Shirley Temple remembered, made her radio debut with Nelson Eddy

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Shirley Temple

“As long as our country has Shirley Temple, we will be all right.” – Franklin Roosevelt

Shirley Temple Black, the darling of Depression years and the most famous child star ever in Hollywood history, passed away last night at the age of 85.

Nelson Eddy & Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple’s life story is well known – she was a child star who, as an adult, used her fame to help others…but the Nelson Eddy connection may not be so well remembered. Shirley herself referred to it in her autobiography. Nelson was working with her the night of her radio debut and also the night she was almost killed! The date was December 24, 1939. Nelson was the host and narrator for the Screen Guild presentation of  “The Blue Bird,” young Shirley Temple’s radio debut. During this live broadcast, a mentally unbalanced woman stood up in the studio audience and aimed a gun at Shirley.  The woman was hauled away before she could pull the trigger… Amazingly, both Shirley and Nelson had a “show must go on” attitude and they continued the program without a hitch. Near the end, Nelson and Shirley sang a duet of “Silent Night”  and he gave her a protective hug as they smiled for the cameras.

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Many celebrity teenagers go through a bratty or rebellious period…but not so many in fully recover, or transition into their adult lives with the grace, optimism and good deeds that Shirley Temple displayed.

Her last major public appearance was receiving the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006, and she was just as bubbly and gracious “in person” as she appeared on screen all those years ago. You can watch a video clip of it here.

Our very best thoughts and wishes go to her family and friends…and to all of us who mourn today and feel she was a national treasure and “one of our own.” For several generations, whether you saw her films in theaters or on TV, she was a part of our childhoods.

TCM Schedule February 2014

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This month is fairly meager for films of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, despite the fact that it’s the “31 Days of Oscar” month! Here’s the schedule (all times Eastern):

February 9, 10:30 AM: San Francisco

Feb 15: 2 AM (actually is early Sunday morning on the east coast) The Love Parade

 

Nelson Eddy screenshot – tears during “Czaritza” duet in “Maytime”!

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Nelson Eddy…at last a screenshot that captures his emotion during the operatic number, “Czaritza”, with co-star Jeanette MacDonald, from the 1937 film Maytime. Thank goodness for today’s high-definition which allows us to see what was generally only spotted in 35mm theater prints of this film – and only if you knew precisely when to look closely and catch the light reflecting on Nelson’s tears. (In 16 mm prints and on VHS tapes, the picture quality was always slightly muddied and details like this were harder to spot.)

Art mirrored life at this time; in the film sequence the two characters loved each other but were forced to part. Same as it was in life, for Jeanette was recently engaged to actor Gene Raymond and Nelson tried in vain to get her to call off that marriage, warning her that she would regret it the rest of her life.

Did she live to regret it? There is much evidence to substantiate that in a big way. Even the naysayers who want to believe all the hundreds of happily posed shots of Jeanette and Gene over the years – have to ask themselves why Jeanette suffered breakdowns in the late ’40s and early ’50s. These were admitted to both in the press and by Jeanette herself in her autobiography. If so happy with her life, why would this normally optimistic, focused woman emotionally flounder and crumble?

Thanks to Kitty Job for catching the screenshot and to Katie Gardner for forwarding it to me, with this comment:

The guy is crying. This of course is right before she reaches up and strokes his hair…..So you know, either Nelson was ONE HELL of an actor or……he wasn’t!

 

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