HOLLYWOOD, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Actress Sybil Jason, whose career as a child star in the 1930s put her opposite Shirley Temple, died last week at the age of 83, the head of her fan club said.
Jason suffered from a heart problem and died in Northridge, Calif., Aug. 23, according to Gary Heckman, who used to run her fan club, The Washington Post said Sunday.
Jason, a native of South Africa who honed her skills on the British vaudeville circuit, was signed by Warner Bros. in 1935. The studio was looking at the time for a kid star to rival the rocketing popularity of Temple.
The Post said Jason never blunted Temple's success; however, critics overall liked her work and she even co-starred with Temple a few times after moving to Twentieth Century Fox in the late 1930s.
Jason and Temple remained friends into adulthood, The Hollywood Reporter said.
