Gale Storm

Gale Storm was born Josephine Owaissa Cottle, the youngest of five children, in Bloomington, a small town in central Texas. Her unusual middle name, "Owaissa," is an indian word meaning "bluebird" and was given to her by her older sister, Lois.

Her father died when she was a year old and her family moved to Houston, Texas. There her mother worked extremely hard, as a seamstress, to earn a liveng for her large, hungry family.

While in high school, she was a member of the drama club and was named "Best Actress" in the Texas State high school competition. Two of her teachers urged her to enter a popular nationwide talent search on network radio called Gateway to Hollywood . Those two teachers changed the course of her entire life. Had it not been for them, she would never have entered the contest. Much to her surprise, she won the local contest in Houston. At the age of seventeen, she was brought to Hollywood accompanied by her mother to compete in the finals. She won the national contest on New Years' Day 1940, and along with it, the professional name, "Gale Storm." The male winner was Lee Bonnell from South Bend, Indiana. they fell deeply in love and were married two years later, just as soon as her mother would allow it!

They won contracts with RKO Studio where she completed her schooling while appearing in Tom Brown's School Days and One Crowded Night . After leaving RKO, she had the good fortune to appear in a variety of movies including: dramas, musicals and westerns, all of which afforded her an opportunity to display and fine-tune her craft. The stresses of movie making in the early part of her career were great preparation for the speed and demands of her two television series.

Her first TV series, her Little Margie, with Charles Farrell was originally a summer replacement for I Love Lucy . She was overwhelmed by the immediate success of it. During the next four years, millions of people saw the 126 episodes of "Margie" on TV and listened to separate, live episodes on network radio.

Following the success of "Margie," she starred in another, equally successful television series titled The Gale Storm Show, Oh! Susanna . in this series she played the role of the social director on the cruise ship, Ocean Queen . Zasu Pitts played her roommate and the ship's manicurist and Roy Roberts played the part of Captain Huxley. We filmed 143 episodes of "Susanna". in these two successful network programs, she completed 264 half-hour televison episodes in a period of eight years, a most demanding yet very rewarding accomplishment!

In between the full time TV shooting schedules of "Margie" and "Susanna, she appeared as the headliner at the famous Thunderbird Hotel in Las Vegas where she achieved a record breaking run. she also signed her first recording contract with Dot records. she was thrilled when her very first record, she Hear You Knockin' , sold over a million copies and won for me the coveted "gold" record. After that, her hit records included Dark Moon, ivory Tower, Teen Age Prayer, and Memories Are Made Of This .

After her TV series ended, she had the time and the opportunity to appear on stage for the first time, starring in the musical Wish You Were Here . After that she performed the lyric soprano role of Letitia in Gian Carlo Menotti's The Old Maid and the Thief at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music. it has been such a joy and a blessing to have performed on stage as the lead in such fine shows as Unsinkable Molly Brown , South Pacific , Finnegan's Rainbow , Wildcat, Cactus Flower, Plaza Suite, Forty Carats, Lovers and Other Strangers, Affairs Of State, Rainy Day in Newark, No Hard Feelings and Grand Prize.

Her successes have certainly not been without problems. During the 1970's she experienced a terribly low and painful time of dealing with alcoholism. She had Lee's unfailing support through the entire ordeal. her treatment and recovery were more than rugged. At that time, there was such a stigma attached to alcoholism, particularly for women, that it could be hazardous to your reputation and career. She thank God daily that she have been fully recovered for more than 20 years. During her struggle, she had no idea of the blessing her experience could turn out to be! She had the opportunity to share with others suffering with alcoholism the knowledge that there is help, hope, and an alcohol free life awaiting them.

She have been twice widowed. Lee and she were married 45 years and were blessed with four children, Phillip, Peter, Paul, and Susie, who have blessed me with eight grandchildren and three great grandchildren. She was blessed again in her marriage to Paul Masterson for eight years. She live alone in Monarch Beach, California near two of her sons and their families. She keep busy with benefits and film festivals, answering fan mail, and enjoying life with family and friends. Each year now, Bob Perry asks me to narrate the Christmas musical performed by our outstanding choir at South Shores Church.