Temple began her film career in 1932 at the age of three and, in 1934, found international fame in Bright Eyes, a feature film designed specifically for her talents. She received a special Juvenile Academy Award in February 1935 for her outstanding contribution as a juvenile performer to motion pictures during 1934, and film hits such as Curly Top and Heidi followed year after year during the mid-to-late 1930s. Licensed merchandise that capitalized on her wholesome image included dolls, dishes, and clothing. Her box office popularity waned as she reached adolescence, and she left the film industry in her teens. She appeared in a few films of varying quality in her mid-to-late teens, and retired completely from films in 1950 at the age of 22. She was the top box-office draw four years in a row (1935β38) in a Motion Picture Herald poll.
Temple returned to show business in 1958 with a two-season television anthology series of fairy tale adaptations. She made guest appearances on television shows in the early 1960s and filmed a sitcom pilot that was never released. She sat on the boards of corporations and organizations including The Walt Disney Company, Del Monte Foods, and the National Wildlife Federation. In 1988, she published her autobiography, Child Star. Temple was the recipient of awards and honors including Kennedy Center Honors and a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.
Temple ranks 18th on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female American screen legends of all time.
Temple began dance classes at Meglin's Dance School in Hollywood in 1931, at the age of 3. Her film career began when a casting director from Educational Pictures visited her class. Although Temple hid behind the piano in the studio, she was chosen by the director, invited to audition, and, eventually, signed to a contract with Educational.
Temple worked at Educational from 1932 to 1933, and appeared in two series of short subjects for the studio. Her first series, Baby Burlesks, satirized recent motion pictures and politics. In the series "Baby Burlesks", Shirley would dress up in a diaper, but then be wearing adult clothes everywhere else. The series was considered controversial by some viewers because of its depiction of young children in adult situations. Her second series at Educational, Frolics of Youth, was a bit more acceptable, and cast her as a bratty younger sister in a contemporary suburban family.
While working for Educational Pictures, Temple also performed many walk-on and bit player roles in various films at other studios. She is said to have auditioned for a lead role in Hal Roach's Our Gang comedies (later known as The Little Rascals) in the early 1930s; various reasons are given for her not having been cast in the role. Roach stated that Temple and her mother were unable to make it through the red tape of the audition process, while Our Gang producer/director Robert F. McGowan recalls that the studio wanted to cast Temple, but they refused to give in to Temple's mother's demands that Temple receive special star billing. Temple, in her autobiography Child Star, denies that she ever auditioned for Our Gang at all. However, Temple had some connection with Our Gang in that Temple's carpool friend, David Holt, had a small role in the 1933 Little Rascals film Forgotten Babies.
Temple was finally signed to Fox Film Corporation (which later merged with 20th Century Pictures to become 20th Century Fox) in late 1933 after appearing in Stand Up and Cheer! with James Dunn. Later, she was paired with Dunn in several films.
Temple would stay with Fox until 1940, becoming the studio's most lucrative player. Her contract was amended several times between 1933 and 1935, and she was loaned to Paramount for a pair of successful films in 1934. For four solid years, she ranked as the top-grossing box office star in America. Shirley's birth certificate was altered to hold on to her babyhood; her birth year was advanced from 1928 to 1929. She was not told her real age until her twelfth (actually thirteenth) birthday.
Her popularity earned her both public adulation and the approval of her peers. Even at the age of five, the hallmark of her acting work was her professionalism: she always had her lines memorized and dance steps prepared when shooting began.
Temple also made pictures with Carole Lombard, Gary Cooper, Adolphe Menjou, and many others. Arthur Treacher appeared as a kindly butler in several of Temple's films.
Temple's ability as a dancer (especially a tap dancer) is well known and celebrated. Even in her earliest films she danced, and she was able to handle complex tap choreography by the age of five. She was teamed with famed dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in The Little Colonel, The Littlest Rebel, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and Just Around the Corner. Robinson also coached and developed her choreography for many of her other films. Because Robinson was African-American, and the South was replete with racism, his scenes holding hands with Temple had to be edited out in many cities in the South.
