Shirley Temple Dies at 85

movie star Shirley Temple (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Shirley Temple, the famous child actress, has passed away at the age of 85 in Woodside, California of natural causes. Ms. Temple was born on April 23th, 1928 in Santa Monica, California to George and Gertrude Temple.

Shirley Temple starred in movies in 1932 at the age of three, but made her breakout in 1934 in the movie Stand Up and Cheer! Later in 1934, Bright Eyes was released and was the first movie to specifically created based on her talents and which saw her name appear above the movie’s title.

In 1935, Shirley Temple won a Juvenile Academy Award for her performances in 1934, and her name and footprints were placed outside of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in March 1935.

Shirley Temple would go on to star in many movies over the next several years, including Curly Top, Poor Little Rich Girl, Heidi, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, The Little Princess, Fort Apache.

Ms. Temple would go on to star in her own television show, Shirley Temple’s Storybook in 1958. The show received mixed reviews, partly due to not having a specific time slot. The following season, the show was colourized and given its own timeslot and was repackaged as the Shirley Temple Show. She would go on to guest star in other shows such as The Red Skelton Show, and Sing Along with Mitch.

Following her appearances on television, she would go onto a successful life in politics.

Ms. Temple served a four month stint (September to December 1969) as the U.S. Representative to the United Nations General Assembly. She was subsequently appointed as the U.S. Ambassador to Ghana for a year and a half (1974-1976.) She returned to the U.S. and was appointed to the position of Chief of Protocol of the United States (July 1976January 1977.) She was the first woman to hold this position and oversaw the inauguration of Jimmy Carter in January 1977. Ms. Temple would go on to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Czechoslovakia for three years from 1989-1992.

Ms. Temple was married twice: first to John Agar (1945-1950), and then to Charles Alden Black from 1950 until his death in 2006. She would have three children: Linda Agar, Charles Alden Black Jr., and Lori Alden Black.

Ms. Temple would be a three time Grand Marshal of the Rose Bowl Parade, and would receive a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, and a Life Achievement Award from the American Center of Films for Children. She was inducted into the Hollywood Hall of Fame in 1960.