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The little girl who fought the Great Depression : Shirley Temple and 1930s America / John F. Kasson.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : W.W. Norton & Company, [2014]Edition: First editionDescription: 308 pages : illustrations ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 0393240797 (hbk.)
  • 9780393240795 (hbk.)
Subject(s):
Contents:
Smile like Roosevelt -- Such a happy little face! -- Dancing along the color line -- The most adored child in the world -- Keeping Shirley's star aloft -- What's a private life? -- Epilogue: Shirley visits another president.
Summary: Discusses the optimism and good cheer that surrounded the young, Depression-era box office star whose singing, acting, and charming smile helped revive the American spirit during the 1930s and for many decades after.Summary: Her image appeared in periodicals and advertisements roughly twenty times daily; she rivaled FDR and Edward VIII as the most photographed person in the world. Her portrait brightened the homes of countless admirers: from a black laborer's cabin in South Carolina to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover's recreation room in Washington, DC. A few years later her smile cheered the secret bedchamber of Anne Frank in Amsterdam. For four consecutive years Shirley Temple was the world's box-office champion, a record never equaled. Amid the deprivation and despair of the Great Depression, Shirley Temple radiated optimism and plucky good cheer that lifted the spirits of millions and shaped their collective character for generations to come. Distinguished cultural historian John F. Kasson shows how the most famous, adored, imitated, and commodified child in the world astonished movie goers, created a new international culture of celebrity, and revolutionized the role of children as consumers. To do so, she worked virtually every day of her childhood, transforming her own family as well as the lives of her fans.--From publisher description.
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Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library Biography Temple, S. K19 Available 33111007590207
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Amid the deprivation and despair of the Great Depression, Shirley Temple radiated a spirit of optimism and plucky good cheer. Her image appeared in periodicals and advertisements daily; she rivalled Franklin D. Roosevelt and Edward VIII as the most photographed person in the world. For four consecutive years she was the world's box-office champion. John F. Kasson shows how Temple astonished movie veterans, created a new international culture of celebrity and revolutionised the role of children as consumers. Celebrating the prospect of lifting the Depression, tap-dancing across racial boundaries with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, foiling villains and mending the hearts of the deserving, she personified the hopes and dreams of Americans while working virtually every day of her childhood.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-292) and index.

Smile like Roosevelt -- Such a happy little face! -- Dancing along the color line -- The most adored child in the world -- Keeping Shirley's star aloft -- What's a private life? -- Epilogue: Shirley visits another president.

Discusses the optimism and good cheer that surrounded the young, Depression-era box office star whose singing, acting, and charming smile helped revive the American spirit during the 1930s and for many decades after.

Her image appeared in periodicals and advertisements roughly twenty times daily; she rivaled FDR and Edward VIII as the most photographed person in the world. Her portrait brightened the homes of countless admirers: from a black laborer's cabin in South Carolina to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover's recreation room in Washington, DC. A few years later her smile cheered the secret bedchamber of Anne Frank in Amsterdam. For four consecutive years Shirley Temple was the world's box-office champion, a record never equaled. Amid the deprivation and despair of the Great Depression, Shirley Temple radiated optimism and plucky good cheer that lifted the spirits of millions and shaped their collective character for generations to come. Distinguished cultural historian John F. Kasson shows how the most famous, adored, imitated, and commodified child in the world astonished movie goers, created a new international culture of celebrity, and revolutionized the role of children as consumers. To do so, she worked virtually every day of her childhood, transforming her own family as well as the lives of her fans.--From publisher description.

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