Gloria Pall obit

Gloria Pall dies at 85; Voluptua character deemed too sexy for TV

 

She was not on the list.

Valley Village resident Gloria Pall, who was taken off television in the 1950s for being too sexy, died Dec. 30 of heart failure at a Burbank hospital, according to the Los Angeles Times. She was 85.

Patch first met Gloria Pall back in November of 2010 when our Faith and Charity columnist Linda Rubin interviewed her for a story about Temple Beth Hillel's 10th Annual Thanksgiving Feast.

The following information Patch reported in July of 2011 in a story about Pall:

Pall starred in a TV show in 1954 and 1955 called Voluptua, which aired on KABC in Los Angeles for seven weeks before it was cancelled due to conservative outrage, with one group dubbing it "Corruptua."

Voluptua was a bit of a takeoff on the show Vampira, but instead of horror movies, Pall hosted romance movies. But the fact that she was scantilly clad and would often undress behind a translucent screen while purring seductively at the camera caused a commotion with some housewives and conservative groups. As Pall pointed out in an interview with KPCC, this was at the same time Ricky and Lucy on I Love Lucy couldn't even be seen to be sleeping in the same bed.

Pall also had a successful modeling career and had many small roles in films and TV shows, including 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Jailhouse Rock.

Pall was getting new recognition over the last few years for her past work and was interviewed on KPCC about her career.

"She was quite openly in touch with her sexuality, and that was an incredibly dangerous thing to do," said R.H. Greene, a Los Angeles author and documentary filmmaker that put together the KPCC story, according to the L.A. Times. "We don't have too many stories for that time that illustrate that, and Gloria's does."

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 and 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 on Sunset Blvd. in 1952. She dated Howard Hughes for a time.

Pall got her first acting job on television in 1951 and went on to a successful career as an actress for 10 years, primarily in secondary and minor roles. In 1958, she was cast as Blanche Golden in "Abracadabra" of the western aviation adventure series, Sky King. She had a small role in The Twilight Zone episode, "And When the Sky Was Opened". She had small roles in feature films such as Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation (1953), Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953), The French Line (1954), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), The Night of the Hunter (1955), Jailhouse Rock (1957), The Brothers Karamazov (1958), The Crimson Kimono (1959), and Elmer Gantry (1960).

She appeared on the cover of several national celebrity magazines and twice was a centerfold in Esquire.

In late 1954 and early 1955, she developed a television show called Voluptua for KABC-TV 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 and Playboy magazines. In 1959, Pall began developing a career in real estate, and in 1962 opened her own office on Sunset Strip. Her final known screen credit is the 1964 TV short Low Man on a Totem Pole.

 

Actress

Low Man on a Totem Pole

9.2

TV Movie

Girl

1964

 

Susan Hayward and Dean Martin in Ada (1961)

Ada

6.6

Party Girl (uncredited)

1961

 

Angela Cartwright, Rusty Hamer, Sherry Jackson, Marjorie Lord, and Danny Thomas in The Danny Thomas Show (1953)

The Danny Thomas Show

7.1

TV Series

Hatcheck Girl

1960

1 episode

 

Burt Lancaster, Jean Simmons, and Shirley Jones in Elmer Gantry (1960)

Elmer Gantry

7.7

Girl in Brothel (uncredited)

1960

 

Rod Serling in The Twilight Zone (1959)

The Twilight Zone

9.0

TV Series

Girl in Bar (uncredited)

1959

1 episode

 

The Crimson Kimono (1959)

The Crimson Kimono

6.8

Sugar Torch

1959

 

Kirby Grant and Gloria Winters in Sky King (1951)

Sky King

7.7

TV Series

Blanche Golden

1958

1 episode

 

The Brothers Karamazov (1958)

The Brothers Karamazov

6.7

Girl (uncredited)

1958

 

Have Gun - Will Travel (1957)

Have Gun - Will Travel

8.4

TV Series

Della

1958

1 episode

 

Elvis Presley in Jailhouse Rock (1957)

Jailhouse Rock

6.5

Striptease Woman (uncredited)

