Shirley Temple dies at age 85: publicist
Posted Feb 11, 2014 5:04 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Hollywood star Shirley Temple has died at the age of 85.
Publicist Cheryl Kagan said Temple, known in private life as Shirley Temple Black, died Monday night at about 11 p.m. at her home near San Francisco, surrounded by family members and caregivers.
She died from natural causes, according to a BBC report quoting her family, and is survived by her three children, granddaughter and two great-granddaughters.
Born on April 23, 1928, Temple was a child star in the 1930s and starred in Depression-era films like Bright Eyes, Heidi, Stand Up and Cheer and Curly Top.
With her ringlets and big bright eyes, Temple began her film career at the age of three, and in 1934, she won over hearts around the world with her singing and dancing in films.
“We salute her for a life of remarkable achievements as an actor, as a diplomat, and most importantly as our beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and adored wife for fifty-five years of the late and much missed Charles Alden Black,” a family statement said.
From 1935 to 1938, she was the top box-office draw — a record no other child star has come near. Her income from her films was doubled by sales of merchandise, including Shirley Temple dolls and a host of girls’ clothes and accessories.
She even had a drink named after her, an appropriately sweet and innocent cocktail of ginger ale and grenadine, topped with a maraschino cherry.
Temple was also credited with helping save 20th Century Fox from bankruptcy with films such as Curly Top and The Littlest Rebel.
In 1939, Fox turned down a huge offer from MGM for her to play Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz and instead cast her in Susannah of the Mounties, which didn’t go down well with audiences.
After making 43 films, Temple retired in 1949 at the age of 22 with her last film A Kiss for Corliss.
Her interest in politics soon brought her back into the public eye. She made an unsuccessful bid as a Republican candidate for Congress in 1967. In 1969, then president Richard Nixon appointed her as a member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations General Assembly. She also served as ambassador to Czechoslovakia during the administration of the first President Bush.
In 1972, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and became one of the first high-profile women to talk openly about the disease.
Temple was married twice, for four years to John Agar and then for 54 years to Charles Black, who died in 2005.
In 1999, the American Film Institute ranking of the top 50 screen legends ranked Temple at No. 18 among the 25 actresses.
With files from The Associated Press
