On December 31, 1939, radio audiences nationwide listened as 17-year-old Josephine Owaissa Cottle, a Texas schoolgirl, won Gateway to Hollywood’s new talent competition. Her prize: a movie contract at RKO, and a memorable stage name - Gale Storm. Building on that opportunity, she became one of the nation’s most beloved entertainers. Gale (1922-2009) appeared in thirty-five films, starred in two hit television series (My Little Margie and The Gale Storm Show: Oh! Susanna), and earned a gold record for her pop song I Hear You Knockin’.

This extensively researched survey of her life and career, featuring interviews with family, friends, and colleagues, offers previously unpublished details of her upbringing, personal joys and challenges, and later years out of the Hollywood spotlight. An annotated filmography encompasses Gale’s time as a leading lady at the Poverty Row studio Monogram Pictures, roles in Westerns opposite stars like Roy Rogers and Audie Murphy, and appearances in classics such as It Happened on 5th Avenue. Her TV stardom is fully covered, with complete production histories and episode guides for her popular sitcoms. The result is a well-rounded portrait of a woman whose charisma and talent won the hearts of audiences from the 1940s to the present.