Iconic child star Shirley Temple dies at 85

February 11, 2014 at 6:29 a.m.

by The Associated Press

In this Jan. 29, 2006, file photo, Shirley Temple Black accepts the Screen Actors Guild Awards life achievement award at the 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles. Shirley Temple, the curly-haired child star who put smiles on the faces of Depression-era moviegoers, has died. She was 85.
In this Jan. 29, 2006, file photo, Shirley Temple Black accepts the Screen Actors Guild Awards life achievement award at the 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles. Shirley Temple, the curly-haired child star who put smiles on the faces of Depression-era moviegoers, has died. She was 85.

SAN FRANCISCO — Shirley Temple, the dimpled, curly-haired child star who sang, danced, sobbed and grinned her way into the hearts of Depression-era moviegoers, has died, according to publicist Cheryl Kagan. She was 85.

Temple, known in private life as Shirley Temple Black, died about 11 p.m. Monday night at her home near San Francisco. She was surrounded by family members and caregivers, Kagan said.

A talented and ultra-adorable entertainer, Shirley Temple was America's top box-office draw from 1935 to 1938, a record no other child star has come near. She beat out such grown-ups as Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, Robert Taylor, Gary Cooper and Joan Crawford.

Temple blossomed into a pretty young woman, but audiences lost interest, and she retired from films at 21. She raised a family and later became active in politics and held several diplomatic posts in Republican administrations, including ambassador to Czechoslovakia during the historic collapse of communism in 1989.

Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.


photo

AP/File

In this 1933 file photo, child actress Shirley Temple is seen in her role as "Little Miss Marker." Shirley Temple, the curly-haired child star who put smiles on the faces of Depression-era moviegoers, has died. She was 85. Publicist Cheryl Kagan says Temple, known in private life as Shirley Temple Black, died Monday night, Feb. 10, 2014, surrounded by family at her home near San Francisco.

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