Gloria Pall (born Gloria Pallatz; July 15, 1927 – December 30, 2012) was an American model,
showgirl
A showgirl is a female dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show intended to showcase the performer's physical attributes, typically by way of revealing clothing, toplessness, or nudity.
History
Showgirls date back to the late 180 ...
, actress, author and businesswoman.
Biography
Gloria Pallatz was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1927. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, she worked as an aircraft mechanic in upstate New York at
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
Army Air Depot. On July 28, 1945, she was employed by the
USO
The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
headquarters office on the 56th floor of the
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...
in New York City when a
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...
bomber crashed into the 79th floor.
In 1947, she entered and won a "Miss Flatbush" contest which opened the door to work as a model. She worked as a showgirl in both
Reno
Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...
and
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
as well as in Hollywood where for a time she was chosen to be "Miss Earl Carroll" from the huge cast of beauties. This was at the
Earl Carroll Theatre
The Earl Carroll Theatre was a Broadway theatre at 753 Seventh Avenue near 50th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Built by impresario Earl Carroll and designed by architect George Keister, it opened on Febr ...
on
Sunset Blvd. in 1952. She dated
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...
for a time.
Pall got her first acting job on television in 1951 and went on to a successful career as an actress for ten years, primarily in secondary and minor roles. In 1958, she was cast as Blanche Golden in "Abracadabra" of the
western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
aviation adventure series, ''
Sky King
''Sky King'' was an American radio and television series. Its lead character was Arizona rancher and aircraft pilot Schuyler "Sky" King.
The series had strong Western elements. King usually captured criminals and spies and found lost hikers, ...
''. She had a small role in ''
The Twilight Zone
''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...
'' episode, "
And When the Sky Was Opened
"And When the Sky Was Opened" is episode eleven of the American television anthology series ''The Twilight Zone''. It originally aired on December 11, 1959. It is an adaptation of the 1953 Richard Matheson short story "Disappearing Act."
Openin ...
".
She had small roles in feature films such as ''
Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation
''Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation'' is a 1953 American comedy film directed by Charles Lamont. It is the sixth installment of Universal-International's ''Ma and Pa Kettle'' series starring Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride.
Plot
In May 1953, Ma and ...
'' (1953), ''
Abbott and Costello Go to Mars
''Abbott and Costello Go to Mars'' is a 1953 American science fiction comedy film starring the comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello and directed by Charles Lamont. It was produced by Howard Christie and made by Universal-International. Des ...
'' (1953), ''
The French Line
''The French Line'' is a 1953 American musical film starring Jane Russell made by RKO Radio Pictures, directed by Lloyd Bacon and produced by Edmund Grainger, with Howard Hughes as executive producer. The screenplay was by Mary Loos and Richard ...
'' (1954), ''
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' (french: Vingt mille lieues sous les mers) is a classic science fiction adventure novel by French writer Jules Verne.
The novel was originally serialized from March 1869 through June 1870 in Pierre-J ...
'' (1954), ''
The Night of the Hunter'' (1955), ''
Jailhouse Rock'' (1957), ''
The Brothers Karamazov
''The Brothers Karamazov'' (russian: Братья Карамазовы, ''Brat'ya Karamazovy'', ), also translated as ''The Karamazov Brothers'', is the last novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky spent nearly two years writing '' ...
'' (1958), ''
The Crimson Kimono
''The Crimson Kimono'' is a 1959 film noir directed by Samuel Fuller. The film stars James Shigeta, Glenn Corbett and Victoria Shaw. It featured several ahead-of-its-time ideas about race and society's perception of race, a thematic and stylisti ...
'' (1959) and ''
Elmer Gantry
''Elmer Gantry'' is a satirical novel written by Sinclair Lewis in 1926 that presents aspects of the religious activity of America in fundamentalist and evangelistic circles and the attitudes of the 1920s public toward it. The novel's protagonis ...
'' (1960)''.
She appeared on the cover of several national celebrity magazines and twice was a
centerfold
The centerfold or centrefold of a magazine is the inner pages of the middle sheet, usually containing a portrait, such as a pin-up or a nude. The term can also refer to the model featured in the portrait. In saddle-stitched magazines (as opp ...
in ''
Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title.
In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
''.
In late 1954 and early 1955, she developed a television show called ''Voluptua'' for
KABC-TV
KABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains stud ...
that caused a furor for what was then seen as obscenity. In a 2011 radio interview with author and broadcaster R. H. Greene, Pall reminisced about the ''Voluptua'' program, explaining the show's format, re-enacting character dialogue, and explaining how Christian and PTA groups labelled the character "Corruptua" and pressured KABC to take her off the air.
Cancelled after seven weeks, ''Voluptua'' got Pall feature stories in ''
Life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
'' and ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
K ...
'' magazines. In 1959, Pall began developing a career in real-estate and in 1962 opened her own office on
Sunset Strip
The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western border with Beverly H ...
. Her final known screen credit is the 1964 TV short ''Low Man on a Totem Pole''.
Later years
In later years, Pall continued her real-estate career and occasionally made public appearances at autograph shows and special events in the Los Angeles area. She made documentary interviews from time to time, about her life and career. According to her ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' obituary, Pall dressed frequently in shades of purple and drove a
Ford Thunderbird
The Ford Thunderbird (colloquially called the T-Bird) is a personal luxury car produced by Ford from model years 1955 until 1997 and 2002 until 2005 across 11 distinct generations. Introduced as a two-seat convertible, the Thunderbird was pro ...
of that color. A sign outside her lavender-colored real-estate office read: "Call Pall."
She also turned to writing books about Hollywood, penning self-published books under ''Showgirl Press''.
Personal life
On August 11, 1956, she wed actor Robert P. Eaton on a whim. They divorced a year later due to his infidelity. She married Allen Kane in 1965; they divorced on August 28, 1984. By her second marriage, she had her only child, her son, Jefferson Kane.
Pall died in
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...
on December 30, 2012, aged 85, from heart failure. A memorial service was held on January 20, 2013. Her sole immediate survivor was her son.
Publications
*''Voluptua: Story of a TV Love Goddess'' (1992)
*''Cameo Girl of the 50s'' (1993)
*''I Danced Before the King'' (2000)
*''The Marilyn Monroe Party'' (2002)
References
External links
Radio documentary "Voluptua: The Love Goddess" for KPCC 89.3 FMArchived copy of Gloria Pall personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pall, Gloria
1927 births
2012 deaths
American female models
American film actresses
American non-fiction writers
American television actresses
American people of English descent
Writers from Brooklyn
Actresses from New York City
American women non-fiction writers
21st-century American women