Who Is Shirley Temple?
Dancer. Singer. Movie star.
Mrs. Black. Mother of three. Gramma.
Breast cancer survivor. Diplomat.
Did we say dimples?
(Picture from the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, Women of Our Time Portraits.
Photograph by Harry Warneke and Lee Elkins.)
Table of Contents
Here's a list of what you'll find on this page.
- Shirley Temple - Growing Up
- Shirley Temple Facts at a Glance
- Quick, what do you think of Shirley Temple?
- Shirley Temple Songs
- Shirley Temple's Biography from A&E
- Shirley Temple Movie Clips
- Shirley Temple Black Biographies
- The Movie that Made Shirley Temple a Star
- Shirley Temple Movies and Roles
- Shirley Temple Movies on DVD
- Shirley Temple: Diplomat
- Shirley Temple Posters and Prints for Collectors
- Shirley Temple Dolls
- Patterns for Shirley Temple Doll Clothes
- Looking for Costumes?
- Shirley Temple Costumes for Little Girls
- Shirley Temple Curls
- Shirley Temple Paper Dolls
- Shirley's Breast Cancer
- Shirley Temple Memorabilia and Collectibles
- Shirley Temple Collectible Postcards
- Shirley Temple in Vintage Magazines
- My favorite Shirley Temple Quote
- Are You a Shirley Temple Fan? We'd love to have your autograph!
- More Lenses You Might Like
- Bookmark This Page
Shirley Temple - Growing Up
From little Shirley to Mrs. Shirley Temple Black
Shirley Temple - When I Grow Up
Here's one child actress who needs no introduction! A slideshow of the lovely Mrs. Shirley Jane Temple Black, with pictures from 1929 to 2006, set to her song "When I Grow Up." Look closely at 1:14, it's Shirley strolling across the MGM lot with Clark Gable, Mickey Rooney, and Judy Garland. And she's hugging Dakota Fanning at 1:12.
curated content from YouTube
Shirley Temple Facts at a Glance
Did you know . . .
- Shirley Jane Temple
was born April 23, 1928. She'll turn 81 this year.
- Shirley starred in over 40 films during the 1930s. Her career as a performer spanned from 1931 to 1961.
- On set, Shirley's mom, Gertrude, took charge of her famous curls, ensuring that there were exactly 52 ringlets in her hair for each take.
- Shirley's ability as a tap dancer was well known. Even in her earliest films she danced, and she was able to handle complex tap choreography by the age of five.
- Shirley was often teamed with legendary dancer Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson
. Because Robinson was African-American, his scenes holding hands with Temple were edited out in many cities in the South.
- Shirley's first blockbuster movie was Bright Eyes, the film that saved 20th Century Fox from near bankruptcy in 1934 at the height of the Great Depression
- In sixteen of the thirty films Shirley Temple made for Fox, she played characters with at least one dead parent. This was part of the formula for her films, which encouraged the adults in the audience to take on the role of her parent.
- Shirley was considered for the role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz
, though that arrangement did not work out. However, Terry
, who played Temple's beloved dog Rags in Bright Eyes, was cast in The Wizard of Oz as Toto.
- As an adult, Shirley Temple Black was appointed a delegate to the United Nations by President Richard M. Nixon in 1969. She was appointed United States Ambassador to Ghana (1974-76). In 1976, she became the first female Chief of Protocol of the United States.
- Shirley had three children and has one grandchild.
Quick, what do you think of Shirley Temple?
Shirley Temple Songs
MP3 downloads of all the popular Shirley Temple music that you remember from the movies.
(If you have a problem with the widget or if you don't find what you were looking for, you can find all of your favorite Shirley Temple songs here
Shirley Temple's Biography from A&E
A must-have DVD for any Shirley Temple fan!
Biography - Shirley Temple: The Biggest Little Star
Learn about Shirley's early life and her movie career during the depression as well as her career as a diplomat as an adult.
Includes interviews with people who knew and worked with Shirley Temple as a child and with Shirley Temple Black as an adult and explores her role in history.
Shirley Temple Movie Clips
Shirley Temple dancing and singing into everyone's hearts.
Shirley Temple Black Biographies
Read all about her. Then and now.
The Movie that Made Shirley Temple a Star
You'll laugh, cry, and sing along with Shirley!
Bright Eyes
Amazon Price: $13.49 (as of 12/19/2009)![]()
The first big film created especially for her, "Bright Eyes" helped make Shirley Temple a huge box-office star and features her most famous song: "On The Good Ship Lollipop".
Here's the plot: The little darling of a group of aviators, Shirley splits her time between her pilot godfather Loop (James Dunn) and her long-suffering mother (Lois Wilson), housemaid for a selfish, wealthy family. When a tragic accident suddenly leaves Shirley orphaned, Loop sets out to adopt Shirley - until he learns he's not the only one determined to keep the adorable youngster.
Shirley Temple Movies and Roles
Shirley Temple's filmography. Here's the complete list.
