Customer Reviews (11)

A must-read for Shirley Temple fans
A long-time fan of Shirley Temple's, when younger I read as many biographies about her as I could find in the local library. How I wish that someone had told me that an autobiography existed! Straight from Shirley Temple (Black)'s point-of-view come stories about her mother sneaking peroxide to lighten darkening hair, shooting President Roosevelt's wife in the behind with a slingshot, talking to Orson Welles about his infamous _War of the Worlds_ broadcast, running her own "police force," a murder attempt during a live radio performance, and more.

Temple Black lived during an interesting era, including the Great Depression, and onset of World War II. Superimposed with her surreal life as a movie star are the responses any normal child would have to the world changing around her, made more significant because of her growing interest in world affairs and politics. But the text is also engaging because it comes across as age-appropriate. In other words, there is an authenticity to what a child would have known at certain stages of life. As the book progresses, so does the maturity of the point-of-view, including a realization of her parents' (mis)use of her earnings and a failed first marriage.

There are also dialog-containing conversations, which lend to a feel of a novel in parts, and keep the book moving along. At a hefty over-500 pages, though, there are certain points where the reading is not as engaging as others. The author herself believes that one part of her ceased to exist around 1941 and, that being said, the text probably could have ended there, with her adult life being detailed in the promised future volume.

It's a real shame that this book is out-of-print and that the promised sequel has not as of yet materialized in print. At the same time, this is a real gem for any Shirley Temple fan, and it covers the part of her life the majority would be most interested in.

Very good read
This book is an easy and entertaining read. Mrs. Black is a very good writer.

I read it out of interest in Shirley Temple, who she was, why she stopped acting, where she is now. I got more than that. She explains what she was thinking, her excitement, her terrors, her reflections of being adored by so many. The fake tears, the real tears, the laughs, the family, the friends, and the industry. And now i have a deeper appreciation for this talented actress because of this book.

I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in who Shirley Temple was.

Child Star: An Autobiography
Child Star: An Autobiography by Shirley Temple Black is a must read for all "curley top" fans. Interesting, informative and entertaining - the book is a well laid out travel through this child star's life-journey. Many of Hollywood's child stars came to bad ends in life - not this one - in fact she goes on to continue to shine.

behind the scenes
This book provides a rare and fascinating look behind the scenes of the Hollywood motion picture industry, including the haphazard way in which "discoveries" were made, the almost ludicrous way decisions were made, etc.Shirley also relates how she was grossly cheated by Twentieth Century Fox by being nailed down to a five-year contract at $150.00 a week when a few weeks later Paramount offered to borrow her from Fox at a salary of $1000.00 per week.She goes on to quote dollars-and-cents amounts to demonstrate how she (or her mother) was repeatedly cheated, how false announcements were issued to the press as to her salary.The careful detail she goes into indicates that she (or some assistant) has done considerable "homework."

Shirley cycles from intra- and inter-studio political maneuvering to financial dealings, to candid details of other stars, to her schooling and her home life, thus keeping the story interesting and appealing to a number of different tastes.Among these are extraordinary events like two assassination attempts, visits to the White House, the governor of Massachusetts carelessly slamming a car door on her hand, etc.

The story gets more horrendous during her adolescent career.While her contract negotiations were going on at MGM, the fourteen-year-old Shirley was treated to sexual advances by the producer of "Wizard of Oz" with promises of stardom if she put out and threats of being washed up if she didn't.Her mother, meanwhile, was being subjected to the same treatment by Louis B. Mayer, the studio boss.Four years later, David O. Selznick pulled the same carrot-and-stick ploy during contract negations with his studio and on another occasion locked his office door and literally chased her around his office.Shirley relates in detail how she escaped from each of these sexual harassments with one glaring exception: a train ride to location shooting of one of her "grown-up" movies.In this case, the producer of "Wizard," now employed by Selznick, tried to r*pe her.This coy ducking of the incident is infuriating.If the r*pe didn't succeed, why does she not recount in detail how she got out of it, the way she does with all the other incidents?He tried to r*pe her again at his home some weeks later and she describes what she did to him to get out of that one.

She recounts how her own father ignored the court order under the Coogan Act and did not deposit any of her earnings in her trust account during her adolescent years (the pictures she made between age 14 and age 20).He had also kept all her childhood earnings (before the Coogan Act).Her father was uneducated but fancied himself a financier and lost all Shirley's money in one way or another.Consequently, out of over three million dollars earned in 19 years of stardom, Shirley Temple was left with only eighty thousand.

