Gale Storm (1922–2009)

Gale Storm was

born Josephine Cottle in Bloomington, Texas. She played the leads in numerous plays and musicals in school, and her teachers pushed her to enter the "Gateway to Hollywood" talent contest in 1939. As the winning actress, she was promised a contract with RKO Studios, a makeover, a new stage name, and a role in a major film.

Her male co-winner was Lee Bonnell -- rechristened Terry Belmont -- a student at Indiana University. The two married in 1941 and had four children. Gale Storm appeared in 36 movies over the next 12 years. film credits included starring roles in musical comedies, film noir dramas, and westerns. In the early 1950s, as her movie career went into a slump, she considered leaving the business to devote herself to her family. Then she got a call for the lead in a proposed new TV series, "My Little Margie." This and "The Gale Storm Show" became her most famous roles.