Polly Tix in Washington (1932) (short subject)
Pie Covered Wagon (1932) (short subject)
Merrily Yours (1932) (short subject)
Kid's Last Stand (1932) (short subject)
The Kid's Last Fight (1932) (short subject)
Kid in Hollywood (1932) (short subject)
Kid 'in' Africa (1932) (short subject)
Glad Rags to Riches (1932) (short subject)
Runt Page (1932) (short subject)
War Babies (1932) (short subject)
The Red-Haired Alibi (1932)
New Deal Rhythm (1933) (short subject)
Out All Night (1933)
Dora's Dunking Doughnuts (1933) (short subject)
To the Last Man (1933)
Managed Money (1934) (short subject)
Pardon My Pups (1934) (short subject)
Carolina (1934)
Mandalay (1934) (scenes deleted)
As the Earth Turns (1934)
Stand Up and Cheer! (1934)
Change of Heart (1934)
Little Miss Marker (1934)
Now I'll Tell (1934)
Baby Take a Bow (1934)
Now and Forever (1934)
The Hollywood Gad-About (1934) (short subject)
Bright Eyes (1934)
The Little Colonel (1935)
Our Little Girl (1935)
Curly Top (1935)
The Littlest Rebel (1935)
Captain January (1936)
Poor Little Rich Girl (1936)
Dimples (1936)
Stowaway (1936)
Wee Willie Winkie (1937)
Heidi (1937)
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938)
Little Miss Broadway (1938)
Just Around the Corner (1938)
A Little Princess (1939)
Susannah of the Mounties (1939)
The Blue Bird (1940)
Young People (1940)
Kathleen (1941)
Our Girl Shirley (1942) (short subject)
Miss Annie Rooney (1942)
Since You Went Away (1944)
I'll Be Seeing You (1944)
Kiss and Tell (1945)
American Creed (1946) (short subject)
Honeymoon (1947)
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947)
That Hagen Girl (1947)
Fort Apache (1948)
Mr. Belvedere Goes to College (1949)
Adventure in Baltimore (1949)
The Story of Seabiscuit (1949)
A Kiss for Corliss (1949)
- Complete List of Shirley Temple's Movies and Roles
- Shirley started making movies in 1931 and starred in 14 short films, 43 feature films, and 25+ storybook movies. Click on the link to see the list of Shirley's movies, the title, the year, and the role she played.
Shirley Temple Movies on DVD
This was supposed to be my "Top Ten" list, but I couldn't stop at just ten!
Which one is your favorite? (Vote it up.)
Don't see it? Add it!
Shirley Temple: Diplomat
Ambassador and public servant Shirley Temple Black
She has served as delegate to the United Nations (1969), ambassador to Ghana (1974 to 1976), ambassador to Czechoslovakia (1989 to 1982), Chief of Protocol of the United States (appointed in 1976), and as a foreign affairs officer for the State Department during the Reagan administration, among other positions as delegate to many international conferences.
The picture above shows Shirley Temple Black with then-Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan in April 1998.
Shirley Temple Posters and Prints for Collectors
Click on the picture to see how you can get the print, and to see more selections.
Shirley Temple Dolls
Collectible Shirley Temple dolls, doll clothes, and doll parts and accessories.
Still have yours? If not, look here for one just like it. What a great gift a Shirley Temple doll would make for mom or grandma!
Click on an item for information with no obligation to bid.
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byPatterns for Shirley Temple Doll Clothes
Make authentic costumes just like the clothes Shirley wore in the movies!
Authentic Shirley Temple Patterns
Recreate your favorite 14" and 18" Shirley costumes will full size patterns & detailed instructions.
Patterns include: reprint of 1930s underthings, dress, coat and hat; famous dotted dress, Bluebird dress, and Heidi dress.
Also included are illustrations of original Shirley Temple dolls and clothes taken from old magazines - now you can make some of her more famous costumes for your dolls!
Looking for Costumes?
We have some costumes and links below, but you might also want to check out this lens.
-
Shirley Temple Costumes
-
Everyone loves Shirley Temple and what a cute idea for a costume! Let's see. There's the dress, the tap shoes, the frilly socks and, yes, we'll even do our best to help you with the curls. Dimples are optional. See the full-sized picture here. Loo...
Shirley Temple Costumes for Little Girls
Do you have a Shirley Temple look-a-like?
Shirley Temple Paper Dolls
Great paper dolls for your little girl.
Shirley's Breast Cancer
From People magazine, October 16, 1998
At first she did everything she could to deny it. When Shirley Temple Black, then 44 and special assistant to the chairman of the President's Council on Environmental Quality, found a lump at "12 o'clock on my left breast" in 1972, "I wasn't really worried," she says. "I don't know why." Postponing a biopsy, she headed off for six weeks of government talks in the Soviet Union, where, after experiencing a burning sensation in her breast, she thought for the first time, "I bet this isn't going to be so good."Returning home to her family -- marine research entrepreneur Charles Black and their three children -- in Woodside, Calif., the ex-actress left breast-cancer articles around the house because "I couldn't bring myself to talk about it to my husband." Her biopsy showed a malignancy, and she underwent a simple mastectomy. Afterward she reached up "to feel the void. It was an amputation, and I faced it."