At twenty and married for the second time, she relates how she was induced to have a Caesarian at Bethesda Naval Hospital with promises of especially good medical care, how the surgeon botched the operation, then did not call in other physicians for consultation but kept trying to treat the consequences of one mistake after another in order to cover up his mistakes.Shirley almost died.Fortunately, other physicians intervened in time to save her life.On another occasion, a physician misdiagnosed a stomach ache for appendicitis and performed surgery, removing a perfectly healthy appendix.

Candid and thought provoking
I borrowed this book from the library because I was reaserching Shirley Temple's background in tap dance. By the time I finished it I had to purchase it and add it to my private research library. There is just so much more in this biography than I ever expected. I guess it's obvious if you think about it, Shirley Temple is a very intelligent person. Part of her talent as a child came from the fact that she has a very high IQ. So the writing in the book displays humor, wisdom, and candor I just had not anticipated. Her ability to memorize lines and deliver them correctly in one take was legendary when she was a child. What maybe less well known is that she is on every top ten list of great tap dancers and she gave the practice up, at least publicly, when she was 20, a time when most dancers are just getting started. I found this autobiography unusual on several fronts: Mrs. Black is very introspective about her parents and grand parents and their relationship to who she became. This is common in biographies, but much less so in autobiographies. She is also candid about unorthodox techniques used to direct her in her early movies, and her likes and dislikes of her various directors and co-stars. As a child she had an unusual capacity for concentration which she brings to bear on her work as a writer and the details of what she recalls. Any child growing up under similar circumstances would find their egos hardboiled. Mrs. Black turns acute perception on the problems of her personality and her use of her own power that are not always complimentary. This is a true expose of what becomes of someone who is both manipulated and praised beyond their own self image. I can only think that it was her unique intelligence that got her through. The National Enquirer is filled with similar stories of the less intelligent. I'm very much looking forward to part II of these chronicles. ... Read more

Product Description
Traces the life of America's most famous child actress. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Useful
I reccomend this book to many people who enjoy Shirley Temple. I found it very useful and quiet enjoyable.If children want to read about Shirley Temple or learn more about her you should definitly read this because it is on a steady reading level.

Excellent - Simple
This is a very simple and somewhat brief biography of Shirley Temple's life and career.It is a good source of information and I highly recommed it to anyone who is looking for their first biography of the biggest little star of Hollywood.It is an easy read!

Pretty good for younger children
I had to do a report a few years ago on shirley, and I would recomend this book for children who want to do a report on shirley, or just learn interesting facts about her and her career. so i would definitley look over the book, it is really heplful!!!! ... Read more

Product Description
Shirley Temple. She was a curly-topped moppet with a saucy grin that lit up the screen and an irrepressible spirit that won America's heart. But what was life really like for this extraordinary child growing up on the back lots and sound stages of Hollywood? This BOMC alternate reveals the ups and downs of stardom at age four and tells the funny, poignant, heartwarming chronicle of Shirley's journey to the pinnacle of stardom. A New York Times bestseller. HC: McGraw Hill. (Nonfiction) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

WELL WRITTEN, WORTH YOUR TIME!
It is about ten years ago since I first read Shirley's autobiography and I can still remember what chair I sat in while reading her book, it was that riveting for me.I recall much of what she said for her writing style is very clear and flows beautifully, thus keeping the readers interest as well as her storyline stays clear and uncluttered.Without spoiling the book for new readers I can summarize saying Shirley became all any of her public would have wanted her to become as an adult.She is loyal, loving and forgiving, not that Shirley says that herself, however she does bring to light her life's blessings as well as unpleasant situations, and there were amazingly tough times for Shirley even though the public would like to believe Shirley was untouchable in cases of difficulty. Shirley had more than a busy life, she worked very hard, her actress work as a child (and teen) was not just playtime as much as her mother tried to make it so...Shirley grew up on screen and became a lovely woman who continued her life in a few focused directions, which as I bring that up, it seems to me her book promised Volume 2.It has been a number of years Shirley, so please make Volume 2 available before I get too old!!

A very interesting read
Shirley Temple was clearly a genius; she was obviously a very precocious and talented child.Her book about her young life is riveting - I cannot believe the details she clearly remembers.

I felt so sorry for her as I read on...her parents basically stole all the money she made so that they could live the high life.But you can see what type of person she is when you read of how she forgives her parents.Very touching.A very interesting book; it was hard to put down.

