Child Star: an Autobiography

Shirley Temple Black– the quintessential child star of the 30s and 40s–tells in her own words the colorful story of her life as an actress.Born in 1928 in southern California, Shirley Temple was extraordinary from the start. At the age of three, she began acting, often in exploitative films directed and produced by some abusive studio executives. But Shirley’s talent and perseverance could not be thwarted, and she soon entered a fruitful relationship with Twentieth Century Fox. Before long she was making films with the top stars of the day, including Gary Cooper, Carole Lombard, Lionel Barrymore, Joel McCrea and many others.There was something magical about Shirley Temple that cheered the soul of America during the Depression. She was the number one movie star of the nation for four consecutive years, from 1935 through 1938.In Child Star Shirley Temple Black reveals the whole story, the ups and downs of life as a Hollywood prodigy–including numerous kidnap threats and even a murder attempt against her.