http://www.mercurynews.com/natbreakingnews/ci_12709123
Gale Storm, perky star of 1950s TV, dies at 87
By BOB THOMAS Associated Press Writer
Posted: 06/28/2009 01:22:09 PM PDT
Updated: 06/28/2009 01:37:55 PM PDT
LOS ANGELES—Gale Storm, whose wholesome appearance and perky personality made her one of early television's biggest stars on "My Little Margie" and "The Gale Storm Show," has died at age 87.
Storm, who had been in failing health in recent years, died Saturday at a convalescent hospital in Danville, said her son, Peter Bonnell.
Before landing the starring role in "My Little Margie" in 1952, Storm starred in numerous B movies opposite such stars as Roy Rogers, Eddie Albert and Jackie Cooper. After her last TV series, "The Gale Storm Show," ended in 1960 she went on to a successful singing career while continuing to make occasional TV appearances.
Storm was a Texas high schooler named Josephine Owaissa Cottle when she entered a talent contest for a radio show called "Gateway to Hollywood" in 1940. She was brought to Los Angeles for the finals, where her wholesome vivacity won over the radio audience and she was awarded a movie contract.
The contest's male winner was a lanky would-be actor named Lee Bonnell, who would later become her husband. Given the quirky name Gale Storm, she went from contracts with RKO to Monogram to Universal, appearing in such low-budget films as "Where Are Your Children?" with Cooper and "Tom Brown's School Days" with Freddie Bartholomew.
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