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Gale Storm
1922 -
Gale Storm
Elementary school in Encino.
What a pleasure to discover my playmates were her sons Peter and
Paul Bonnell.
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From TV Star Parade: Peter was admittedly sort of
"hammy" but most eager of the Bonnells to make good on Oh!
Susanna. Brother Paul (left) was more shy.
Who was nervous? "Me," exclaims Gale Storm, who confessed that she was so anxious for the boys to make good she
fluffed her own lines and almost lost her voice.
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 Gale Storm was born
Josephine Owaissa Cottle in Bloomington, Texas on April 5, 1922.
Her father died when she as still a baby, and her
mother made hats to sustain their home with no plumbing and a wood stove.
While in her junior
year at San Jacinto High School, she was persuaded
by a drama teacher to enter a national radio contest. Gale and soon-to-be
husband Lee Bonnell (b. 1918) met in Hollywood, California while trying out for
"The Gateway to Hollywood Contest" held at the CBS Radio Studio. Both of them ended up
winning a one year studio contract. It was this contest that first
brought her into the professional acting ranks with a motion picture contract
at RKO and the name, "Gale Storm."
Gale Storm and Lee
Bonnell were married in 1941 had four children: Phillip, Peter, Paul and
Susie and were together until Lee's death in 1986.
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Prior
to becoming a sensation on the small-screen, Gale Storm starred in nearly
three dozen feature films, including "It Happened on 5th Avenue"
(1947) with Don DeFore, "The Underworld Story" (1950) with Dan
Duryea (both also featured young Alan Hale Jr. long before "Gilligan's
Island") and "The Kid From Texas" (1950) with Audie Murphy.
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She is possibly best known for creating the role of Margie
Albright on the long-running tv series "My Little Margie".
She also created the character of Susanna Pomeroy on the classic sitcom
"Oh Susanna!".
 
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A ten-year old girl
named Linda Wood , from the small town of Gallatin, Tennessee, happened to have
the volume on her TV set turned up a little higher than normal one night
while she was watching a Sunday night Comedy Hour Show. On this particular
show, the host was Gordon MacRae, and the guest star was Gale Storm. While
Gale was singing one of the popular songs of the day, the sound of her voice
drifted into the dining room where Linda's mother and father were dining in
the company of family friends.
"Who is that
singing, dear?' inquired Linda's Dad. "It's 'My
Little Margie', Dad. Gale Storm," said Linda .
 Linda's Dad happened
to be Randy Wood, the president of Dot Records. he
liked the sound of Gale's voice and called her immediately, without waiting
for the program to go off the air. Gale Storm made her debut on records in
the fall of 1955 on Dot Records. Within four months, three of her songs were
among the top twenty best sellers in the nation. Gale began a recording
career that earned her two gold records and eleven placings in the top ten.
Those two gold records, "I Hear You Knocking" and "Dark
Moon" are among the most memorable recordings of the 1950's. Other
notable songs are "Never Leave Me" (Dot, 1955); "Memories Are
Made of This"/"Teen Age Prayer" (Dot, 1955); "Why Do
Fools Fall in Love" (Dot, 1956); and "Ivory Tower" (Dot, 1956)
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Gale later married Paul Masterson, who died in 1996. In 1981, Gale Storm became a best-selling author
when she published her autobiography "I Ain't Down Yet" detailing
not only her amazing career, but bravely discussing her successful battle
against alcoholism. Gale Storm is very much involved in the International
Bible Study and she continues to delight her many fans in appearances all
across North America.
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Gale
Storm at a 1998 festival in Knoxville, Tennessee.
OFFICIAL GALE STORM SITE
For more information:
Gale
Storm Appreciation Society, PO Box 212, Coalton OH 45621-0212 USA,
Edward
Bayes and Ron Baker, co- presidents
Management:
Debra
Koslowsky 10914 Rathburn Avenue Northridge CA 91326
(818)
368-8222
all items copyright by the original creators and presented for
information only
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Composer John Beal: Gale Storm Biography