Members blue2blue Posted June 29, 2009 Members Share Posted June 29, 2009 This is for the gray end of the boomer continuum: Los Angeles, CA -- Gale Storm, whose wholesome appearance and perky personality made her one of early television's biggest stars, has died at age 87. The actress died Saturday at a convalescent hospital in Danville, said her son, Peter Bonnell. He says she died of natural causes.Storm was a Texas high schooler named Josephine Owaissa Cottle when she won a talent contest for a radio show called "Gateway to Hollywood" on New Year's Day 1940. Soon she was in Los Angeles, making movies with Jackie Cooper, Eddie Albert and Audie Murphy. In 1952 she landed the starring role in "My Little Margie," which quickly became an audience favorite and ran until 1955. Associated Press Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tremolounge Posted June 29, 2009 Members Share Posted June 29, 2009 I remember watching that show in reruns as a kid. Ever hear her version of Smiley Lewis' "I Hear You Knocking"? Big hit in 1955, and not bad at all -- it's "white", but certainly not as bad as, say, Pat Boone doing Fats Domino... RIP, "Margie". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tremolounge Posted June 29, 2009 Members Share Posted June 29, 2009 wikipedia: "In Gallatin, Tennessee in 1954, a 10-year-old girl, Linda Wood, was watching Gale Storm on a Sunday night television comedy show hosted by Gordon MacRae, singing one of the popular songs of the day. Linda's father asked her who was singing and was told it was Gale Storm from My Little Margie. Linda's father, Randy Wood, was president of Dot Records, and he liked Storm so much that he called to sign her before the end of the television show. Her first record, "I Hear You Knockin'", a cover version of a rhythm and blues hit by Smiley Lewis, in turn based on the old Buddy Bolden standard "The Bucket's Got a Hole In It", sold over a million copies. It was followed in 1957 by the haunting ballad, "Dark Moon" that went to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Storm had several top ten songs and headlined in Las Vegas and appeared in numerous stage plays." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff Leites Posted June 29, 2009 Members Share Posted June 29, 2009 Hard to believe she was 87! Guess I'm really getting old:( I remember My Little Margie, The Gail Storm Show, and her recordings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted June 29, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 29, 2009 She pops up in old swing, cowboy, and some thriller movies starting in 1940 (where she used the alternate, more conventional spelling Gail, at least once). Her last IMBD credit was 1989, when she did a Murder, She Wrote. I'd say that Gale Storm was probably my first screen heartthrob, in My Little Margie and later in the Gale Storm Show (where she was social director on a cruise ship). I was like 4 or 5 probably when I started watching Margie... I had this dream that she'd finally figure out what a goofball her BF, Freddie, was and tumble for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.