Dreamers: Shirley Temple

Episode Summary

The podcast episode focuses on Shirley Temple, the famous child actor and diplomat. Shirley Temple was born in 1928 in Santa Monica, California. At age 3, she was enrolled in dance classes by her mother, where she was discovered by a casting director. In 1932, Temple began acting in a series of short films called Baby Burlesques. Though she later criticized these films, they launched her career. In the 1930s, Temple starred in several hit films including Bright Eyes, Curly Top, and Heidi. She often played a precocious child who acts as a fixer-upper or matchmaker. Her films incorporated elements of fairy tales, with goodness and innocence triumphing over evil. Temple was the number one box office draw from 1935 to 1938. Her popularity waned as she reached adolescence. She retired from films in 1950 at age 22. In her childhood acting career, Temple faced mistreatment and attempted sexual assault from producers and executives. However, unlike many child stars, she did not become a cautionary tale. In adulthood, Temple sat on corporate boards and held diplomatic positions. She was a US delegate to the UN, US ambassador to Ghana, and the first female US ambassador to Czechoslovakia. Over her lifetime, Temple received many honors including Kennedy Center Honors and a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. She is considered one of the greatest female screen legends in classic Hollywood cinema. Shirley Temple lived an accomplished life from early childhood into her elder years.

Episode Show Notes

Today’s dreamer is Shirley Temple (1928-2014), child actress, singer, dancer, businesswoman and diplomat.

