[From JR: I had the great pleasure of meeting Gale Storm some 10, 12 years ago.
She was in her 70s, but as vibrant -- and yes, _perky_ -- as she'd appeared in
the 1950s. We chatted for quite a bit about all sorts of things... and upon
parting, I held out my hand as I told her what a pleasure our conversation had
been -- and she waved my hand away, instead giving me a big, warm hug. A lovely
lady.]

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.

She was often cast in westerns as the girl the cowboy left behind, and appeared
in such B-movie oaters as "The Dude Goes West" with Albert, "The Kid from Texas"
with Audie Murphy and "The Texas Rangers" with George Montgomery.

"I was really scared of horses," she admitted in 2000. "I only rode them because
that's what you had to do."

She appeared in three Republic westerns with Rogers and recalled that his horse
Trigger did what he could to cause her trouble. As she would smile and ride
alongside Rogers while the king of the cowboys crooned a song, Trigger (out of
camera range) would lean over and bite her horse's neck.

With her movie roles diminishing in the early 1950s, Storm followed the path of
many fading movie stars of the day and moved on to television.

"My Little Margie" debuted on CBS as a summer replacement for "I Love Lucy" in
1952. It quickly became an audience favorite and moved to its own slot on NBC
that fall.

The premise was standard sitcom fare: Charles Farrell was a business executive
and eligible widower, Storm was his busybody daughter who protected him from
predatory women.

The year after "My Little Margie" ended its 126-episode run in 1955, she moved
on to "The Gale Storm Show," which lasted until 1960. This time she played
Susanna Pomeroy, a trouble-making social director on a luxury liner.

Storm, who had taken vocal lessons, sang on her second series, and three of her
records became best sellers: "I Hear You Knocking," "Teenage Prayer" and "Dark
Moon."

She appeared only sporadically on TV after "The Gale Storm Show," guest starring
on such programs as "Burke's Law," "The Love Boat" and "Murder, She Wrote."

Her fans were surprised to read in her 1980 autobiography, "I Ain't Down Yet,"
that she was an alcoholic.

"I had hidden it socially, never drank before a performance," she said. After
being treated in three hospitals, she found one that helped her break the habit.

Born April 5, 1922, in Bloomington, Texas, Storm was only 13 months old when her
father died. Her mother supported five children by taking in sewing.

Storm and Bonnell had three sons, Philip, Peter and Paul, and a daughter,
Susanna.

Bonnell died in 1987, and in 1988 Storm married former TV executive Paul
Masterson. He died in 1996.

Source:
http://www.mercurynews.com/natbreakingnews/ci_12709123