Born with the drab, unlikely name of Josephine Cottle on April 5, 1922, this pleasantly appealing, Texas-born, auburn-haired beauty was only seventeen months old when her father William passed away. The family moved from Bloomington (her home town) to McDade (between Austin and Houston) where her mother Minnie made ends meet as a seamstress and ...
My successes have certainly not been without problems. During the 1970s I experienced a terribly low and painful time of dealing with alcoholism...I thank God daily that I have been fully recovered for more than 20 years. During my struggle, I had no idea of the blessing my experience could turn out to be! I've had the opportunity to share with others suffering with alcoholism the knowledge that there is help, hope, and an alcohol free life awaiting them.
#
Fact
1
Performed at the 15th Annual Visit to the Golden Age of Radio at the Clemens Center in Elmira, New York. [April 2002]
2
Having won the Texas stage of the Gateway to Hollywood contest, she went to Hollywood for the final where she met Lee Bonnell, the winner of the Indiana stage. A year later they were married.
3
She was a lifelong Republican and solid supporter of Ronald Reagan.
4
As TV's My Little Margie (1952), she voiced her famous " gurgling" sound whenever she faced a dilemma.
5
Gale signed a new recording contract with Dot Records in 1955, which immediately yielded a hit record in late September and early October: 'I Hear You Knocking.'
6
Gale (born Josephine) was the baby sister to four other siblings: Lois (the oldest), Wilbur (second), Marjorie (third), and Brackston (fourth).
7
Born Josephine Owaissa Cottle, the youngest of five children, in Bloomington, a small town in the coastal bend area of Texas, her unusual middle name, "Owaissa" is an Indian word meaning "bluebird" and was given to her by an older sister, Lois.
8
Appearing in a number of musicals in the 1940s, she became an unexpected recording star in the mid-1950s. Ned Miller's "Dark Moon" topped the Billboard charts for Gale at #4 in 1957. Coincidentally, a competing version of the song by Bonnie Guitar peaked at #6. In 1995, an album of her mid-to-late 1950s recordings at the Dot music label was released and entitled "The Best of Gale Storm."
9
All four of Gale's children appeared on either or both of her hit sitcoms.
10
Gale was elected honorary mayor of Sherman Oaks, California in January of 1953. By coincidence, her "My Little Margie" co-star, Charles Farrell, was already fulfilling his third term as mayor of Palm Springs. Gale served for two terms and was succeeded by none other than Liberace.
11
Daughter Susannah was named after Gale's successful TV show.
12
She met late husband Lee Bonnell in Hollywood when he was deemed the male winner of the "Gates of Hollywood" radio talent contest that Gale won in the distaff category. The father of her four children, Lee later ran an insurance company out of Encino, California.
13
Says she took up tap dancing in the 1970s to keep herself physically and mentally young.
14
She is honored with three stars on Hollywood's Walk of Fame: a Radio star at 6119 Hollywood Blvd., a Recording star at 1519 Vine St., and a TV star at 1680 Vine St.
15
Operation for shattered hip which resulted from fall [December 1995]
$1.9 Million
