Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Shirley Temple Has A Secret Admirer


I didn't think it was possible for an 80 year old woman to have a stalker-ish type fan. What makes it even more incredible is that the fan in question is 82, and knows how to use the internet, AND reads Variety. Out of compassion and respect I generally try and read Army Archerd's blog in Variety. I mean as the headline says, Army was the original gossip blogger. He is the guy he told the world that Rock Hudson was getting treatment for AIDS.

Anyway, Army's column this week is about his birthday wishes to Shirley Temple who turns 80 today. Army does a little recap of her life and, honestly doesn't make her seem like the most friendly person in the world. Maybe Army was cranky, I don't know.

I wouldn't have really even brought it to your attention, except for the lone reader comment on the article.

Please forward this to Shirley.

Happy Birthday Shirley. So sorry you had an accident.
It's only temporary and in short time you'll be good as new.
Just wanted to say it's my birthday too. My 82nd. Needless to say I grew up watching and admiring you.

About 30 years ago I happened to be shopping in the same book shop, in California that you were in. Wanted to say Hello and tell you we share the same birthday but I hesitated as I wanted to give you, your privacy. So I admired you from a distance.
Again, Happy Birthday and a wishing you a speedy recovery.


OK, so she is probably not a stalker, but I worry about people who have an encounter with a celebrity and then are telling the same story 30 years later. This woman probably has said the same thing to her kids and grand kids and nieces and nephews and on and on and on for 30 years. Well, I hate to break it to you, but it probably wasn't even Shirley Temple. Shirley was 50 then. If you saw Shirley Temple in a bookstore right now would you recognize her? Hell no, and that is with the internet and photos available and everything else. 30 years ago you would have had a visit from Shirley once or twice a year in the newspapers.

I hope it was Shirley, and I am sure Shirley is happy to be admired from a distance. Of course this could be just a staffer from Variety who felt sad that no one had commented on Army's article about Shirley Temple and so made up one.

14 comments:

jax said...

shit i'll be telling anyone who'll listen about my sharing an umbrella-ella-ella with Robbie Williams years ago till i die.
look at adrian and her Bono pic..lol.

pretty normal for us peons that don't work around the rich n famous. bringing it up in cerversation,normal bringing it up at the gyno office while in stirrups, crazy.

Sydney in Wonderland said...

Jax: I know that was probably a typo, but I suddenly love the word "cerversation" . . . though I think it would mean something like the second part of your sentence. Talking while in the gyno office?

classalpha said...

Shirley Temple (Black) was ALL OVER the news media 30 years ago - in the late 70s Shirley was the AMBASSADOR to a foreign country (Ghana)... a DIPLOMAT. Later she also became Ambassador to Czechoslovakia. Therefore it was not difficult to recognize her in public, even at her age back then. Oh ya... and she's absolutely GORGEOUS in that old photo... THAT'S what a HOT young woman looks like, kids... and she was wholesome as well. Even in 1990 at age 70... she was still a cutie.

MnGddess said...

Really, Ent, some of have rather dull-ish lives and maybe that was one of the highlights of hers. Lighten up!

You really are scared to meet us, aren't you, Enty? Really, we're all normal. Mostly.

MnGddess said...

Jax, please tell about the encounter with Robbie. I may put him on my "Freebie 5" on Lainey's site..

jax said...

lol..it was a typo alpine.

mng- 2001 i was in London alone and shopping in Notting Hill area one day and came out of shop to find it absolutlely pouring out. a nice cute guy in buddy holly glasses was walkiing by and offered to share his big ass unbrella with me up the road. it ended up we were both going to the same shoe store! he was very nice and sweet, i was dying cuz i knew right away it was him. they closed the store for him and he bought black converse, i bought havanas...the end.

Unknown said...

Wow, guess I should google up some pics of her, she's kinda hot in that pic. In my mind, she's always Heidi..shudder

Anonymous said...

jax - cute story. How did you stop yourself from pawing at him? I would've been. :)

and "cerversation" could easily be a chat over a cerveza (spanish for beer), so I think it applies. :)

JL said...

I don't get how Ent thought that the article made her seem unfriendly. I am 60 years her junior and I probably would have been more upset and cranky over a broken arm.

jax said...

dn- absolute shock. trust me i've kicked myself for 7 years for not just grabbin it and going for it.

sigh..a man with a sense of humour gets me everytime.

MnGddess said...

Jax - I would have grabbed him and planted a big 'ol wet one on him.

Lucky girl. I'll bet he enjoys those kind of "normal" encounters.

jax said...

lol he totally must,when we saw him play a secret show here he stood in line with everyone for a good 20mins before we realized who he was under the shades..

Dead Angel said...

It would seem to me that 30 years ago people had better manners than to go up to people and bother them in public. Ol' Shirl was iconic to generations of people. It's probably someone from the way back days of the business, if they are reading Army Archard.

bionic bunny! said...

(said in a "stewie" voice)
"ew, ew, look at me! i'm a stalker! i'm a stalker, too!"

jock mahoney--nice man at the docks who always had a kind word for my brother and i.
fez parker--seemed to have a love for pastries.
anna maria alberghetti- snob. after all these years wonder what she was doing in such a small boat yard in the late 60's.
the "whammo" family. everybody went to school with the kids, most of my brother's friends wound up in the commercials.
this is weird, because nobody ever heard of her, but shari shattuck used to steal my scribe at parkaire ice rink in marietta when we were team mates.
and i almost forgot kevin thompson, who was my best friend in first grade. he was in all the star wars films, and the head martian in "spaced invaders".
gosh, he's probably done more work than anybody i can think of, and i can't even figure out how to reach him!

hows that for stalking? it's weird what you can bring up. oh, and that shari shattuck thing? she got me in a lot of trouble. look her up on imdb. she does exist.

sorry. a little drunk. been a weird couple of weeks.

ta-ta for the weekend, y'all.

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