![]() She was 85.Īmerica lost its curly-haired sweetheart, Shirley Temple Black, late Monday evening. ![]() “The pay's lousy, but other rewards-personal rewards-are great.Shirley Temple Black, shown here in 1935, died Feb. “I like a life in public service,” she told Stars and Stripes. While it was her childhood talent that propelled her onto the national stage at an early age, it was her dedication to her country that cemented her legacy in politics. A decade later in 1998, she was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors for her lifetime achievement. In 1988, she earned the rank of honorary U.S. “ very intelligent, very tough-minded, very disciplined,” he said, according to the Time s.Īltogether, she ended up working for more than 20 years in State Department positions. And she even earned praise from former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Temple’s childhood fame was never far behind, but she accepted that it helped her with name recognition (“Shirley Temple opened doors for Shirley Temple Black,” she said, according to Newsweek). She was the first woman to hold the title. Bush asked her in 1989 to become ambassador to Czechoslovakia-a prestigious position that was often reserved for career diplomats. While she lost her position during Jimmy Carter’s administration, she went back during Ronald Reagan’s time as a co-chair of the ambassadorial training seminars and then George H.W. “Then, on Day 3, we tell them what to do if they’re taken hostage.” “We teach them how to get used to being called Ambassador and having Marines saluting,” she wittingly described her job, according to the New York Times. In 1974, Gerald Ford appointed her as the ambassador to Ghana, and when she returned to the Capitol in 1976, she became chief of protocol, where she oversaw the program training new envoys. delegation for the United Nations’ General Assembly’s 24th session in 1969, where she championed issues like refugee rights, the challenges for the aging population and environmental concerns.Īnd that was just the beginning. While she didn’t get elected into a political role, her run still impressed people, notably President Richard Nixon. Temple worked in the State Department for more than two decades Despite that disadvantage-as well as the fact they’d often play “On the Good Ship Lollipop” at campaign stops-she earned about 34,000 votes, coming in second, losing to Paul N. I also was the only woman-there were 11 men,” Temple told Stars and Stripes. Arthur Younger in California’s 11th district where Temple lived left a vacancy in Congress, giving her the opportunity to get involved on a whole different level-she decided to run for his spot in Congress. She worked with the League of Women Voters, raised money for the Republican party and also supported Richard Nixon.Įventually, the couple settled in northern California and had two children, son Charlie and daughter Lori. Calling herself a “citizen politician,” she found ways to get involved. With her political interest sparked, she started reading “more deeply,” citing publications like U.S. to do more.” She unsuccessfully ran for congress We knew some of the joint chiefs of staff… As happens to anyone living in Washington, you get involved in politics. “During that time I was privileged to know many people connected with the Eisenhower administration. “We lived in Washington, D.C., for two and a half years,” she told the military publication Stars and Stripes. Shortly thereafter, during the Korean War, her husband was stationed as a Navy Lieutenant Commander at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.-and she followed. After 12 days of dating, they were engaged. ![]() That same year, she quit acting.Ī few months later, she was on vacation in Hawaii when she met Charlie Black-who hadn’t ever seen a Shirley Temple movie. While they did have one daughter named Linda Susan, the union quickly soured, in great part because of Agar's drinking, and they divorced in 1949. When she was 17, she married the brother of a classmate, John Agar, in 1945. As a teenager, she did one, maybe two, films a year. Her peak years at the box office were from 1935 to 1938-but the older she got, the fewer the projects rolled in. Edgar Hoover’s “fleshy” lap and launching a pebble with a slingshot at Eleanor Roosevelt’s rear end during a Hyde Park barbecue. ![]() Temple's early fame turned her into a global sensation and along with that came prestigious invites, often with government officials in attendance, despite her young age. Temple hobnobbed with political greats as a child star Shirley Temple, circa 1934 Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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