Roberta Gale (October 18, 1914 – January 29, 2008) was an American actress. She is known for her roles as a

leading lady A leading actor, leading actress, or leading man or lady or simply lead (), plays a main role in a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person w ...

in a number of Poverty Row

western films The Western is a film genre defined by the American Film Institute as films which are "set in the American West that mbodythe spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the Frontier Thesis, new frontier." Generally set in the American frontier b ...

made during the 1930s. The daughter of J.M. Gale and Blanche Harris Gale, she was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and raised in Miami, Florida. She appeared on Broadway in ''The New Yorkers'' (1927). In Hollywood at age 15, Gale was described as "a Clara Bow type". Gale married

Mark Taper Sydney Mark Taper (25 December 1901 – 15 December 1994) was a Polish-born British-American real estate developer, financier and philanthropist in London and Southern California. His 1962 gift to the Los Angeles Music Center resulted in the Ma ...

, philanthropist and financier in Los Angeles in 1962; the marriage lasted eight months.

Selected filmography

* ''

Are These Our Children? ''Are These Our Children?'' is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by Wesley Ruggles and written by Howard Estabrook. The film stars Eric Linden, Ben Alexander, Beryl Mercer, Mary Kornman, Arline Judge, and Rochelle Hudson. The f ...

'' (1931) * '' The Public Defender'' (1931) * ''

Girl of the Rio ''Girl of the Rio'' is a 1932 American pre-Code RKO musical film starred Dolores del Río and Leo Carrillo. Directed by Herbert Brenon, the screenplay was written by Elizabeth Meehan and Louis Stevens, based on the play, ''The Dove'' by Wi ...

'' (1932) * '' Her Splendid Folly'' (1933) * '' Police Call'' (1933) * '' Mystery Ranch'' (1934) * '' Terror of the Plains'' (1934) * '' St. Louis Woman'' (1934) * '' Cheers of the Crowd'' (1935) * '' Alias John Law'' (1935) * '' No Man's Range'' (1935) * '' Fighting Youth'' (1935)

References

Bibliography

* Pitts, Michael R. ''Poverty Row Studios, 1929–1940: An Illustrated History of 55 Independent Film Companies, with a Filmography for Each''. McFarland & Company, 2005.

External links

* 1914 births 2008 deaths American film actresses Actresses from Pittsburgh 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women {{US-film-actor-1910s-stub