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_05: Reboot your credit card with Apple Card. It gives you unlimited daily cash back that can earn 4.15% annual percentage yield when you open a savings account. A high yield, low effort way to grow your money with no fees. Apply for Apple Card now in the Wallet app on iPhone to start earning and growing your daily cash with savings today. Apple Card subject to credit approval. Savings is available to Apple Card owners subject to eligibility. Savings accounts by Goldman Sachs Bank USA. Member FDIC, terms apply. SPEAKER_07: Sick of paying $100 for groceries and getting nothing but eggs, orange juice, and a paper bag? Then download the Drop app. Drop lets you earn points with your everyday shopping and redeem them for gift cards. Want a free dinner with those groceries? Drop it. How about daily lattes? Drop it. So download Drop today and get $5 just for signing up. Use invite code GETDROP777. SPEAKER_08: This year, Hyundai features their all electric Hyundai IONIQ lineup as a proud sponsor of the I Heart Radio Music Festival in Las Vegas with two high-tech models. The IONIQ 5 can take you an EPA estimated 303 miles on a single charge and has available two-way charging for electronic equipment inside and outside the car. The IONIQ 6 boasts a mind blowing range of up to 360 miles and can deliver up to an 80% charge in just 18 minutes with its 800 volt DC ultra fast charger. Check out Hyundai at the I Heart Radio Music Festival in Las Vegas as their all-star IONIQ lineup hits the stage like you've never seen before. Hyundai, it's your journey. SPEAKER_00: I wanna make mud pies. In fact, I'd like to be a mess. I wanna make mud pies. SPEAKER_02: Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan and this is Encyclopedia Wamanica. If you're just tuning in, here's the deal. Every day we're telling the story of a different woman from throughout history who you may or may not know about, but definitely should. Each month has a theme and this month we've been talking about dreamers, women to remember for their creative accomplishments. Today's dreamer is a household name. Her charismatic acting, dancing, and singing lit up the big screen. As a child actor with her signature ringlets, she was the number one box office draw from 1935 to 1938 and gave name to a delicious non-alcoholic bar drink. As an adult, she was the US ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia. Let's talk about Shirley Temple. Shirley Temple was born on April 23rd, 1928 in Santa Monica, California to homemaker Gertrude Amelia Temple and bank employee George Francis Temple. Shirley was the youngest of three kids. She had two older brothers, John Stanley and George Francis Jr. After Shirley's birth, the family moved to nearby Brentwood. When she was three years old, already sporting her iconic ringlets, Shirley's mother enrolled her in Meg Lynn's dance school. It was there that she was spotted by Charles Lamont, a casting director for educational pictures. Intimidated by the man's presence, Shirley hid her own piano, but Lamont was still impressed by her poise and natural performance ability. So in 1932, he signed her to act in a series of short films called Baby Burlesques by casting preschoolers in the roles that would typically be played by adults. Though Shirley later called the series a cynical exploitation of our childish innocence that occasionally were racist or sexist, it was the spark that launched her career. Two years later, Shirley starred in the internationally acclaimed film Bright Eyes. And in 1935, she received a Juvenile Academy Award recognizing her work from the year before. Through the 1930s, Shirley starred in hit after hit, including Curly Top and Heidi. She often played a fixer-upper, a precocious cupid, or the good fairy in these films, reuniting her estranged parents or smoothing out the wrinkles and the romances of young couples. Elements of traditional fairy tale were woven into her films. Wholesome goodness triumphing over meanness and evil, for example, or wealth over poverty, marriage over divorce, or a booming economy over a depressed one. But Shirley's box office popularity waned as she reached adolescence. She appeared in a few films in her teens before retiring from movies in 1950 at the age of 22. In 1958, Shirley returned to show business with a two-season television anthology series of fairy tale adaptation. Many would be surprised to learn about the mistreatment Shirley experienced during her childhood career. SPEAKER_01: Well, when we misbehaved, they had two sound boxes on our set. One of them had a big cake of ice in it. And when any of us misbehaved, we were sent one by one into the black box to cool off and think about it, in the dark with the door closed. I got a lot of earaches. I got a lot of styes. I got a lot of problems from that. SPEAKER_02: I was in the box several times. She also said she faced attempted sexual assault from several producers and executives. Shirley's success story doesn't end in childhood. In fact, one Atlantic article called her the child star who wasn't a cautionary tale since she flourished so much in her adult life. Shirley sat on the boards of many corporations and organizations, including Del Monte Foods, the National Wildlife Federation, and even the Walt Disney Company. Then, in 1967, she decided to run for Congress. Though she lost her race, she launched a lengthy diplomatic career. In 1969, Shirley was appointed as US delegate to the United Nations by President Richard Nixon. Then in 1974, President Gerald Ford appointed her US ambassador to Ghana, and in 1976, Ford made her the first female chief of protocol at the State Department. In 1989, under President George H.W. Bush, Shirley became the first and only female US ambassador to Czechoslovakia. Over the course of her life, Shirley received many awards, including the Kennedy Center Honors and a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, and she's listed as 18th on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female American screen legends of classic Hollywood cinema. She died on February 10th, 2014, at the age of 85. Shirley Temple lived an incredibly accomplished life from her earliest years to the very end. Today is the final episode of July's theme, Dreamers. Tomorrow, we're starting something new. Our theme for August is villainesses. This month of Encyclopedia Wamanica was brought to you by Casper. Casper mattresses and products let today's dreamers get the sleep they need to turn their ideas into reality. Special shout out to the one and only Liz Kaplan, my sister and the brain behind this incredible collection of women. Talk to you tomorrow. SPEAKER_04: An epic matchup between your two favorite teams, and you're at the game getting the most from what it means to be here with American Express. You breeze through the card member entrance, stop by the lounge. Now it's almost tip off and everyone's already on their feet. This is gonna be good. See how to elevate your life sports experience at americanexpress.com slash with Amex. Don't live life without it. Eligible American Express card required. Benefits vary by card and by venue. Terms apply. SPEAKER_06: Be a barbecue hero with delicious ultra low net carb hero bread, buns and tortillas. Soft and fluffy, high in fiber and with zero grams of sugar and up to 10 grams of protein. Coming in at under 100 calories per serving. Oh, and did I mention they taste like their mouthwatering traditional versions? It's enough to have the neighbors asking for seconds. Use code IHM10 for 10% off your first hero bread purchase at hero.co. That's IHM10 for 10% off at hero.co. SPEAKER_03: Do you hear it? The clock is ticking. It's time for the new season of 60 Minutes. The CBS News Sunday Night tradition is back for its 56th season with all new big name interviews, hard hitting investigations and epic adventures. No place, no one, no story is off limits and you'll always learn something new. It's time for 60 Minutes. New episode airs Sunday, September 24th on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.