Gale Storm of ‘My Little Margie’ fame dies

Gale Storm, who starred in two popular television programs of the 1950s, My Little Margie and The Gale Storm Show, has died. She was 87. The cause of her death has been reported to be failing health.

Starting from 1940, Storm worked steadily in a number of low-budget films. In 1941 she sang in several Soundies, three-minute musicals produced for “movie jukeboxes.”

She acted and sang in Monogram Pictures’ popular Frankie Darro series, and played ingenue roles in other Monogram features with the East Side Kids, Edgar Kennedy, and The Three Stooges. Altogether, she performed in more than three dozen motion pictures for Monogram. The early exposure from these film appearances paved the way for her success in other media. Gale Storm became an American icon of the 1950s, starring in two highly successful television series, and it was in this decade that her singing career took off.

Storm’s television career skyrocketed from 1952 to 1955, with her starring role in My Little Margie. The show, which co-starred former silent film actor Charles Farrell, was originally a summer replacement for I Love Lucy. It ran for 126 episodes.

Storm’s popularity was capitalized upon in The Gale Storm Show (aka Oh! Susanna), featuring another silent movie star, ZaSu Pitts. This show ran for 143 episodes between 1956 and 1960. Both of her series were shown countless times in reruns.

In later years, Storm continued to make personal appearances and sign autographed photos with her and Charles Farrell from the My Little Margie program at conventions. She had attended events such as the Memphis Film Festival, the Friends of Old-Time Radio and the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention.

(wiki)

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