Actress. A dark-haired beauty, she is remembered for her appearances in numerous film features of the 1930s and 1940s. Born Margaret LaVelle Fitzpatrick, she graduated from Birmingham's Howard College (now Samford University), worked there for a time as dean of women, and was a graduate student at the University of when she lost a contest for a Paramount role but was still offered a contract and moved to Hollywood. Gail made her 1933 silver screen bow with "Murders in the Zoo" then gradually gained experience in roles of increasing importance in such flicks as 1934's "Wagon Wheels" and the 1936 Bing Crosby musical "Mississippi." Soon typecast as the 'other woman,' she attracted notice in the 1936 "My Man Godfrey," "Stage Door" (1937), the 1938 "Wives Under Suspicion," "Disbarred" (1939), and had her most noted appearance in 1940's "My Favorite Wife." Gail went on to star in 1942's "Quiet Please, Murder," "Hit Parade of 1943," the 1945 "Brewster's Millions," and other fare of the day, but after her turn in 1947's "Calendar Girl" she married her third husband Cornwell Jackson, literary agent of Erle Stanley Gardner, and retired. She ran a Rodeo Drive clothing store for a time but when CBS took Gardner's classic Perry Mason stories to the small screen in 1957, she found a new career as the executive producer. Gail stayed with the show thru its long run, though a 1973 attempt at a revival flopped.
Actress. A dark-haired beauty, she is remembered for her appearances in numerous film features of the 1930s and 1940s. Born Margaret LaVelle Fitzpatrick, she graduated from Birmingham's Howard College (now Samford University), worked there for a time as dean of women, and was a graduate student at the University of when she lost a contest for a Paramount role but was still offered a contract and moved to Hollywood. Gail made her 1933 silver screen bow with "Murders in the Zoo" then gradually gained experience in roles of increasing importance in such flicks as 1934's "Wagon Wheels" and the 1936 Bing Crosby musical "Mississippi." Soon typecast as the 'other woman,' she attracted notice in the 1936 "My Man Godfrey," "Stage Door" (1937), the 1938 "Wives Under Suspicion," "Disbarred" (1939), and had her most noted appearance in 1940's "My Favorite Wife." Gail went on to star in 1942's "Quiet Please, Murder," "Hit Parade of 1943," the 1945 "Brewster's Millions," and other fare of the day, but after her turn in 1947's "Calendar Girl" she married her third husband Cornwell Jackson, literary agent of Erle Stanley Gardner, and retired. She ran a Rodeo Drive clothing store for a time but when CBS took Gardner's classic Perry Mason stories to the small screen in 1957, she found a new career as the executive producer. Gail stayed with the show thru its long run, though a 1973 attempt at a revival flopped.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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