SHIRLEY TEMPLE hawking a radio

It was 1936 and the Shirley Temple movie "Poor Little Rich Girl" was coming out. So here we have Shirley doing a little promo work to get some buzz going for the movie. I imagine this image ended up in a lot of scrapbooks. I'm guessing a lot of little kids, and even women, were keeping scrapbooks about Shirley.

Click on image to see it larger. (SOURCE: The American Magazine, October, 1936)

Back when a radio was a piece of furniture, not something you tune into on your computer or iPod.

Would Shirley Temple MAKE IT TODAY?

I ask you, honestly, would Shirley Temple even have a chance today? Personally I don't think she'd even be able to get an agent interested in her. She wouldn't fit the rather skanky mold of young "stars" these days.

I simply can't imagine what she'd have been like had she been part of the culture of the '90s and the 21st century. I think she'd have still turned out to be a good and decent person thanks to her parents constant interest in what surrounded her. She certainly wouldn't have turned into a Lindsay Lohan or Miley Cyrus. But you do have to wonder how she would have been changed by our current culture.

Click here to see a vintage Shirley Temple paper doll from my collection.

(SOURCE: The American Magazine, May, 1937)

SHIRLEY TEMPLE paper dolls 1935

These Shirley Temple paper dolls date back to 1935. They're quite tattered and not a complete set. I purchased them as one item in a huge box I bought years ago on eBay that contained around 100+ vintage paper doll sets, some complete. Shirley was actually thrown in as a bonus. 

The dolls, clothing, and accessories are all double-sided so Shirley looked sensational whether coming or going. There are at least another dozen or more outfits in the bag and lots of little accessories. One of these days I'll get all of it into an album just as I've done with all the other sets I purchased.

As you can see Shirley's been run through the mill more than once. She's bent and torn and one doll is missing a hand. That's okay. I say she's been personalized. You can still occasionally find these dolls on eBay. Complete sets in booklets go for several hundred dollars. Or you can do what I've done and buy some of the reproductions done by Dover. I've put links in the left column at Amazon.