1957

 

The Spike Jones Show (1954)

The Spike Jones Show

7.6

TV Series

Gabby Lane

1957

1 episode

 

Jean Simmons, Paul Douglas, and Anthony Franciosa in This Could Be the Night (1957)

This Could Be the Night

6.7

New Girl (uncredited)

1957

 

The Garment Jungle (1957)

The Garment Jungle

6.6

Model (uncredited)

1957

 

The People's Choice (1955)

The People's Choice

7.9

TV Series

Finan Haddie Model

1957

1 episode

 

December Bride (1954)

December Bride

7.9

TV Series

1957

1 episode

 

Stanley Clements, Huntz Hall, Joi Lansing, and Phil Phillips in Hot Shots (1956)

Hot Shots

5.5

Party Guest (uncredited)

1956

 

Robert Mitchum and Shelley Winters in The Night of the Hunter (1955)

The Night of the Hunter

8.0

Burlesque Dancer (uncredited)

1955

 

Kathleen Crowley and Victor McLaglen in City of Shadows (1955)

City of Shadows

5.5

Waitress

1955

 

Mari Blanchard, Sally Forrest, Dale Robertson, and Lili St. Cyr in Son of Sinbad (1955)

Son of Sinbad

5.2

Raider (uncredited)

1955

 

The Bob Cummings Show (1955)

The Bob Cummings Show

7.7

TV Series

Texan's Mistress

1955

1 episode

 

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

7.2

Blonde Girlfriend (uncredited)

1954

 

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in The Abbott and Costello Show (1952)

The Abbott and Costello Show

8.1

TV Series

Contestant #9 (uncredited)

1954

1 episode

 

Where's Raymond?

7.3

TV Series

Cuddles

1954

3 episodes

 

Space Patrol (1950)

Space Patrol

6.8

TV Series

Zamba

1954

3 episodes

 

Jane Russell in The French Line (1953)

The French Line

5.1

Model in Musical Number (uncredited)

1953

 

Eva Gabor, Paulette Goddard, Robert Hutton, Barbara Lawrence, and Marilyn Maxwell in Paris Model (1953)

Paris Model

4.8

Credits Girl (uncredited)

1953

 

Teresa Brewer in The George Jessel Show (1953)

The George Jessel Show

TV Series

Showgirl Sketches #10

1953

1 episode

 

Marry Me Again (1953)

Marry Me Again

7.1

Blonde (uncredited)

1953

 

Anita Ekberg, Bud Abbott, Mari Blanchard, Lou Costello, and Jean Willes in Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953)

Abbott and Costello Go to Mars

5.9

Tall Girl in New York (uncredited)

1953

 

All Ashore (1953)

All Ashore

5.0

Lucretia

1953

 

Judd Holdren in Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe (1953)

Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe

5.7

The Moon Girl

1953

 

Percy Kilbride, Marjorie Main, and Bodil Miller in Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation (1952)

Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation

6.6

French Girl Walking Poodle (uncredited)

1952

 

Racket Squad (1950)

Racket Squad

7.4

TV Series

Symphony Smith

1952

1 episode

 

Self

The Extra (2017)

The Extra

7.1

Self

2017

 

Vampira and Me (2012)

Vampira and Me

7.3

Self

2012

 

Shelley Winters and Skip E. Lowe in Skip E. Lowe Looks at Hollywood (1978)

Skip E. Lowe Looks at Hollywood

5.2

TV Series

Self

2009

1 episode

 

Moviewatch (1993)

Moviewatch

8.1

TV Series

Self

1994

1 episode

 

The A-B-C's of Love

6.3

Self (Comedienne)

1953

 

All Star Revue (1950)

All Star Revue

8.2

TV Series

Self - Showgirl in Sketches

1952

1 episode

 

The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950)

The Colgate Comedy Hour

7.7

TV Series

Self

1951

1 episode

 

Bob Barker in The All New Truth or Consequences (1950)

The All New Truth or Consequences

7.3

TV Series

Self - Girl in William Bendix skit

1951

1 episode