As her movies’ earnings increased, so did her salary and eventually Hollywood’s highest paid star Her work schedule may have been intense, but now that she’s an adult, she looks back on it with fondness. After signing a contract with Fox, her mother was always on set with her. One notable thing that set Temple apart from other child stars was the close relationship she had with her parents. She dedicated her autobiography to her “beloved mother.” Other child stars weren’t so lucky.
In 1939, California passed the California Child Actor Act, commonly known as the Coogan Act. Jackie Coogan. Coogan, who was born 13 years before Temple, became one of the first child stars when he co-starred with Charlie Chaplin in the 1921 hit film The Kid. He made millions of dollars, but it was embezzled by his mother and stepfather, who sued him in 1938. After a legal battle, the state of California passed a law specifying working conditions and guaranteeing child actors 15% of their wages. In the so-called Coogan account.
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That was the extent of Temple’s luck with her parents. Her father worked in a bank and became her business manager. But, she told the BBC, “he dropped out of school right after Year 7” and began receiving unscrupulous investment offers. “Out of the $3.2 million they earned from doll sales, books, clothing, everything, there was $44,000 left in the trust account,” she said.
Her films had many facets and never felt old. Temple told the BBC that she and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson were the first on-screen interracial dance partners, but scenes of them touching were often cut. Meanwhile, off-screen, Hollywood was often a wicked place for young actors. Long after his film career ended, Temple said: predatory behavior She even endured when she was 12 years old.
She retired from the film industry at the age of 22. Her last film was 1949’s Kissing Corliss. However, this is not the end of her interesting career. She continued to work in the field of international relations, serving in the U.S. government as ambassador to both Ghana and Czechoslovakia. Temple told Wogan in an interview that his ambassadorship to Ghana was “the best job of my life.”
Wogan asked her: “Are you tired of that Good Ship Lollipop song?”
“No,” Temple replied. “It took me a long way.”
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