blushing, but she definitely looked gorgeous!
No Steinway? Oh well, I guess Yamaha will have to do.
See more U.S. Grant Hotel photos at my main website.
