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 in 1986 and Paul Masterson in 1996. Incredibly accommodating over the years, Gale has appear on the nostalgia and film festival circuits to the delight of her many fans.
Four children with Lee Bonnell : Phil Bonnell , Peter Bonnell , Paul Bonnell and Susanna Bonnell (Susie).
(December 1995) Operation for shattered hip which resulted from fall
She is honored with three stars on Hollywoods 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.
Says she took up tap dancing in the 1970s to keep herself physically and mentally young.
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.
Daughter Susannah was named after Gales successful TV show.
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.
All four of Gales children appeared on either or both of her hit sitcoms.
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."
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.
Gale (born Josephine) was the baby sister to four other siblings: Lois (the oldest), Wilbur (second), Marjorie , and Brackston (fourth).
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.
As TVs "My Little Margie" (1952) , she voiced her famous " gurgling" sound whenever she faced a dilemma.
She was a lifelong Republican and solid supporter of Ronald Reagan.
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.
(April 2002) Performed at the 15th Annual Visit to the Golden Age of Radio at the Clemens Center in Elmira, New York.
Son Peter Wade Bonnell was born May 29, 1946, in Los Angeles County, California.
Son Phillip Lee Bonnell was born March 19, 1943, in Los Angeles County, California.
Son Paul William Bonnell was born August 1, 1947, in Los Angeles County, California.
Daughter Susanna Josephine "Susie" Bonnell was born November 12, 1956, in Los Angeles County, California.
