![]() Thanks to the golden-haired child’s popularity with the American public, that all changed. In the beginning of Temple’s career with 20th Century Fox, the studio was on the verge of bankruptcy. More and more the adult movie business seemed populated with a bunch of copulating tomcats. Pain, disgust, and hate flickered across his face, but I felt no mercy. Hard on the heels of the Wizard, this new assault seemed unreal, but little could I do but thrust my right knee upward into his groin. In one swift movement he opened his trousers and, with a sudden reach, encircled me with one arm… I could feel his other hand groping to lift my shirt. We were standing a pace apart, eyeball to eyeball. Then there was the beloved comedian George Jessel, who once invited her to his office to “discuss a key role” in his upcoming film: “Sex is like a glass of water,” the man she simply refers to as “Wizard” continued. “It may be in your contract, but not mine,” she replied. What I had in mind was just a workplace formality.” After she rebuked one Hollywood producer for his advances, he responded, “Look, I’m going to be a big executive. Freed went on to produce films such as Annie Get Your Gun (1950) and Singin' In The Rain (1953).įor the entirety of her brief film career, Temple was forced to fight off sexual predators, as she was regularly groped, threatened, and terrorized by men. ![]() During a private meeting, Freed unzipped his trousers and exposed himself to her, saying, “I have something made just for you.” She responded by giggling nervously, and he threw her out of his office. Temple wrote in her autobiography that on her first visit to MGM, she met one of the studio’s producers, Arthur Freed. Tragically, this wasn't the only way in which key MGM employees exploited the young star. At the time, MGM reportedly ran their child stars into the ground by forcing them to shoot film after film so the studio could capitalize on their youthful talent. That same year, and at the tender age of 12, she signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. After two box-office flops, Fox dropped her contract. By 1940, however, her best films with 20th Century Fox were behind her. Between 1935 and 1938, she was the world’s top box office star, leaving Clark Gable in second place. Shirley Temple achieved international stardom with the release of Bright Eyes in 1934. The young star was once forced to work the day after she underwent an operation to lance her eardrum, and on another occasion was made to dance on a badly injured foot. Unfortunately, it seems as though the creators of the Baby Burlesks shared Temple's "time is money" attitude. Wasted time means wasted money means trouble." Its lesson of life, however, was profound and unforgettable. Temple was sent to the box several times, but she says, "far as I can tell, the black box did no lasting damage to my psyche. In her autobiography, Temple recalls the film series as "a cynical exploitation of our childish innocence." If any of the two dozen children in Baby Burlesks misbehaved, they were locked in a windowless sound booth dubbed the “punishment box,” where they’d be forced to sit on a block of ice. They dress in adult costumes, but wear diapers fastened with large safety pins. For that particular short, Temple played the part of a sex worker named Charmaine. In these often sexually suggestive one-reelers, children mimic adults. ![]() The film was one of the Baby Burlesks, a series of eight shorts that satirized major motion pictures, film stars, celebrities, and current events. When Shirley Temple appeared in 1932's War Babies - her first credited role - she was only three years old. Hollywood is full of tragic stories, but this one thankfully has a happy ending. Despite living a life filled with turmoil, Temple wrote in her memoir, Child Star: An Autobiography, that she emerged from this series of traumatic events unscarred. On top of that, her first husband cheated on her repeatedly, and her father spent the fortune she had earned without her knowledge or consent. To accomplish this, she constantly had to fight off lecherous Hollywood moguls who forced themselves on her. Hollywood tried to hide the flagrant abuses, but many have been well-documented.īefore she retired at the age of 22 in 1950, Temple made dozens of Hollywood films. From the first time she appeared on the screen in 1932, she was mistreated and abused both psychologically and sexually. In the 1935 film The Little Colonel, Shirley Temple tap-danced down a staircase with Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, and into the hearts of millions. The curly-haired, dimple-cheeked child sang sweetly of life on the good ship Lollipop, but Temple’s real life was anything but smooth sailing.
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