From TV Star Parade: Peter was admittedly sort of "hammy" but most eager of the Bonnells to make good on Oh! Susanna.  Brother Paul (left) was more shy. Who was nervous? "Me," exclaims Gale Storm, who confessed that  she was so anxious for the boys to make good she fluffed her own lines and almost lost her voice.

Gale Storm was born Josephine Owaissa Cottle in Bloomington, Texas on April 5, 1922. Her father died when she as still a baby, and her mother made hats to sustain their home with no plumbing and a wood stove.

While in her junior year at San Jacinto High School, she was persuaded by a drama teacher to enter a national radio contest. Gale and soon-to-be husband Lee Bonnell (b. 1918) met in Hollywood, California while trying out for "The Gateway to Hollywood Contest"  held at the CBS Radio Studio. Both of them ended up winning a one year studio contract.  It was this contest that first brought her into the professional acting ranks with a motion picture contract at RKO and the name, "Gale Storm." 

Gale Storm and Lee Bonnell were married in 1941 had four children: Phillip, Peter, Paul and Susie and were together until Lee's death in 1986.
 

Prior to becoming a sensation on the small-screen, Gale Storm starred in nearly three dozen feature films, including "It Happened on 5th Avenue" (1947) with Don DeFore, "The Underworld Story" (1950) with Dan Duryea (both also featured young Alan Hale Jr. long before "Gilligan's Island") and "The Kid From Texas" (1950) with Audie Murphy.

She is possibly best known for creating the role of Margie Albright on the long-running tv series "My Little Margie".  She also created the character of Susanna Pomeroy on the classic sitcom "Oh Susanna!".

A ten-year old girl named Linda Wood , from the small town of Gallatin, Tennessee, happened to have the volume on her TV set turned up a little higher than normal one night while she was watching a Sunday night Comedy Hour Show. On this particular show, the host was Gordon MacRae, and the guest star was Gale Storm. While Gale was singing one of the popular songs of the day, the sound of her voice drifted into the dining room where Linda's mother and father were dining in the company of family friends.

"Who is that singing, dear?' inquired Linda's Dad. "It's 'My Little Margie', Dad. Gale Storm," said Linda .

Linda's Dad happened to be Randy Wood, the president of Dot Records. he liked the sound of Gale's voice and called her immediately, without waiting for the program to go off the air. Gale Storm made her debut on records in the fall of 1955 on Dot Records. Within four months, three of her songs were among the top twenty best sellers in the nation. Gale began a recording career that earned her two gold records and eleven placings in the top ten. Those two gold records, "I Hear You Knocking" and "Dark Moon" are among the most memorable recordings of the 1950's. Other notable songs are "Never Leave Me" (Dot, 1955); "Memories Are Made of This"/"Teen Age Prayer" (Dot, 1955); "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" (Dot, 1956); and "Ivory Tower" (Dot, 1956)