Not just The Good Ship Lollipop... Most people know of Shirley Temple because she sang "On the Good Ship Lollipop" more than 60 years ago in the film "Bright Eyes", when she was six years old, in 1934. But there it lots more to Shirley Temple than just "On the Good Ship Lollipop".

Shirley Jane Temple was born on April 23, 1928. She was the youngest child and only daughter of George and Gertrude Temple. At the age of 3, she was taking tap dancing lessons at Melgin's dance studio. A film producer named Jack Hays came along to the studio one day to find the next **star** for his short films called Baby Burlesk. Once he spotted Shirley, he knew she was the one. "Baby Burlesk" were spoofs of hit pictures with little kids taking the roles of the adults, except wearing diapers. They were not exactly a great success. After the series ended, Shirley did a few more comedies including "Dora's Dunking Doughnuts", this short movie is absolutely adorable and available on most Shirley Temple shorts videos, after seeing it, you to will be singing about "Dora's Dunking Doughnuts"...after all "we'll have you know they float"...a year later Shirley went to Fox studio, which was actually on the verge of bankruptcy at the time, to audition for a small part in a happy-go-lucky film called "Stand Up and Cheer" she got the part hands down, and basically stole the film. Every move every jiggle of her head, the dimples, the curls, it was just what the audience needed during the Depression.

This little child could lift their spirits like no other person could. After Stand Up and Cheer, Fox knew they had a gold mine, there would be no bankruptcy for them with Shirley Temple around. The quickly hired the best screenwriters to make storylines devised specifically for Shirley, and the best songwriters to write her songs, the best dancers (Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Buddy Ebsen) to dance with her.

The Shirley Temple doll came along soon after. Ideal Novelty and Toy Co. gained exclusive rights to manufacture the doll using her name. They hired the best doll artist (Bernard Lipfert) to design the mold for the doll, the hired the best clothes designer (Mollye Goldman) to design the outfits for the doll. The Shirley Temple was the most successful dolls ever made up to that time. The face on these dolls was beautiful, with the golden curls, hazel eyes, big smile, and, of course, those dimples!! Every little girl wanted a Shirley Temple doll...it was the most successful doll ever sold up to that time, with over six million Shirley Temple dolls being sold!!

Shirley's popularity continued to mount with the release of her motion pictures over the next few years, each one being more successful than the last. She was the top box office star for the years 1935, 1936, 1937, and 1938, an amazing accomplishment, never duplicated. In 1939, Shirley's box office draw started to wain, simply because she was getting older, she wasn't that tiny little child any more, Shirley's last big successful picture as a child star was "The Little Princess", which almost every generation of children in the years following has seen, it was a beautiful story, and showed that Shirley could do more than just be cute on screen.

In 1940, instead of loaning Shirley out to MGM to do "The Wizard of Oz", Fox studios decided to do their own version of "The Wizard of Oz" called "The Bluebird". This movie didn't have the song and dance, didn't have the happiness, didn't have the story line that drew people to it, as "The Wizard of Oz" did, and was the first Shirley movie to really do poorly at the box office. After "The Bluebird", Shirley did "Young People", which was almost nostalgic and seemed to say to the world that Shirley Temple was no longer that little kid that the whole world had grown so attached to. Shirley had was growing up. Well, the world didn't want to hear it, and again, a Shirley movie failed.

After this, Fox, the studio that Shirley saved from bankruptcy just a few years before, decided that it didn't need Shirley any more. Shirley did a few movies in the following years, such as "Kathleen" (which I have never seen), and "Miss Annie Ronney" (in which Shirley received her first *real* screen kiss), neither of these did all that well at the box office, and Shirley seemed happy to go to high school and go out with boys just as any other normal teenager.

In 1944 and 1945, Shirley co-starred in a few war movies, "Since You went Away" and "I'll be Seeing You", these were a success, and in 1945, Shirley was a typical teen in the well received "Kiss and Tell". Shirley seemed to be making the transition to adult star. In 1945, Shirley also married her sweetheart, John Agar, it seemed almost like a fairy tale. Shirley did a few more starring roles in movies in the years following, but none really met the expectations. She also starred in one quite memorable picture with Henry Fonda and her husband John Agar called " Fort Apache". It was at the time of filming that she learned that she was pregnant.

In early 1948, Shirley gave birth to her first child, daughter Linda Susan. Shirley Temple had truly "grown up". Everything seemed so perfect for Shirley, but it wasn't. In 1949, Shirley filed for divorce and revealed that the marriage was not the fairy tale that it seemed. After this event, Shirley slipped from the public eye, she never did another movie.

At this time she went to Hawaii with her daughter just to get away. It was on this trip that she met the true love of her life, Charles Alden Black. They were a perfect match, and soon married, Shirley and Charles had 2 children Charles Jr. and Lori. Shirley spent the next years taking care of her children and husband.

In 1957, Shirley Temple came back to all her adoring fans. She became the host of a children's theatre show called "Shirley Temple's Story Book" and "The Shirley Temple Theatre". In these shows Shirley would introduce the show for the evening, and it was usually a cute rendition of a fairy tale, sometimes Shirley would even act in them. Well, Shirley still sparkled, and television opened up a whole new generation to her and her movies. Again, people everywhere fell in love with Shirley Temple, and soon Ideal was producing Shirley dolls again, and publishing companies were rushing to get out the Shirley Temple books, paper dolls, scrapbooks, etc.

After this, Shirley became active in community service, including much charity work and a large part in the speaking on behalf of the Multiple Schlerosis Foundation, because one of her brothers had developed Multiple Schlerosis. In 1967, Shirley ran for Congress as a Republican, though she was unsuccessful at that time, she demonstrated that she was quite intelligent and more charming then most, i.e. she made an excellent politician. She was appointed delegate to the United Nations General Assembly in 1969, from 1972 to 1974 she was special assistant to the chairman of the President's Council for Environmental Quality, and in 1974, she was named the United States Ambassador to Ghana (one of her proudest accomplishments). In all of these appointments she excelled. Not only was Shirley selfless in her giving to the betterment of her country, but she was also giving in her personal life.

In 1972, Shirley became diagnosed with breast cancer and was the first celebrity to actually go public with the diagnosis. Her reason for doing this was in order to encourage other women that they needed to check for this problem, and that they didn't have to be afraid, that they could beat it. The outpouring for it at this time was amazing, and in this selfless act she most likely saved countless lives by making them aware of breast cancer and encouraging them to take action against the disease, as she had.

Shirley has continued in politics and in 1989, with the appointment of George Bush as president, became US Ambassador to Czechoslovakia, when George Bush's term ended, she went back home to spend time with her husband, and to write the second half of her autobiography, the first half being "Child Star" which was published in 1988. Most recently she was seen at the 1998 Oscars in a segment devoted to Oscar winners, and hosted a TV special titled "The 100 Most Famous Movie Stars of all Time". On April 23rd, the ageless Shirley Temple turns 76. On Mothers Day 2001, there was even a movie about her life on ABC. In 2002, Shirley's first husband John Agar died.

Now more than ever, All agree that Shirley Temple still sparkles!!
In one of the earliest articles written by Gertrude Temple regarding her goals for her daughter, she wrote that her deepest wish was that Shirley would grow into "a lovable woman of character, faith , and usefulness". Gertrude Temple's dream really did come true!!!