Shirley Temple — How Sexual Predators Drove Her From Showbiz
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Shirley Temple went to her grave still nursing the painful wounds of the childhood heartbreak that shadowed her entire life. As an underage actress, the beloved star constantly had to fight off sexual advances from Hollywood sickos!
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“She never forgot or got over the trauma of constantly having men trying to grope her and molest her when she was so young,” said a longtime family intimate. “The constant sexual harassment was the real reason she quit Hollywood!”
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Among the men who abused her were “Gone With the Wind” studio boss David O. Selznick — who actually chased Shirley around his office desk in an attempt to get her into his bed.
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The source also revealed that Shirley was targeted by famed comedian George Jessel . She later related in her own words about how Jessel approached her as a teen about a supposed "role" in an upcoming film — before attacking her in his office!
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"In one swift movement," said Shirley, "he opened his trousers and, with a sudden reach, encircled me with one arm, his face, droopy and baggy-eyed, looming directly into mine. I could feel his other hand groping to lift my shirt...little could I do but thrust my right knee upward into his groin."
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A raised knee also protected the star's honor on an earlier trip. Shirley was on a train going to a movie location when another studio bigwig tried to molest her. “She fought him off, as she did so many others,” the source recalled. “Here was this beautiful, young girl, the idol of America, and she was constantly being harassed — before she was even 16!”
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Shirley thought she could escape the problem by getting married. At age 17, she marched to the altar with ambitious actor John Agar. But things only got worse when Agar turned out to be a hard- drinking and womanizing wife beater! Ultimately it was all too much for the young starlet, who quit Hollywood when she was just 22.
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“She was tired of the constant fights — first with the execs, and then with her husband," said the insider. "She just wanted some peace. Her nightmare marriage even forced her to think about killing herself. After one violent fight with her husband, she jumped into her car and thought about driving off a cliff!”
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Instead, Shirley divorced Agar — whose Hollywood fortunes soon dwindled as he starred in a series of B-movies. His ex-wife, said the insider, “really thought she was through with men after all she had gone through. Then she met Charles Black, who turned out to be the love of her life. He gave her 55 years of happy marriage.”
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Shirley still never forgot the sexual torment of her childhood years. Except for her husband, she kept a lifelong distrust of men. After ditching the horrors of Hollywood and her struggles with men, Shirley went on to make her mark in the political world — including a stint as the first (and only) female U.S. ambassador to Czechoslovakia.
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Photo credit: Getty Images
The enduring screen legend passed away on Feb. 10, 2014, at the age of 85 at her home in Woodside, Calif. Wholesome to the end, Shirley fought to keep fans from learning about her lifelong addiction to cigarettes — because she didn't want to set a bad example!
Shirley Temple went to her grave still nursing the painful wounds of the childhood heartbreak that shadowed her entire life. As an underage actress, the beloved star constantly had to fight off sexual advances from Hollywood sickos!
Photo credit: Getty Images
“She never forgot or got over the trauma of constantly having men trying to grope her and molest her when she was so young,” said a longtime family intimate. “The constant sexual harassment was the real reason she quit Hollywood!”
Photo credit: Getty Images
Among the men who abused her were “Gone With the Wind” studio boss David O. Selznick — who actually chased Shirley around his office desk in an attempt to get her into his bed.
Photo credit: Getty Images
The source also revealed that Shirley was targeted by famed comedian George Jessel . She later related in her own words about how Jessel approached her as a teen about a supposed "role" in an upcoming film — before attacking her in his office!
Photo credit: Getty Images
"In one swift movement," said Shirley, "he opened his trousers and, with a sudden reach, encircled me with one arm, his face, droopy and baggy-eyed, looming directly into mine. I could feel his other hand groping to lift my shirt...little could I do but thrust my right knee upward into his groin."
Photo credit: Getty Images
A raised knee also protected the star's honor on an earlier trip. Shirley was on a train going to a movie location when another studio bigwig tried to molest her. “She fought him off, as she did so many others,” the source recalled. “Here was this beautiful, young girl, the idol of America, and she was constantly being harassed — before she was even 16!”
Photo credit: Getty Images
Shirley thought she could escape the problem by getting married. At age 17, she marched to the altar with ambitious actor John Agar. But things only got worse when Agar turned out to be a hard- drinking and womanizing wife beater! Ultimately it was all too much for the young starlet, who quit Hollywood when she was just 22.
Photo credit: Getty Images
“She was tired of the constant fights — first with the execs, and then with her husband," said the insider. "She just wanted some peace. Her nightmare marriage even forced her to think about killing herself. After one violent fight with her husband, she jumped into her car and thought about driving off a cliff!”
Photo credit: Getty Images
Instead, Shirley divorced Agar — whose Hollywood fortunes soon dwindled as he starred in a series of B-movies. His ex-wife, said the insider, “really thought she was through with men after all she had gone through. Then she met Charles Black, who turned out to be the love of her life. He gave her 55 years of happy marriage.”
Photo credit: Getty Images
Shirley still never forgot the sexual torment of her childhood years. Except for her husband, she kept a lifelong distrust of men. After ditching the horrors of Hollywood and her struggles with men, Shirley went on to make her mark in the political world — including a stint as the first (and only) female U.S. ambassador to Czechoslovakia.
Photo credit: Getty Images
The enduring screen legend passed away on Feb. 10, 2014, at the age of 85 at her home in Woodside, Calif. Wholesome to the end, Shirley fought to keep fans from learning about her lifelong addiction to cigarettes — because she didn't want to set a bad example!
Photo credit: Getty Images
