Gale Henry

Biography

Eccentric, big-nosed, lugubrious-faced purveyor of silent screen slapstick, at one time billed as 'the elongated comedienne'. She was even suggested to have served as the model for 'Olive Oyl' of Popeye comic strip fame. An actual cartoon version of her was in fact featured in the British publication Film Fun. Gale started as a singer for the Temple Opera Company at the Century Theatre in Los Angeles. On screen from 1915, she first starred in a series of short comedies for independent producer Pat Powers, followed by the 'Joker' series at Universal opposite Augustus Carney and Billy Franey. From 1918, she fronted her own production unit, turning out 'Model' comedies, directed by her then-husband, Bruno C. Becker. These were made at facilities located at Santa Monica Boulevard and subsequently distributed by Reelcraft. By the mid-1920's, Gale had eased into supporting roles, playing old maids, harpies and hen-pecking wives in two-reelers for Joe Rock and Al Christie. She made a successful comeback at the end of the decade, co-starring in Charley Chase vehicles for Hal Roach, among which the most memorable entries were His Wooden Wedding (1925) and Mighty Like a Moose (1926). She also had a notable supporting role in Merton of the Movies (1924). Personal details of her life are sketchy, but, by the time Becker died in 1926, Gale had married the animal trainer Henry East, a former MGM prop man. Thus, she embarked on a secondary career as co-owner of East Kennels. Their most famous charge was Skippy, a wire-haired terrier born in 1931, who rose to celluloid fame as the lovable Asta of The Thin Man (1934), and its sequels.