Shirley Temple died this week. She was 85. My readers probably know she came to Hawaii several times and fell in love with the islands. But they may not know she met her future husband and fell in love here as well. Given that today is Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d tell that Hawaii love story.
Temple broke into movies in "Stand Up and Cheer" in 1934 at age 5. She performed in several more films that year, including "Bright Eyes," where she first sang "On the Good Ship Lollipop."
Temple came to Hawaii with her family on the Lurline when she was at the height of her career, on July 29, 1935. She was 7 years old and the top actress in America.
Fifteen thousand people met her ship at Aloha Tower. When she saw them, she was frightened. Then she saw Olympian Duke Kaha na moku in the crowd and called to him. In minutes she was on his shoulders and felt safe.
Her family stayed at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, and several sources say the Shirley Temple drink was invented at the Mai Tai bar there in her honor. It was made with ginger ale, grenadine, orange juice and maraschino cherries.
The entire time she was in Hawaii, she made front-page news. The papers ran big pictures of her and charted her every appearance.
Lex Brodie, who was a beachboy, recalled them making her an honorary captain as they lined up in front of their surfboards. The Pearl City Yacht Club made her an honorary commodore, and later her family dined at the Mochi zuki Teahouse in Li liha.
She was invited by Gov. Joseph Poindexter to the upper floor of Iolani Palace where she sang "Good Ship Lollipop" to the thousands outside who had come to see her.
Temple visited the Shiners Hospitals for Children on Punahou Street and cheered up the children there, says Public Relations Director Mahea lani Richardson.
Michele Hamada remembers her father, Raymond Y.C. Won, telling her that Temple visited the Dole pineapple cannery where he worked.
"He said that all work came to a complete stop, and everyone rushed to catch a glimpse of Shirley Temple. Throughout the years," Hamada recounts, "he always told us of that story, and thought that was the only time that production at the cannery came to a complete halt."
It was on a subsequent visit in 1950 that the 22-year-old Shirley Temple met her future husband, Hawaiian Pine executive Charles Black. It was at a party at the Diamond Head beach house of Dr. Ralph Cloward, Hawaii’s first neurologist. His son, Kerry Cloward, still lives there and showed me the rock wall where they sat together.
Black had planned to go surfing that day, but the waves were flat. The party was his Plan B. Black had not seen any of Temple’s films and did not recognize her.
"We were introduced," the former child star recalled, "and he said, ‘What do you do? Are you a secretary?’
I laughed and said, ‘I can’t even type. I make films.’ It was very refreshing to me — a handsome guy who wasn’t interested in Hollywood or anything about it."
"I fell in love with him at first sight," Temple later said. "It sounds corny but that’s what happened. But I don’t think he did with me."
Temple was separated at the time from her first husband, Jack Agar. She and her new beau spent a lot of time touring Oahu and going for swims. Reporters saw them making out at the Moana hotel.
She asked her friend, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, to run a background check on him. Nice to have friends in high places. Hoover found he had been a naval intelligence officer during World War II and had been awarded a Silver Star. He passed muster.
They married later that year and spent 55 years together until Charles Black died in 2005.
Shirley Temple made an indelible impression on us that has lasted more than 70 years. Now you know that Hawaii made a lasting impression on her as well.
Bob Sigall, author of the “Companies We Keep” books, looks through his collection of old photos to tell stories each Friday of Hawaii people, places and companies. Email him at Sigall@yahoo.com.
