During a seven-year contract[合同] with Fox， she brought them back from the brink[邊緣] of bankruptcy[破產]. She had become the top-grossing movie star in the world. But Temple’s films weren’t without controversy[爭論]. She made a string of[一係列] films with Bill “Bojangles” Robinson， a black actor and dancer. A middle-aged black man and a small white girl holding hands， tapping side by side， caused a stir[轟動] in the South.
Here they are dancing on a staircase in their first movie together， The Little Colonel[上校].
（soundbite of The Little Colonel）
Black： I want to do that too.
Bill “Bojangles” Robinson： All right. Are you ready？ Black： Yep.
Robinson： Come on.
Temple says they stayed close friends till his death.（soundbite of archived recording） Black： Bill Robinson was probably my best dance teacher and best friend when I was a little girl， and I would learn dancing by looking in the mirror. He said never look at your feet， Shirley. Never do that， honey， because that’s just not…not right.
By the time Temple hit 12， her career was essentially[本質上] over. At 21 she gave up acting entirely. She went on to become a diplomat[外交官]. In the 1960s， President Nixon appointed[任命] her a delegate[代表] to the United Nations， and later she became the US ambassador[大使] to the Republic of Ghana and Czechoslovakia. Temple told NPR’s Scott Simon that everywhere she went around the world， people couldn’t resist[忍得住] serving her a concoction[調和物] of 7-Up， grenadine[石榴糖漿] syrup[糖漿]， orange juice with a maraschino cherry[酒浸櫻桃].
（soundbite of archived recording）
Black： The Shirley Temple， those saccharine[極甜的]， icky[黏糊糊的] drinks？
Scott Simon： Those are the ones.
Black： Yes. Well， those were created in the probably middle 1930s in Hollywood and I had nothing to do with it.
In her later years， Temple Black said she never regretted leaving the movie business. She took on the roles of actress， wife， mother， diplomat with passion and dedication， the same qualities that made her a star in the first place.