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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Glimpse at life of Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple in 1933, in her role as “Little Miss Marker.” (AP)

She was the biggest of child stars. She was the top U.S. box-office draw from 1935 to 1938, bigger than Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, Gary Cooper or Joan Crawford. She retired from acting at age 21 and went on to a diplomatic career. Here’s a glimpse at the life of Shirley Temple Black, who died Monday at age 85:

How many golden curls were on her head:

Her mother was said to have done her hair for each movie, with every hairstyle having exactly 56.

When she stopped believing in Santa Claus:

At age 6, “Mother took me to see him in a department store, and he asked for my autograph.”

So famous they named a drink after her:

The kid’s cocktail for the ages: ginger ale and grenadine, topped with a maraschino cherry.

How she lifted people’s spirits during the Depression:

“… It is a splendid thing that for just 15 cents, an American can go to a movie and look at the smiling face of a baby and forget his troubles,” President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said.

How she learned to cry on cue:

“I guess I was an early method actress. I would go to a quiet part of the sound stage with my mother. I wouldn’t think of anything sad, I would just make my mind a blank. In a minute I could cry. I didn’t like to cry after lunch, because I was too content.”

Why she didn’t play Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz”:

20th Century Fox chief Darryl Zanuck refused to lend her out for the 1939 classic.

Her advice for those aiming for a lifetime achievement award:

“Start early,” she said in 2006 when honored by the Screen Actors Guild.

Associated Press