In the summer of 1935, the biggest name in Hollywood was not Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, or even the Duke; it was a six year old girl from Santa Monica, California named Shirley Temple. She was the most popular movie star from 1934-1939. No other actor had ever been ranked number one five straight years in opinion polling. That record still stands today. Franklin D Roosevelt stated in 1935, “During this Depression when the spirit of the people is lower than at any other time, it is a splendid thing that for just 15 cents an American can go to a movie and look at the smiling face of a baby and forget his troubles.” He further added, “As long as we have Shirley Temple, our country will be all right.” The girl from Santa Monica was an international star by the time her family decided to take a three-week vacation to Honolulu, Hawaii.
The 20th Century Fox Movie studio decided to send a film crew with the Temples so they could film Shirley at Waikiki Beach. Back then, the trip to Hawaii had to be made by boat. Ocean liners such as the “Mariposa” ran routes from Los Angeles to Honolulu a few times a month. The guest lists for each of the cruise ships would be released in the local Honolulu newspapers. In July 1935, the Island of Oahu and the Honolulu community soon discovered that America’s favorite movie star would be visiting their city. On July 30, the Mariposa ship arrived in Honolulu harbor. If the Temples believed they would be welcomed by a small greeting party, they were sadly mistaken. An estimated 10,000 Hawaiians were waiting at the boat docks to share a glimpse of Shirley Temple.
Shirley Temple, Honolulu Star Bulletin, August 12, 1935
The crowds of adoring fans kept swarming Shirley at every move. A decision was therefore made to hold an event at the Iolani Palace on August 11, inviting the public to see Shirley Temple in person. The Iolani Palace was the only official royal residency in the USA. The Kings and Queens of the Hawaii nation lived in the palace. In 1935, it was then the government headquarters of the US Territory of Hawaii.
A crowd of estimated of 10,000 to 30,000 people began forming to await the arrival of Shirley Temple. One such person was a six-year-old boy named Willie Moore. His dad brought him to the Palace ground to see Shirley. The crowd kept getting larger and larger. The Hawaii National Guard was called out for security along with the Honolulu Police Department. Finally, the Temple family arrived. People began to faint. A young Willie Moore remembers his dad putting him on top of his shoulders so he would not get crushed by the crowd.
Shirley Temple, Honolulu Star Bulletin, August 12, 1935
The Temple family was quickly taken from the Mauka Lanai to inside the palace. Shirley Temple reappeared on the Makai balcony, then the Ewa balcony where she sang her famous “Good Ship Lollipop” song. In Temple’s autobiography, she writes “I sang the Lollipop song four times while the packed crowd below listened and cheered, calling my name.”. Surely such a song did not warrant so enthusiastic a reaction, so I asked Mother what made them applaud and shout approval. Her reply was simple, “Because I made them happy.” After the short concert, Shirley returned inside the Palace where she ate ice cream with the Governor. The crowd left the scene with a lifetime of memories of the day they saw and met Shirley Temple.
After reading about this incident in the Temple autobiography, I began doing research on the subject. I contacted Zita Cup Choy who is the historian of record at the Iolani Palace. In her research for this article, she discovered many news stories regarding the 1935 visit to Hawaii. We planned a trip to Honolulu, Hawaii in Nov 2019 to visit the Palace and to walk where legends walked.
Author Thomas Marchetti, Zita Cup Choy and former Hawaii Assistant Attorney General Willie Moore
Ms. Cup- Choy arranged for me to also meet former Hawaii Assistant Attorney General Willie Moore. He is a 91 yr old individual who was there at the Shirley Temple event in 1935. He showed us exactly where Temple was on the balcony when she did her impromptu concert. His memory helped recreate the event and how the crowd reacted to seeing the most loved Hollywood star of her time.
Makai balcony where Shirley Temple addressed the crowd and sang Good Ship Lollipop
After the Palace event, we made a visit to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki Beach. This was Shirley’s go-to hotel in Hawaii. She stayed there many times including her 1935 visit. In the basement of the hotel, there is a museum. There are pictures of many Hollywood stars staying at the hotel. By far the largest of these photographs was one of Shirley Temple arriving at the hotel in her 1935 visit. She is with Olympic gold medal winner and Honolulu Sheriff Duke Kahanamoku. The hotel takes credit for being the first to come up with the Shirley Temple non-alcoholic beverage named for the child star. Shirley herself disputed the claim years later saying it was the Brown Derby in Hollywood who invented the drink.
Picture of Shirley Temple arriving at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel
Temple returned to Hawaii many times after this first visit. She met her future husband Charles Black who worked for the Dole-Hawaiian Pineapple Company in Hawaii. No visit ever compared to those three weeks in 1935 when Shirley Temple conquered Honolulu.
