Retired at 22

I suspect that anyone born after 1980 barely recognizes the name Shirley Temple.  My exposure to Shirley Temple was the result of a local channel playing her movies on occasion.  Every Sunday at 9:30 A.M. this station would play either an Abbott and Costello or Shirley Temple movie, mostly A&C.  Unsurprisingly, I was always disappointed when a Temple movie was shown (though I was more disappointed to have to go to church).  The average ten year old boy is not going to find much to like in a curly haired little girl singing about the Good Ship Lollipop.

I watched those Abbott and Costello movies over and over, but I remember very little about the Shirley Temple movies.  Either they did not make much of an impression on me, or I found something else to do.  All I really remember is Shirley dancing up the stairs with Bill Robinson.  And one other movie which stood out from all the others-The Blue Bird.  This almost psychedelic film featured actors in a dog and a cat costume.  There was also a forest fire, which had to be disturbing for little kids.  This was one of the last films Temple starred in before the onset of puberty.  I need to revisit this film sometime, as it did make an impression on me.

Temple would retire at the age of 22 after a few years of trying to find a place for the grown up version of herself.  Before retiring she was in a few notable films, like Fort Apache and The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer.  I watched both films back in the 90s but remember little, except that Shirley Temple grew up into a very striking woman.  So if she was "beautiful" enough for Hollywood, why did she retire at such a young age?  Was she burnt out?  Was she a lousy actress?  Certainly marrying a rich husband helped her to not be dependent on working, after her parents squandered most of her fortune.  It is also curious that she married a conservative, and even ran for Congress as a Republican candidate.  A lot of questions, and few answers since I have not read her autobiography yet.  It is sitting on my bookshelf, and I would have started reading it except I really need to have a fresher perspective on her films before reading about her life.

So passes one of the last stars of the 1930s.  Few remain.