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Iconic child star Shirley Temple passed away Monday night at the age 85.

Although she never appeared on screen with Orson Welles, their paths crossed in Hollywood as witnessed by the stories and photos below.

Welles, who had moved to Brentwood in 1939, paid a visit on his 11-year-old neighbor with the press in tow. In her 1988 autobiography Child Star, Temple recalled their meeting and a game of croquet.

“Did you hear my program about Martians [War of the Worlds]?”
“Yes,” I stroked my ball and scowled. It had stopped wide of the final wicket. “Nelson Eddy was why I listened.”
Welles turned and leaned on his mallet, waiting. My evening routine included listening to Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy. I explained but when guest Eddy came on to sing, I switched stations and stumbles on his.
“Did you believe my program?” he asked, striking a pleasing pose for our photographers.
“No, I knew it wasn’t true.”
“Taking careful aim, I knocked his ball slightly away from the mouth of the final wicket, leaving mine in good position.
His return shot caromed my ball away into a difficult lie.
“How did you know?” he asked.
Engrossed with my final chance, I said nothing and concentrated. I missed.
“Well,” I replied resignedly. “If men from Mars had come here, why would just your program be broadcasting the news? That didn’t make sense, so I didn’t believe it.”

Welles biographer Barbara Leaming noted in her book that the staged get-together earned Welles kind words in the press. One reporter noted, “The gentlemen of the press passed a pleasant afternoon and left with the conviction that Mr. Welles, who is only 13 years older than Shirley Temple, is as agreeable as he is talented.”

Five years later, Welles and Temple, then 16, were photographed dining with Ruth Gordon at a luncheon in the Pump Room at the Ambassador Hotel on Sept. 15, 1944. The reason for the gathering has been lost to history, though Temple was making appearances on behalf of wartime bonds that week.

Temple was America’s top box-office draw from 1935 — the year she turned 7 — until 1938. She was best known for films such as “Curly Top” and “The Littlest Rebel” and received a special miniature Oscar for her work. She was also a Kennedy Center honoree and received a lifetime achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild.

In her adult years, she was the U.S. ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia. She also served as Chief of Protocol of the United States from 1976 to 1977.

Temple is survived by three children, a granddaughter and two great-granddaughters.

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