Aside from the films, there were many Shirley Temple product during the 1930s. Ideal's numerous Temple dolls, dressed in costumes from the movies, were top sellers. Original Shirley Temple dolls bring in hundreds of dollars on the secondary market today. Other successful Temple items included a line of girls' dresses and hairbows. Several of Temple's film songs, including "On the Good Ship Lollipop"(from 1934's Bright Eyes), "Animal Crackers in My Soup" (from 1935's Curly Top) and "Goodnight My Love" (from 1936's Stowaway) were popular radio hits. She frequently lent her likeness and talent to promoting various social causes, including the Red Cross.
Temple was the first recipient of the special Juvenile Performer Academy Award in 1935 for recognition of her outstanding contribution to screen entertainment in 1934. Seventy years later, Temple is still the youngest performer ever to receive this honor, or any Oscar. She is also the youngest actress to add foot and hand prints to the forecourt at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
That's What I Want for Christmas
Shirley Temple Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Make my mommy's life a song
Keep my daddy safe and strong
Let me have them all year long
That's what I want for Christmas
Let my dolls be made of rags
Fireman hats of paper bags
Just write love on the greeting tag
Its a happy holiday
Every heart is light 'n gay
For Santa Claus you're kind I'm sure
To young and all the rich and poor
Won't you please for goodness sake
Do away with tummy ache
Give out lots of lucky breaks
That's what I want for Christmas
Yes, that's what I want for Christmas
I don't want electric trains
Twenty-dollar aeroplanes
Free our friends from aches and pains
That's what I want for Christmas
I like pretty shoes to wear
But if I could give a pair
To poor little children everywhere
That's what I want for Christmas
When the Reindeer pass my house
I was quiet as a mouse
But in my dreams I seem to see
Marching round the Christmas tree
Animals that never bite
Never giving any fright
Soldier boys who never fight
That's what I want for Christmas
Yes, that's what I want for Christmas
In Shirley Temple's song "That's What I Want For Christmas," the lyrics express the true meaning of Christmas. The song wishes for a life full of happiness, safety, love, and peace. The song starts by expressing the desire for the safety and well-being of the child's parents. The song highlights that materialistic things, such as dolls made of rags and fireman hats of paper bags, are not important. Instead, the song requests love, kindness, and free our friends from aches and pains. The song emphasizes that every heart should be light and gay during the holiday season. The song also seeks to spread this happiness throughout the world, wishing happiness and love for poor little children everywhere. The song emphasizes the importance of kindness, peace, and love and hopes for a world free from fights, tummy aches, and pain, during the holiday season and throughout the year.
Line by Line Meaning
Make my mommy's life a song
I want my mom to be happy, healthy, and always have a great life filled with joy and happiness.
Keep my daddy safe and strong
I want my father to be strong, courageous and protective, to keep my family safe and secure.
Let me have them all year long
I want my parents to be with me always, throughout the year, and share every moment with me.
Let my dolls be made of rags
I don't want fancy toys, just a simple doll made of rags would suffice, as long as it brings me love and happiness.
Fireman hats of paper bags
I don't want expensive things like designer clothing, just a paper hat would do, as long as it makes me happy.
Just write love on the greeting tag
I don't need anything materialistic, just simple gestures of love and affection matter more to me.
Every heart is light 'n gay
Christmas is a joyous time when everyone is happy and content, spreading joy and love everywhere.
For Santa Claus you're kind I'm sure
I know Santa Claus is kind and loving, and he brings happiness to everyone, young or old, rich or poor.
Do away with tummy ache
I want everyone to be free from pain and discomfort, especially stomach aches, during this holiday season.
Give out lots of lucky breaks
I wish for everyone to have good luck and fortune, and receive many opportunities and blessings this Christmas.
I don't want electric trains
I don't need any fancy toys or expensive gifts, just simple things that bring love and happiness matter to me.
Twenty-dollar aeroplanes
I don't need expensive gifts or extravagant toys, just simple things that make me happy are enough for me.
Free our friends from aches and pains
I want my friends and loved ones to be healthy and free from pain, especially during this holiday season.
I like pretty shoes to wear
I enjoy simple things like pretty shoes that make me happy and comfortable, but they're not the most important thing in life.
But if I could give a pair
If I could help others by giving them something as simple as a pair of shoes, it would make me happy and fulfilled.
