She was one of the greatest and most loved stars Hollywood has ever produced. She made over $3 million by her mid-teens and was awarded an honorary Academy Award — at the age of six. Born on April 23rd, 1928, Shirley Temple Black is known for such films such as “Bright Eyes”, “Curly Top” and “Heidi,” as well as the song “On the Good Ship Lollipop.” Her movies were an important part of the 1930’s and helped brighten the darkest days of the Great Depression. She ended her acting career at the age of 22, but she was never far from the spotlight.
In 1968 she was representing the International Federation of Multiple Sclerosis Societies in Prague when the Soviets invaded. The beginning of her diplomatic career came shortly thereafter, when she was appointed to the U.S. delegation to the U.N. under President Nixon. She then went on to serve as the Ambassador to Ghana and would joke later that she got the posting after Secretary of State Henry Kissinger heard her discussing Namibia at a party and was “surprised that I even knew the word.” She was named Chief of Protocol by President Ford, which was ”a lot of parties for one who doesn’t like parties.” In 1989, she became Ambassador to Czechoslovakia, just a few months before communist rule was overthrown, bringing that part of her life full circle. Later, she ran the Ambassadorial Seminar at the Foreign Service Institute under President Reagan, who was her co-star in a 1947 film. She was also an ADST Board member twice and served on its Advisory Council.
In these excerpts, Robert P. Smith and Thomas Hull give insights into Black’s abilities as Ambassador in Ghana and Czechoslovakia. Robert P. Smith, who succeeded Black as ambassador to Ghana was interviewed by Charles Stuart Kennedy starting in February 1989. Thomas Hull served as the Public Affairs officer in Prague when Black was Ambassador to Czechoslovakia, and tells of one particularly touching visit by a Holocaust survivor who admired her. Hull was interviewed by Daniel F. Whitman beginning in January 2010.
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