"Book Sets Facts Straight"
This fine, well written book by Ms.Black sets the facts of her life straight, and reveals the truth of her life as it was lived by her. For example, other books state that her mother tried and tried to get her into the "Little Rascals/Our Gang" comedy shorts produced at the Hal Roach Studios. Shirley states that she recalls no such ploy on her mother's part. Usually, the best books about famous folk, especially movie stars, are those written either by the star themselves ("Child Star", by Shirley Temple Black, "Shelly", and "Shelly 2" by Shelly Winters)or by members of that person's family, such as the books on Sinatra written his daughters Tina andNancy (I'm still waiting for one by Frank Jr.) for, they're penned by those who lived the life being written about, or by those who lived with the one who's story they're writing.

It was ok
I thought this book would be an interesting read, and I was a little disappointed.
The writing style was only mediocre - readable but not fabulous.
Plus for a famous person she had no controversy so that made it a little dull - there were some interesting bits, for example, when she suspected another famous personality of leaking her opinions of her movies to the press. Plus a few others including her difficult times at school and financial abuse by her father...but

This book was another skillful dodge of controversy by Shirley Temple Black, I think this book would've been better if she had written from the heart and given her opinions instead of just reciting events chronologically. You know - the dirt, maybe the book she is currently working on will have more of that sort of stuff ;)

I've read it twice
I've always loved and admired Shirley Temple. Her life is fascinating and I especially enjoyed reading about her days as a child in the studio. This is a must-read book for Shirley Temple fans. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

I don't know I have not seen it yet.
I am trying to do it for an English paper. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Very informative.
Great book. Surprising that she kept so little money from her earnings, and that her father disobeyed a court order to hold half of her earnings in trust. This book came out in 1988, 8 years after her father's death. Also, that's the same year that the biography by Ann Edwards came out, but she knew nothing of this because Shirley didn't tell people how her parents had ripped her off. ... Read more

Product Description
A biography of the child actress who was known as "America's Sweetheart" and who, as an adult, became active in politics, serving as Ambassador to Ghana and as the first woman Chief of Protocol at the White House. ... Read more

Product Description
Chronicling Shirley Temple Black's various careers, this work spans the years from her childhood at the studio and at home through her waning success during adolescence, to her diplomatic and political pursuits. An anomaly among child stars, Shirley Temple Black's successful adaptation to life outside the traditional Hollywood social life is explored against the backdrop of the child-star phenomenon in American entertainment. Facts about her childhood, her parental influences, and her political beliefs present Shirley Temple Black as a unique individual rather than as a child star icon. ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Shirley Temple, Pamela E. Bridgewater, Nancy Jo Powell, Mary Carlin Yates, Shirley Temple Black. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 47. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Shirley Temple, or Shirley Jane Temple (born April 23, 1928) is a former American film and television actress, autobiographer, and public servant. She began her screen career in 1932 at the age of three, and, in 1934, skyrocketed to superstardom in Bright Eyes, a feature film designed specifically for her talents. She received a special Academy Award in February 1935, and blockbusting super hits such as Curly Top and Heidi followed year after year during the mid to late 1930s. Licensed merchandise that capitalized on her wholesome image included dolls, dishes, and clothing. Temple's box office popularity waned as she reached adolescence and she left the film industry at the age of twelve to attend high school. She appeared in a few films of varying quality in her mid to late teens, and retired completely from the silver screen in 1950 at the age of twenty-one. She was the top box-office draw four years in a row (19351938) in a Motion Picture Herald poll. In 1958, Temple returned to show biz with a two-season television anthology series of fairy tale adaptations. She made guest appearances on various television shows in the early 1960s and filmed a sitcom pilot that was never released. She sat on the boards of many corporations and organizations including The Walt Disney Company, Del Monte Foods, and the National Wildlife Federation. In 1967, she ran unsuccessfully for United States Congress, and was appointed United States Ambassador to Ghana in 1974 and to Czechoslovakia in 1989. In 1988, she published her autobiography, Child Star. Temple is the recipient of many awards and honors including Kennedy Center ...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=804602 ... Read more

Product Description
Shirley Temple. She was a curly-topped moppet with a saucy grin that lit up the screen and an irrepressible spirit that won America's heart. But what was life really like for this extraordinary child growing up on the back lots and sound stages of Hollywood? This BOMC alternate reveals the ups and downs of stardom at age four and tells the funny, poignant, heartwarming chronicle of Shirley's journey to the pinnacle of stardom. A New York Times bestseller. ... Read more

Product Description
1 "SPARKLE, SHIRLEY"2 THE IN-BETWEEN YEARS3 THE FAMILY YEARS4 INFO POLITICS5 MADAME AMBASSADORTIME LINEHOW TO BECOME AN ACTORHOW TO BECOME A FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER ... Read more