To poor little children everywhere
I wish to spread love and joy to children of all backgrounds, even those who might be less fortunate and in need of help.
When the Reindeer pass my house
I imagine Santa Claus and his reindeer passing by my house, and the excitement and joy it brings me.
But in my dreams I seem to see
In my dreams I see a world filled with love, kindness, and happiness, where everyone is treated equally and with respect.
Marching round the Christmas tree
I imagine my family and friends, marching around the Christmas tree, singing and dancing together, filled with joy and love.
Animals that never bite
I imagine a world where animals are kind and gentle, and never harm or hurt anyone.
Never giving any fright
I imagine a world where there is no fear or apprehension, and everyone feels safe, comfortable, and loved.
Soldier boys who never fight
I imagine a world where there is no war, and everyone lives in peace and harmony, with no need for soldiers or armed forces.
That's what I want for Christmas
All I want for Christmas is a world filled with happiness, love, and kindness, where everyone is treated equally and with respect.
Yes, that's what I want for Christmas
I wish and pray for a world filled with compassion, joy and happiness for everyone, and that's all I want for Christmas.
Contributed by Mackenzie T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@avereykennedy1190
Make my mommy's life a song
Keep my daddy safe and strong
Let me have them all year long
That's what I want for Christmas
Let my dolls be made of rags
Fireman hats of paper bags
Just write love on the greeting tag
That's what I want for Christmas
Its a happy holiday
Every heart is light 'n gay
For Santa Claus you're kind I'm sure
To young and all the rich and poor
Won't you please for goodness sake
Do away with tummy ache
Give out lots of lucky breaks
That's what I want for Christmas
Yes, that's what I want for Christmas
I don't want electric trains
Twenty-dollar aeroplanes
Free our friends from aches and pains
That's what I want for Christmas
I like pretty shoes to wear
But if I could give a pair
To poor little children everywhere
That's what I want for Christmas
When the Reindeer pass my house
I was quiet as a mouse
But in my dreams I seem to see
Marching round the Christmas tree
Animals that never bite
Never giving any fright
Soldier boys who never fight
That's what I want for Christmas
Yes, that's what I want for Christmas
@wafacabriales
Shirley Temple lives forever in my heart. She was a miracle child and never will be another one like her. May God Almighty bless her sweet soulβ€π
@finnhenderson3909
So much talent π
@splashpont
A song that should be required learning for every child (and adult, too). Where you heart is, there will your treasure be.
@sallys9294
She was the most talented child actress ever. I still love watching her movies.
@addisongoddard1394
I sang this song for the Christmas play my singing instructor puts on every 3 or 4 years (the community gets involved) and it was a success!
@lora16andherlrandmehsuperv66
Wow,so beautiful and amazing song,I love Shirley !π
@avereykennedy1190
Make my mommy's life a song
Keep my daddy safe and strong
Let me have them all year long
That's what I want for Christmas
Let my dolls be made of rags
Fireman hats of paper bags
Just write love on the greeting tag
That's what I want for Christmas
Its a happy holiday
Every heart is light 'n gay
For Santa Claus you're kind I'm sure
To young and all the rich and poor
Won't you please for goodness sake
Do away with tummy ache
Give out lots of lucky breaks
That's what I want for Christmas
Yes, that's what I want for Christmas
I don't want electric trains
Twenty-dollar aeroplanes
Free our friends from aches and pains
That's what I want for Christmas
I like pretty shoes to wear
But if I could give a pair
To poor little children everywhere
That's what I want for Christmas
When the Reindeer pass my house
I was quiet as a mouse
But in my dreams I seem to see
Marching round the Christmas tree
Animals that never bite
Never giving any fright
Soldier boys who never fight
That's what I want for Christmas
Yes, that's what I want for Christmas
@marciabramson6194
Wowza ,,,,, how the hey were they able to help Shirley memorize all that?? Maybe easier in a song. Still a lot. Probably Shirley was 5 or 6 years old in Stowaway. Rarely on. Do not recall seeing. Really love π Alice Faye & Robert Young. Long time actors.
@wafacabriales
Thank you so much for posting the words of this precious song. That was so nice of youπΌππΈ
@queenjillian3995
I miss hearing her voice it was sad that we lost our beautiful American Sweetheart