Gloria Jean(1926-2018)
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Gloria Jean Schoonover was born on April 14, 1926 in Buffalo, New York
and she and her family moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania shortly afterward.
Her father owned a music store; her mother, who had been a circus bareback
rider, took care of Gloria and her three siblings.
Gloria's singing ability was discovered when she was little; by 5 she was
singing in the Scranton area. At 12 she was taken to an audition by
Universal director Joe Pasternak, who was looking for a new child singer
to replace studio icon Deanna Durbin, who was being steered into ingenue
and young-adult roles. Although hundreds of Shirley-Temple-perfect girls
competed, natural-looking Gloria was chosen and she and her mother
headed to Hollywood.
In 1939 Gloria made her first film, "The Under-Pup", which made her an
instant hit with moviegoers. Happy with their young coloratura soprano,
Universal cast her in "If I Had My Way," which co-starred Bing Crosby.
Next came "A Little Bit of Heaven," which many consider her best film;
then a co-starring role with W.C. Fields in "Never Give a Sucker an Even
Break," her most-seen film.
At this point in 1941, Gloria was at the pinnacle of her career, yet her
star wasn't soaring. She had outgrown her Little Miss Fixit roles, as
Durbin had a few years earlier, but Durbin was in command of the
older-girl roles for the better pictures. Unsure what to do with Jean,
Universal moved her to the "Hepcat" movies, which appealed to the
teenagers of that day. "What's Cooking", "Get Hep to Love", "When
Johnny Comes Marching Home", and "It Comes Up Love," were all shot in
1942 and "Mr. Big," and "Moonlight in Vermont" followed in 1943; all
were stock B-films. Like many Universal stars, Gloria had a few seconds
onscreen in the war-effort picture "Follow the Boys" in 1944. After that
came the rather good "Pardon My Rhythm" with Mel Torme, who became
a close friend. Then in "Ghost Catchers" she was teamed with popular
comedians Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson. The forgettable "Reckless Age"
was next; its main distinction was as the first in which Gloria played a
more mature role.
Gloria was to star in one of four episodes of Julien Duvivier's "Flesh
and Fantasy," alongside such stars as Edward G. Robinson, Charles Boyer,
and Barbara Stanwyck. But the movie was found to be too long and
Gloria's segment was cut out. Some additional footage was added and
the result was "Destiny." Gloria's performance won rave reviews, but
the actual movie met with only modest success. Gloria followed this
with three more Universal films: "I'll Remember April," "River Gang,"
and "Easy to Look At."
At this point, on bad advice from her agent, Gloria decided to go on tour
instead of renewing her Universal contract. The tour underperformed and
she returned to Hollywood in 1947, but she found herself in negligible
demand. Groucho Marx gave her a minor role in his film "Copacabana";
this appearance ultimately landed her four more: in "I Surrender, Dear,"
"Manhattan Angel," "An Old-Fashioned Girl," and "There's a Girl in My
Heart."
As the 1950s began, Gloria made several singing shorts that aired during
television's early days. Other than that and a few guest appearances on
TV series, her acting career was virtually finished. She appeared in 1955's
forgettable "Air Strike" and worked in a couple of film that were never
released. Jerry Lewis found her working as a restaurant hostess and gave
her a part in his movie "The Ladies' Man," which was meant to relaunch
her career, but her scenes didn't make the final cut. Shortly after, she was
briefly married and had a son; at that point she virtually retired from the
screen and went to work for the cosmetics firm Redken until 1993, when
she retired.
Gloria was reintroduced to a limelight of sorts by the magic of eBay,
where her movies, some of which are in the public domain, were being
sold. With her sister Bonnie's help (she handled the computer end of
things, as Gloria didn't do "Windows") she got onto eBay and sold
copies of the movies she appeared in, as well as signed photographs
of herself (old publicity shots). Spurred by the popularity of these, she
published her autobiography, "Gloria Jean: A Little Bit of Heaven" in
2005.
After her sister Bonnie's death in 2007, Gloria moved to Hawaii to live
with her son and his family.
and she and her family moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania shortly afterward.
Her father owned a music store; her mother, who had been a circus bareback
rider, took care of Gloria and her three siblings.
Gloria's singing ability was discovered when she was little; by 5 she was
singing in the Scranton area. At 12 she was taken to an audition by
Universal director Joe Pasternak, who was looking for a new child singer
to replace studio icon Deanna Durbin, who was being steered into ingenue
and young-adult roles. Although hundreds of Shirley-Temple-perfect girls
competed, natural-looking Gloria was chosen and she and her mother
headed to Hollywood.
In 1939 Gloria made her first film, "The Under-Pup", which made her an
instant hit with moviegoers. Happy with their young coloratura soprano,
Universal cast her in "If I Had My Way," which co-starred Bing Crosby.
Next came "A Little Bit of Heaven," which many consider her best film;
then a co-starring role with W.C. Fields in "Never Give a Sucker an Even
Break," her most-seen film.
At this point in 1941, Gloria was at the pinnacle of her career, yet her
star wasn't soaring. She had outgrown her Little Miss Fixit roles, as
Durbin had a few years earlier, but Durbin was in command of the
older-girl roles for the better pictures. Unsure what to do with Jean,
Universal moved her to the "Hepcat" movies, which appealed to the
teenagers of that day. "What's Cooking", "Get Hep to Love", "When
Johnny Comes Marching Home", and "It Comes Up Love," were all shot in
1942 and "Mr. Big," and "Moonlight in Vermont" followed in 1943; all
were stock B-films. Like many Universal stars, Gloria had a few seconds
onscreen in the war-effort picture "Follow the Boys" in 1944. After that
came the rather good "Pardon My Rhythm" with Mel Torme, who became
a close friend. Then in "Ghost Catchers" she was teamed with popular
comedians Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson. The forgettable "Reckless Age"
was next; its main distinction was as the first in which Gloria played a
more mature role.
Gloria was to star in one of four episodes of Julien Duvivier's "Flesh
and Fantasy," alongside such stars as Edward G. Robinson, Charles Boyer,
and Barbara Stanwyck. But the movie was found to be too long and
Gloria's segment was cut out. Some additional footage was added and
the result was "Destiny." Gloria's performance won rave reviews, but
the actual movie met with only modest success. Gloria followed this
with three more Universal films: "I'll Remember April," "River Gang,"
and "Easy to Look At."
At this point, on bad advice from her agent, Gloria decided to go on tour
instead of renewing her Universal contract. The tour underperformed and
she returned to Hollywood in 1947, but she found herself in negligible
demand. