Quotes from Shirley Temple Black

You've got to S-M-I-L-ETo be H-A-Double-P-Y

I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph.

Any star can be devoured by human adoration, sparkle by sparkle.

To be hoisted onto laps, pinched by incredulous strangers, to occasionally get my curls tugged, to be cooed at, photographed, and quoted -all this was part of the job.

Not for nothing was the MGM lot known as the "factory," a studio perfumed with sultry, busty creatures with long legs and tight haunches, and more than its quota of lecherous older men.

This MGM flurry of concern about my body was unnerving. Having always taken my appearance for granted, I felt suddenly misshapen. Even Mother, whose earlier comments had always been good-natured, joined the critical chorus. [...] Stuck with myself, once again I resolved to stay friends with my body.

Lesson one: Being a starlet is a complicated life, especially when you're four years old.

Good luck needs no explanation.

When I was fourteen, I was the oldest I ever was. ... I've been getting younger ever since.

Our whole way of life today is dedicated to the removal of risk. Cradle to grave we are supported, insulated, and isolated from the risks of life- and if we fall, our government stands ready with Band-Aids of every size.

Make-believe colors the past with innocent distortion, and it swirls ahead of us in a thousand ways-in science, in politics, in every bold intention. It is part of our collective lives, entwining our past and our future ... a particularly rewarding aspect of life itself.