Monday, February 11, 2008

Til Death Do Us Part – The Blacks

Curly Top
I remember sitting with my father and watching Shirley Temple movies on Sunday mornings. "Curly Top," as she was called, made movies during the Great Depression, making $15,000 a week in 1936 while filming "Poor Little Rich Girl." But for an hour or so she would take her audiences away from their own troubles and they would be immersed in the troubles of "The Little Princess" or one of her other films. "The Little Princess" was always my favorite; I've never failed to cry, no matter how many times I have seen the movie.

Shirley Temple was born on April 23, 1928, in California. In 1933, she was signed to a contract with the studio now known as 20th Century Fox. Even at the age of 5 she was known for always memorizing her lines and dance routines.


Shirley Temple Gets Married
Shirley married John Agar on September 19, 1945. They would have one daughter together but the marriage would end in divorce.

In 1950 Shirley took a vacation to Hawaii that changed her life. There she met Charles Black at a party. Charles was 31 years old veteran of the war in the Pacific. He was also a desendant of John Alden—a Mayflower pilgrim. They married in December, 1950, in California. Charles and Shirley had a son and daughter together. Susan, Shirley's daughter from her first marriage, would later change her name to Black.

In 1969 Shirley was named a member of the US delegation to the UN. She was then appointed Ambassodor to Ghana in 1974. In 1976 Shirley was the first woman to become Chief of Protocol. Their son has said that Shirley and Charles "didn't sleep apart from each other for more than a couple of days. They adored each other" throughout the more than 50 years they were together.

Following her husband's death in 2005, Shirley said: "He was the love of my life."

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

She's such an amazing person! It's sad that she is not acting anymore, but it's nice to know that she's helping the world in her own world. Shirley Temple is an inspiration to not only the world of Hollywood, but to the world itself.

Tiffany said...

I love Shirley Temple and her work. I wish that now in these times it was like Shirley Temple times : )




Your's Truly,
Oh My Goodness

Rey Feliz said...

Hello. Something bothers me with the way people liked the child-star that she was. "The first dictionary definition of "pedophilia", says Margo Jefferson (2006) is "sexual desire encouraged in adults for children"" And that combined with the racism latent in some of the movies she played in makes me sad. Look at how we blame pedophiles today, and compare it to the models we put on TV for people to admire.

Other than that, much respect for the lifetime achievement.

Unknown said...

“A man never discloses his own character so clearly as when he describes another's” (-Jean Paul Richter)... No one here (I hope) is saying that they have SEXUAL thoughts or feelings for Shirley Temple. It is perfectly normal, even healthy and desirable, to appreciate her and her talents, even as a child. We all think our own children are cute and adorable and we love them and everything they do. We talk up our children and we're always their biggest fans. That doesn't mean we're pedophiles. If I were you, I'd look to my own thoughts and feelings to figure out why I would bring up that topic at all.

Anonymous said...

my kids love'd to watch shirley tempol all the time and thay love'd it when thay put the movie in thay wold sit so colse to the t.v. i love my kids < 3.