Shirley Temple, the infamous child star, retired from the silver screen in 1950, when she married her second husband Charles Alden Black. In her adult life she raised three children, created a television series, and worked for the United States government in many roles. Shirley Temple Black is currently living in California.
Shirley Temple After Hollywood
Because he was called to duty during the Korean war, Shirley Temple Black moved with her husband and daughter to Washington, D.C. In 1951. Charles Alden Black, Jr., was born in a hospital on the naval base in 1952 and Lori Alden Black was born almost exactly two years later. In 1953, after her husband's duty to the military was complete, the family moved back to Santa Monica, California, Shirley's home town.
In 1958, at thirty years old, Shirley began a television series called Shirley Temple's Storybook; a series of fairy-tale retellings and adaptations that would always start with Shirley singing “Dreams are Made for Children” and then introducing the story. She often was also in a part of the story (as a character or narrator), and even allowed for her three children to be characters in an episode. The show lasted for one season because of the low production quality, poor reviews, and inconsistent airing times.
Not losing heart, Temple (Temple-Black) took these criticisms and fixed them, creating The Shirley Temple Show which aired Sunday evenings. This variation had a better audience following, however it, too, was canceled after once season because it could not compete with the ratings of the competition.
After her own show was through, she was a guest star for several TV shows of the time, such as The Mike Douglas Show and Sing Along with Mitch. She even hostedAFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, an award show in the late 1990s.
Shirley Temple Begins a Political Career
As Temple became less involved with acting, she became more involved in politics. As a child star, she often had company with many high-profile persons including heads-of-states, and as an adult Temple began to be involved with California's Republican Party. In 1967, Temple ran for office in the U.S. House of Representatives, but was beat out by her democratic opponent.
In 1969, Temple gained an official position as a member of the 24th General Assembly of the United Nations. Five years later, she would become the United States Ambassador to Ghana, which she held until mid-1976. In 1976, she became Chief of Protocol of the of the United States and was intimately involved in the planning and execution of President Carter's inauguration in early 1977. Temple was the first female Chief of Protocol ever. In 1989, Shirley Temple became an ambassador again, this time as the United States Ambassador to Czechoslovakia, which lasted until 1992 when the nation divided into two sovereign nations.
Shirley Temple's Autobiography: Child Star
In 1988, Shirley Temple published the first volume of her autobiography, Child Star. The chronology spans her youngest years as she began working in films, and her development and effects of her fame, all the way to the birth of Lori, her third child. The Official Shirley Temple Website says that Temple is in the process of writing the second volume of her memoirs, which will include the later years of TV acting and political works. In 2001, her autobiography was picked up as a TV production by ABC, and Temple worked as a consultant with it's creation and production.
Awards and Achievements of Shirley Temple
Temple was honored many times throughout her childhood, but was also granted many lifetime awards in adulthood including the Kennedy Center Honors (1998), and The Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild (2005).
Other Resources:
- For a biography of Shirley's life before 1950, read the companion article The Young Life of Shirley Temple: From Child Star to Retirement.
- More information is included on Shirley Temple's Official Website, her biography at ReelClassics.com, or the Shirley Temple Black biography at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
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