Child movie star Shirley Temple’s costumes, scripts and a dress she wore to the Oscars are up for grabs at an auction on August 26, preserved by the actress-turned-American diplomat for nearly 80 years before her death in 2014.
Temple, one of the most popular child actors in Hollywood, won legions of fans as a bouncy, curly-haired young star in 1930s movies such as Bright Eyes, Heidi and Curly Top. The child actress went on to forge a second career as ambassador Shirley Temple Black and died at the age of 85 last year. Her family is now selling her belongings.
The items up for grabs on auctioneer Nate D. Sanders’s website include 57 costumes from films such as Now and Forever, The Little Colonel, Dimples, and Poor Little Rich Girl.
“These costumes are extremely important because they are the actual costumes that were in the movies. The actress kept these actual costumes for almost 80 years,” auction house owner Nate Sanders said.
“The most important piece we have ... is part of the lot of 57 dresses ... the dream sequence from Heidi where she did a dance number and wore wooden clogs. We have the dress and the wooden clogs. It’s one of Shirley Temple’s most remembered scenes.” Bidding for the lot of outfits, paired with pictures of Temple wearing the costumes, starts at $500,000 (Dh1,836,300).
Temple’s personal movie scripts are also for sale as is the peach silk pleated dress she wore to receive the Juvenile Award at the 1935 Oscars.
“She was the number one box office star back then for four years in a row,” Sanders said. “No one has outshined her with that success.”
