Some Shirley Temple Facts (Maybe) You Didn’t Know

By now you've probably heard the news that Shirley Temple, the most popular child movie star of all time, and at one point, the biggest box-office star in the world, passed away Monday at her home in California at the age of 85.

Many of us born long after Shirley Temple's stardom had faded are aware of her name, and maybe the song "Good Ship Lollipop," but not much else. Thanks to Ethan Trex at Mentalfloss.com, here are some things that you perhaps were unaware of:

 SHE'S PROTECTIVE OF HER COCKTAIL

There are few things tastier for a kid than a non-alcoholic cocktail like the Shirley Temple, a refreshing concoction of grenadine and lemon-lime soda garnished with a maraschino cherry.

What does the drink have to do with the child star, though? The Royal Hawaiian Resort in Waikiki, one of Temple's favorite haunts at the height of her fame, claimed to have invented the drink and named it in honor of the hotel's frequent customer during the 1930s. Like most any famous foodstuff, the Royal Hawaiian's claim of creating the drink is debated, though; Hollywood's legendary Brown Derby restaurant maintained that it invented the drink during the same time period.

While the drink's origins are murky, Temple is clearly protective of the drink that bears her name. In 1988 a California company tried to market Shirley T. Sparkling Soda. The former child star took umbrage at what she felt was the misappropriation of her name and told the New York Times, "I will fight it like a tigress. All a celebrity has is their name." The soda maker argued that the name Shirley Temple had become a generic term for the drink, but Temple still took the company to court, the second time she'd had to go through the legal system to squash a soda company's attempts to use her name.

I prefer the Kiddie Cocktail myself.

SHE WAS ALMOST DOROTHY GALE

The lead role in The Wizard of Oz propelled Judy Garland to stardom, but it could have gone to a more established star in Temple. Producer Arthur Freed met with Temple in 1938 to discuss the possibility of having her headline the picture, but since Temple was starting to lose her childish looks, he allegedly said, "First we lose the baby fat." According to a later memoir by Temple, Freed then exposed himself to her. Needless to say, she ended up not taking the part.

Wow. Called her fat, then exposed himself. That's classy negotiating. Hard to believe she didn't end up in The Wizard of Oz.

HAIR LIKE THAT DIDN'T COME EASY

Temple was undoubtedly a great actor for such a young child, but it didn't hurt that she usually had a head full of perfect curls when she stepped in front of the camera. As you might expect, giving a preteen such a meticulous hairdo was no small task. Before she turned in for bed each night, her mother had to set her hair in 56 carefully planned curls.

Temple reportedly didn't love the hairstyle; she preferred the shorter, tousled locks that her hero Amelia Earhart sported. Temple did, however, understand the value of her trademark look. In 1938 she visited the Roosevelts at their Hyde Park estate. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt asked the star to go swimming with her, but Temple declined "because of my hair."

Yeah, listen, I know you're the First Lady and all, but I gotta watch out for the hair...

• Lloyd's of London insured her for $25,000 with two stipulations: that she did not take up arms during war or get injured while intoxicated.
• She later said she stopped believing in Santa Claus when she was six. Her mother took her to a department store to meet Kris Kringle, and the store's St. Nick asked for Temple's autograph.
• When she was just six years old she was already earning over $1,000 a week. During her run at the top she raked in over $3 million.
• She appears on the cover of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. See if you can find her!

Learn more about Shirley Temple here.