At 10:57pm pacific standard time Monday night, Shirley Temple died from natural causes in her home in California. At 85 years old, Temple lived a full life. Having married Charles Alden Black in 1950, she went by the name Shirley Temple Black, and together the two had two children, Lori and Charles Jr., and also raised Linda Susan, her daughter from a previous marriage. Temple’s daughter Lori went on to become the bassist for the grunge band, The Melvins. Shirley Temple Black and Charles Alden Black remained married until Black’s death in 2005 from complications stemming from a bone marrow disease.
“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,” the family statement said.
Temples Accomplishments and Movies
Temple first began appearing in movies in 1932, at the age of three. Temple rose to international fame with the movie “Bright Eyes”, which aired in 1934. The film had been crafted around Temple’s musical and acting talents. In 1935, Temple won a special Juvenile Academy Award for her talents. Top box office hits include Heidi, Curly Top, and The Littlest Rebel. The success of these films is credited with saving ailing film company 20th Century Fox from bankruptcy. Temple was one of the first film stars to merchandize, and Shirley Temple dolls, dishes, and clothing flew from the shelves at the peak of her stardom. Temple starred in films until the age of 22. Temple received a Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.
After her retirement from the silver screen, Temple went into politics in her home state of California. In 1974, she was appointed Ambassador to Ghana and became the first female Chief of Protocol of the United States in 1976. She also served as Ambassador to Czechoslovakia from 1989 to 1992.