1936: 7-year old Shirley Temple signed a big contract

On this day in 1936, Shirley Temple got a new contract from 20th Century Fox.   She was guaranteed $50,000 per film for the next 7 years:    

Temple was born in 1928 in Santa Monica, California, and started appearing in a series of short films spoofing current movies, called Baby Burlesks, at the age of four. At six, she attracted attention with her complex song-and-dance number “Baby Take a Bow,” performed with James Dunn, in the 1934 movie Stand Up and Cheer. Based on the film’s success, 20th Century Fox signed little Shirley to a seven-year contract. She would appear in a string of films that year and the next, including Little Miss Marker, Change of Heart, Bright Eyes (which featured one of her most famous songs, the bouncy tune “On the Good Ship Lollipop”), and Curly Top. At the height of the Great Depression, Temple’s films provided a cheery alternate universe for audiences suffering the effects of widespread unemployment and general economic hardship.

Later, she had a diplomatic career.    Shirley Temple Black was named ambassador to Czechoslovakia by President Bush.

She died in 2014.

Child Star: An Autobiography by Shirley Temple Black https://t.co/7wolNa1tvK via @amazon

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) February 27, 2017