She did that in part by going public with her illness, a move that brought 50,000 letters of support. Now 70, Black -- who later served as ambassador to Ghana and the former Czechoslovakia -- recalls that as a young adult star she was "one of the fortunate actresses in Hollywood who didn't wear falsies because I didn't need them." But she doesn't regret the surgery that likely saved her life. "I felt pretty good before the operation, and I felt good afterward," she says. "I just lost a good friend in between."
(Photo from www.ShirleyTempleFans.com)
Shirley Temple Memorabilia and Collectibles
Movie and tv memorabilia, photos, autographs, even movie props for the serious Shirley Temple collector.
Click on an item to see more information, with no obligation to bid.
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byShirley Temple Collectible Postcards
Postcards are great for collecting. These vintage postcards from eBay are perfect for adding to your Shirley Temple fan collection.
Click on an item for more information with no obligation to bid.
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byShirley Temple in Vintage Magazines
Be on the lookout for a great deal!
Click on an item for more information with no obligation to bid.
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byMy favorite Shirley Temple Quote
"I stopped believing in Santa Claus when my mother took me to see him in a department store, and he asked for my autograph."
Are You a Shirley Temple Fan? We'd love to have your autograph!
Please sign our guestbook.
What's your favorite Shirley Temple movie or memory? Did you have a Shirley Temple doll? Leave us a comment!
-
Reply
- Millertime Millertime Dec 7, 2009 @ 9:16 pm
- I remember seeing her movies as a kid. Seeing her here sure brings back memories. Very nice and comprehensive lens.
-
Reply
- Joan Terry Allen Joan Terry Allen Oct 30, 2009 @ 8:31 pm
- I am only two years older than Shirley and as a child, I saw all of her movies. I also was a
little tap dancer and I loved seeing her dance in her movies. I have had a Shirley Temple doll for many many years and at the age of 83, I now have given it to my daughter, Tammy.
I would love to see a photo of Shirley as she is today. I know she must be a beautiful lady.
-
Reply
- Birdine Wildenauer - Bakersfield CA Birdine Wildenauer - Bakersfield CA Aug 23, 2009 @ 12:42 pm
- I have been a Shirley Temple fan for 30 yrs, I have all her colllerctible movies plates and her movies, I also have paper dolls, and 2 8x10 portrates of her on my walls.
-
Reply
- EverythingMouse EverythingMouse Apr 18, 2009 @ 12:27 pm
- I love the quote about Santa Claus! She was in so many films - one of my friends mother's used to be a screen writer for her.
-
Reply
- debnet debnet Apr 7, 2009 @ 2:30 pm
- I had no idea she'd been in so many films! I wish I had a pound for everytime I was told I was 'just like Shirley Temple' when I was a child :)
-
Reply
- ElizabethJeanAllen ElizabethJeanAllen Dec 11, 2008 @ 5:48 am
- Thanks for the blessing on my Attracting Birds to Your Yard
Lizzy
-
Reply
- nwieaqgo nwieaqgo Oct 31, 2008 @ 12:09 am
- I like this lens. It is very informative. 5 stars to you.
Woman`s Fashion
-
Reply
- poddys poddys Oct 26, 2008 @ 9:02 pm
- Great tribute lens to a great little actress. 5***** well deserved. Like most boys I couldn't stand Shirley Temple movies or anything like them, however watching my girls grow up and enjoy them I learned to as well. My favorites would have to be Captain January (with of course the late Buddy Ebsen) and The Little Princess (with Richard Green). Not forgetting of course the scenes with Mr Bo Jangles...
-
Reply
- BeautySecrets BeautySecrets Sep 20, 2008 @ 9:37 am
- Thanks Susan for all your hard work to make this lens. I especially enjoyed the videos and your large selection of links. Great Job Susan.
-
Reply
- Pamela2Heaven Pamela2Heaven Aug 20, 2008 @ 9:10 pm
- I think she is one of the cutest little girls that ever lived...and still pretty at 80.
nice lens
- Load More
More Lenses You Might Like
More from Susan52 on Squidoo
-
Santa Claus
-
He lives at the North Pole. He raises reindeer. He wears a red suit and sports a white beard. He's jolly. He's fat. A merry, old elf. He's making a list, checking it twice. He's coming to town. In a sleigh. Must be Santa, Santa Cl...
-
The Very Best Christmas Movies for Families
-
Love Christmas movies? Me, too. What a great way to spend a cold winter evening with the family, clean and snug in warm pajamas and blankets, with a big bowl of freshly-popped popcorn and some hot chocolate, snuggled in front of the firep...
-
Nurturing Imagination
-
When my boys turned 7 and 4, a dear friend gave them each one of the best gifts they’ve ever received. They were capes, homemade capes made from a silky king-sized bed sheet she had picked up at a yard sale. Perfect props to help them us...
-
Shirley Temple Costumes
-
Everyone loves Shirley Temple and what a cute idea for a costume! Let's see. There's the dress, the tap shoes, the frilly socks and, yes, we'll even do our best to help you with the curls. Dimples are optional. See the full-sized picture here. Loo...
































