Five years without Shirley Temple: exploitation and abuse after mythical Hollywood curls

[Akrapovic]

Despite what it may seem, not everything in his life was rosy. Fox was enriched at her expense and her first husband, John Agar, was unfaithful several times

The most famous curls in the history of cinema were gone forever five years ago. Shirley Temple will be remembered as that childish icon a thousand times parodied, imitated, revered and hated with flavor to other times. The 'little' died on February 10, 2014 at age 85 leaving behind a legacy of po[CENSORED]rity that dates back to the thirties. Despite what it may seem, not everything in his life was rosy.

For example, when Fox, the studio that made her a star, was enriched with films like 'La pequeña coronela' (1935) or 'Heidi' (1937), she only saw 13 dollars a month. His mother received 250 a week and, later, a bonus of 15,000 or 35,000 at the end of each film, depending on the success it had.
Although his conservatism prevented him from speaking ill of those years in which he became the national emblem of the United States without hardly realizing it, he later admitted, with a small mouth, that his father had kept most of the money he earned. for their movies. In those years when their charm and 52 curls made Americans happy, suffering from the Great Depression, not everyone agreed with their work and their self-confidence. The writer Graham Green published an article in which he claimed that his films seemed "depraved".

The most famous curls in the history of cinema were gone forever five years ago. Shirley Temple will be remembered as that childish icon a thousand times parodied, imitated, revered and hated with flavor to other times. The 'little' died on February 10, 2014 at age 85 leaving behind a legacy of po[CENSORED]rity that dates back to the thirties. Despite what it may seem, not everything in his life was rosy.

For example, when Fox, the studio that made her a star, was enriched with films like 'La pequeña coronela' (1935) or 'Heidi' (1937), she only saw 13 dollars a month. His mother received 250 a week and, later, a bonus of 15,000 or 35,000 at the end of each film, depending on the success it had.
Shirley Temple in 1938. (Cordon Press)
Shirley Temple in 1938. (Cordon Press)

Although his conservatism prevented him from speaking ill of those years in which he became the national emblem of the United States without hardly realizing it, he later admitted, with a small mouth, that his father had kept most of the money he earned. for their movies. In those years when their charm and 52 curls made Americans happy, suffering from the Great Depression, not everyone agreed with their work and their self-confidence. The writer Graham Green published an article in which he claimed that his films seemed "depraved".

Through scenes like the one in which she played a half-naked Cupid in 'Curly Top', Greene exemplified that the girl had middle-aged admirers and that they were fascinated by her "childhood coquettishness". Fox sued the magazine 'Night and Day' and Greene himself for the article and both had to pay $ 3,500 for damages to the child and the studio. That did not stop Greene from referring to her, in successive years, as "that little bitch"
Perhaps the spectators came out winning with the permanence of Garland in the film, but for Temple that was the beginning of the end. From then on, everything went downhill. 'The blue bird', an attempt to make a fantastic film and Technicolor on the Oz line, was a major bump that kept her away from the cinema for four years. When she returned, she had to forget about being the protagonist. In 'Since you left', 'I'll see you again' or 'Fort Apache', she was just a secondary teenager with little importance in the plot.
In his personal life, he did not seem to be doing too well either. In 1945, at the tender age of 17, he married actor John Agar. He seemed much more interested in the bottle of whiskey than in pleasing his wife. Also, rare was the occasion when he did not bring several women home while she was pregnant. The marriage climax came one night when he arrived so drunk and determined to hit her that she had to leave the house in panic.

The most famous curls in the history of cinema were gone forever five years ago. Shirley Temple will be remembered as that childish icon a thousand times parodied, imitated, revered and hated with flavor to other times. The 'little' died on February 10, 2014 at age 85 leaving behind a legacy of po[CENSORED]rity that dates back to the thirties. Despite what it may seem, not everything in his life was rosy.

Despite all these early swings, Temple ended up finding happiness with Charles Alden Black, who introduced her to the world of politics and guaranteed a new life away from the spotlight of Hollywood. Unlike other early stars, he never victimized his role in the film industry.