Fans around the world mourn the loss of child star Shirley Temple Black, who died Feb. 10 of natural causes at 85 years old. Cambria Zebley, a freshman majoring in art from Utah, expressed her sadness upon hearing of Temple’s death. “It’s sad because she was so cute as a child, but she died at a good old age.” Known for her bouncy curls, dimples and cheery disposition, Temple, according to CBS news, has been credited as being the “face of hope” for Americans during the Great Depression. Giggi Cortizi, a native of Chicago and life-long fan of Temple told NPR, “Do you know how I survived those days? I was going to the show every Sunday to see Shirley Temple. I’m telling you, she was my inspiration to go on living. Honest to goodness.”President Franklin D. Roosevelt is attributed with saying, as reported by Yahoo news, “As long as our country has Shirley Temple, we will be all right.”Chelsea Palmer, a senior studying EXS from Alaska, remembers the iconic “Animal Crackers” song Shirley Temple sweetly sang as a prominent memory from her childhood. “When I was a little girl I always wanted curly hair like she had. I even got a perm,” said Palmer.Entering the entertainment industry when she was just three years old, Temple starred in over 50 films during her lifetime. Temple was propelled to stardom near the time sound was added to films, according to NPR News. While contracted with Fox Entertainment, Temple became the top-grossing movie star in the world from 1935 to 1938, according to Yahoo News. Temple also assisted in bringing Fox Entertainment out of bankruptcy. The young actress caused a bit of controversy in the South when she danced and sang in Fox produced films alongside Bill Bojangles Robinson, a middle aged black man. Temple said of Robinson, “[He] was probably my best dance teacher and best friend when I was a little girl.”By the time Temple was 21, she had given up acting and instead took on the roles of being a wife, mother, and eventually a diplomat in the 1960’s, according to NPR News. Under President Nixon, she was appointed a delegate to the United Nations and later on she became the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Ghana and Czechoslovakia. According to Temple, her greatest achievements were in fulfilling her roles within her family. She said, “There’s nothing like real love. Nothing.”
Writer: Hailey Gardiner ~ Multimedia Journalist
