Gladys Gale


Gladys Gale was an American nightclub singer and vaudeville performer, before becoming a character actress in films during the 1930s and 1940s. The wife of a millionaire, she led a checkered life before dying under mysterious circumstances in a Los Angeles hotel room under an assumed name.

Life and early career

Born Gladys Lanphere on January 15, 1891, in Monmouth, Illinois, she married millionaire Park Benjamin. During the Prohibition Era she became a nightclub performer in a speakeasy in New York City, also appearing on the vaudeville stage in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Film career and death

Gale went to Hollywood in 1931, where she made her film debut in RKO's Smart Woman in a small role. She used the stage name of Gladys Gale, instead of her married name, Gladys Benjamin. Over her fifteen-year film career, she would appear in over 30 feature films, mostly in smaller roles, with the occasional featured part. Some of her more notable films include: the gangster film, She Couldn't Take It, starring George Raft and Joan Bennett; the Mae West 1936 vehicle, Klondike Annie, in which she played a dance hall girl at the age of 45; Frank Capra's 1938 classic, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, starring James Stewart, Jean Arthur, and Claude Rains; and the 1942 melodrama, Lady for a Night, starring John Wayne and Joan Blondell. Her final screen appearance would be in a small role in Our Hearts Were Growing Up, which starred Gail Russell.
On October 3, 1948, Gale checked into a Los Angeles hotel under an assumed name with a man, calling themselves Mr. and Mrs. Statler. In the morning her body was discovered, nude, with the room trashed. No cause for her death was ever established. Gale is buried in Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1931Smart WomanMrs. Preston - Peggy's MotherRKO Pictures
1932The Music BoxMrs. von Schwarzenhoffen MGM
Laurel and Hardy short film comedy
1934Broadway BillHead nurseColumbia Pictures
1934Desirablelarge womanWarner Bros. Pictures
1934Wake Up and DreamPrima donnaUniversal Pictures
1934The Party's OverPatron in Art Gallery Columbia Pictures
1934Among the MissingMrs. RandallColumbia Pictures
1934Fugitive LadyMiss SmithColumbia Pictures
1934Men of the NightMrs. EverettColumbia Pictures
1934The Captain Hates the SeaPassenger's wifeColumbia Pictures
1935Circus ShadowsPeerless Pictures Studios
1935A Feather in Her HatColumbia Pictures
1935Love Me ForeverColumbia Pictures
1935She Couldn't Take ItColumbia Pictures
1935CarnivalBaby judgeColumbia Pictures
1935Men of the HourColumbia Pictures
1935She Married Her BossColumbia Pictures
1936Klondike AnnieDance hall girlParamount Pictures
Screenplay by Mae West who also starred
1936Navy BornRepublic Pictures
1936Pride of the MarinesWoman managerColumbia Pictures
1936Dancing FeetMrs. BlaneRepublic Pictures
1936CounterfeitTouristColumbia Pictures
193745 Fathers20th Century Fox
1937The Devil Is DrivingColumbia Pictures
1937I Promise to PayReceptionistColumbia Pictures
1937Find the WitnessMrs. RiceColumbia Pictures
1938Up the RiverBingo player20th Century Fox
1939Mr. Smith Goes to WashingtonCommittee WomanColumbia Pictures
1942Joan of OzarkMrs. FaddenRepublic Pictures
1942Lady for a NightMotherRepublic Pictures
1943So's Your UncleElastic womanUniversal Pictures
1945An Angel Comes to BrooklynSarah GibbonsRepublic Pictures
1945Billy Rose's Diamond HorseshoeUnknown20th Century Fox
1945Our Hearts Were Growing UpMrs. AppleyParamount Pictures