Gale Storm
Known for Acting · 63 credits
- Born
- 1922-04-05
- Died
- 2009-06-27
- Place of birth
- Bloomington, Texas, USA
- Also known as
- Gail Storm · Josephine Owaissa Cottle
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.
Known For
TV Shows (17)
The Mike Douglas Show
1961
as Self
Murder, She Wrote
1984
as Maisie Mayberry
The Love Boat
1977
as Gale Storm / Rose Kennycott
What's My Line?
1950
as Self - Panelist / Self - Mystery Guest
Robert Montgomery Presents
1950
Burke's Law
1963
as Honey Feather Leeps / Dr. Nonnie Harper
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948
as Self
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1950
as Self
The Bob Hope Show
1950
as Self
The Ford Television Theatre
1952
as Hope Foster
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956
as Self
This Is Your Life
1952
as Self
The Wonderful World of Disney
1954
as Self
The Gale Storm Show
1956
as Susanna Pomeroy
My Little Margie
1952
as Margie Albright
Celebrity Playhouse
1955
The NBC Comedy Hour
1956
Movies (46)
It Happened on Fifth Avenue
1947
as Trudy O'Connor
Al Jennings of Oklahoma
1951
as Margo St. Claire
Forever Yours
1945
as Joan Randall
Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld
1994
as Girl in TV Skit About Door Frame (uncredited)
The Texas Rangers
1951
as Helen Fenton
Rhythm Parade
1942
as Sally Benson
Sunbonnet Sue
1945
as Sue Casey
Abandoned
1949
as Paula Considine
Woman of the North Country
1952
as Cathy Nordlund
Between Midnight and Dawn
1950
as Katharine 'Kate' Mallory
Jesse James at Bay
1941
as Jane Fillmore, 'St. Louis Journal' Reporter
Saddlemates
1941
as Susan Langley
Red River Valley
1941
as Kay Sutherland
Where Are Your Children?
1943
as Judy Wilson
Curtain Call at Cactus Creek
1950
as Julie Martin
Let's Go Collegiate
1941
as Midge Lawrence
The Dude Goes West
1948
as Liza Crockett
The Kid from Texas
1950
as Irene Kain
Walk a Crooked Mile
1948
as Voice on Tape Recorder
Swing Parade of 1946
1946
as Carol Lawrence
Cosmo Jones, Crime Smasher
1943
as Susan Fleming
Campus Rhythm
1943
as Joan Abbott, aka Susie Smith
Freckles Comes Home
1942
as Jane Potter
Foreign Agent
1942
as Mitzi Mayo
Stampede
1949
as Connie Dawson
The Underworld Story
1950
as Catherine Harris
Uncle Joe
1941
as Clare Day
Tom Brown's School Days
1940
as Effie
Nearly Eighteen
1943
as Jane Stanton
Man from Cheyenne
1942
as Judy Evans
The All-Star Christmas Show
1958
as Self
One Crowded Night
1940
as Annie Mathews
Revenge of the Zombies
1943
as Jennifer Rand
Gambling Daughters
1941
as Lillian Harding
City of Missing Girls
1941
as Mary Phillips
Smart Alecks
1942
as Ruth Stevens
G.I. Honeymoon
1945
as Ann Gordon
Penthouse Serenade
1941
Rim of the Wheel
1951
as Virginia Sutton
Lure of the Islands
1942
as Maui
Let's Get Away from It All
1941
I Know Somebody Who Loves You
1941
He Plays Gin Rummy
1942
as Singer
Glamour Girl
1943
The Merry-Go-Roundup
1941
I'm a Shy Guy
1943
About Gale Storm
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 mo… With 63 credits spanning from 1940 to 1994, Gale Storm has appeared in 46 films and 17 TV shows.
Fans searching for Gale Storm movies, Gale Storm filmography, or the latest projects starring Gale Storm can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Gale Storm Movies
- It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947) — as Trudy O'Connor
- Al Jennings of Oklahoma (1951) — as Margo St. Claire
- Forever Yours (1945) — as Joan Randall
- Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld (1994) — as Girl in TV Skit About Door Frame (uncredited)
- The Texas Rangers (1951) — as Helen Fenton
Where to Watch Gale Storm Films
Most Gale Storm movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Gale Storm, check our movies catalogue and browse page.