Gale Storm

Gale Storm

Personal Info

  • Name:

    Gale Storm

  • Birthday:

    1922-04-05

  • Place of Birth: Bloomington, Texas, USA
  • Gender:

    Female

  • Know For:

    Acting

  • Popularity: 0.797
  • Also Known As

    Gail Storm

    Josephine Owaissa Cottle

Gale Storm

Biography

Josephine Owaissa Cottle, known professionally as Gale Storm, was an American actress and singer who starred in two popular television programs of the 1950s, My Little Margie and The Gale Storm Show. Six of her songs were top ten hits. Storm's greatest success was a cover version of "I Hear You Knockin'," which hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1955.

When Storm was 17, two of her teachers urged her to enter a contest on Gateway to Hollywood, broadcast from the CBS Radio studios in Hollywood. First prize was a one-year contract with a movie studio. She won and was immediately given the stage name Gale Storm. Her performing partner (and future husband), Lee Bonnell from South Bend, Indiana, became known as Terry Belmont. Storm had a role in the radio version of Big Town. After winning the contest in 1940, Storm made several films for the RKO Radio Pictures studio. Her first was Tom Brown's School Days, playing opposite Jimmy Lydon and Freddie Bartholomew. She worked steadily in low-budget films released during this period. In 1941, she sang in several soundies, three-minute musicals produced for "movie jukeboxes".

She acted and sang in Monogram Pictures' Frankie Darro series, and played ingénue roles in other Monogram features with the East Side Kids, Edgar Kennedy, and the Three Stooges, most notably in the film Swing Parade of 1946. Monogram had always relied on established actors with reputations, but in Gale Storm, the studio finally had a star of its own. She played the lead in the studio's most elaborate productions, both musical and dramatic. She shared top billing in Monogram's Cosmo Jones, Crime Smasher, opposite Edgar Kennedy, Richard Cromwell, and Frank Graham in the role of Jones, a character derived from network radio.

Storm starred in a number of films, including the romantic comedies G.I. Honeymoon and It Happened on Fifth Avenue, the Western Stampede, and the 1950 film-noir dramas The Underworld Story and Between Midnight and Dawn. U.S. audiences warmed to Storm and her fan mail increased. She performed in more than three dozen motion pictures for Monogram, experience which made possible her success in other media.

In the 1950s, she made singing appearances on such television variety programs as The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom.

In 1950, Storm made her television debut in Hollywood Premiere Theatre on ABC. From 1952 to 1955, she starred in My Little Margie, with former silent film actor Charles Farrell as her father. The series began as a summer replacement for I Love Lucy on CBS, but ran for 126 episodes on NBC and then CBS. The series was broadcast on CBS Radio from December 1952 to August 1955 with the same actors. Her popularity was capitalized on when she served as hostess of the NBC Comedy Hour in the winter of 1956. That year, she starred in another situation comedy, The Gale Storm Show (Oh! Susanna), featuring another silent movie star, ZaSu Pitts. The show ran for 143 episodes on CBS and ABC between 1956 and 1960. Storm appeared regularly on other television programs in the 1950s and 1960s. She was both a panelist and a "mystery guest" on CBS's What's My Line?

Top Movie Cast

Abandoned
Abandonedtrue- Paula Considine

1949-10-26

6.2
Revenge of the Zombies
Revenge of the Zombiestrue- Jennifer Rand

1943-09-17

5.2
The Underworld Story
The Underworld Storytrue- Catherine Harris

1950-07-26

6.1
Tom Brown's School Days
Tom Brown's School Daystrue- Effie

1940-06-26

7.2
Between Midnight and Dawn
Between Midnight and Dawntrue- Katharine 'Kate' Mallory

1950-10-01

5.8
Swing Parade of 1946
Swing Parade of 1946true- Carol Lawrence

1946-03-19

4.2
The Kid from Texas
The Kid from Texastrue- Irene Kain

1950-03-01

5.3
It Happened on Fifth Avenue
It Happened on Fifth Avenuetrue- Trudy O'Connor

1947-04-17

7.0
Gambling Daughters
Gambling Daughterstrue- Lillian Harding

1941-08-01

5.0
Stampede
Stampedetrue- Connie Dawson

1949-05-01

5.5
Campus Rhythm
Campus Rhythmtrue- Joan Abbott, aka Susie Smith

1943-11-19

4.5
Smart Alecks
Smart Aleckstrue- Ruth Stevens

1942-08-07

6.0
Red River Valley
Red River Valleytrue- Kay Sutherland

1941-12-12

7.7
Al Jennings of Oklahoma
Al Jennings of Oklahomatrue- Margo St. Claire

1951-01-17

5.0
He Plays Gin Rummy
He Plays Gin Rummytrue- Singer

1942-01-19

0.0
Man from Cheyenne
Man from Cheyennetrue- Judy Evans

1942-01-16

7.5
One Crowded Night
One Crowded Nighttrue- Annie Mathews

1940-08-09

4.0
Penthouse Serenade
Penthouse Serenadetrue

1941-05-05

0.0
Cosmo Jones, Crime Smasher
Cosmo Jones, Crime Smashertrue- Susan Fleming

1943-01-29

4.0
Freckles Comes Home
Freckles Comes Hometrue- Jane Potter

1942-01-02

5.0
Curtain Call at Cactus Creek
Curtain Call at Cactus Creektrue- Julie Martin

1950-05-25

6.3
Uncle Joe
Uncle Joetrue- Clare Day

1941-10-18

6.0
Where Are Your Children?
Where Are Your Children?true- Judy Wilson

1943-11-26

4.0
Nearly Eighteen
Nearly Eighteentrue- Jane Stanton

1943-11-12

5.0
City of Missing Girls
City of Missing Girlstrue- Mary Phillips

1941-03-27

4.1
Sunbonnet Sue
Sunbonnet Suetrue- Sue Casey

1945-10-05

5.0
Let's Go Collegiate
Let's Go Collegiatetrue- Midge Lawrence

1941-09-12

5.0
The Texas Rangers
The Texas Rangerstrue- Helen Fenton

1951-06-03

5.7
The Dude Goes West
The Dude Goes Westtrue- Liza Crockett

1948-05-30

5.8
Jesse James at Bay
Jesse James at Baytrue- Jane Fillmore, 'St. Louis Journal' Reporter

1941-10-17

5.0
Rhythm Parade
Rhythm Paradetrue- Sally Benson

1942-12-11

0.0
Saddlemates
Saddlematestrue- Susan Langley

1941-05-15

0.0
Lure of the Islands
Lure of the Islandstrue- Maui

1942-07-03

5.0
G.I. Honeymoon
G.I. Honeymoontrue- Ann Gordon

1945-04-06

0.0
Forever Yours
Forever Yourstrue- Joan Randall

1945-01-26

0.0
Woman of the North Country
Woman of the North Countrytrue- Cathy Nordlund

1952-07-23

4.5
How to Go Places
How to Go Placestrue- Herself

1954-01-01

0.0
Walk a Crooked Mile
Walk a Crooked Miletrue- Voice on Tape Recorder

1948-09-02

5.9

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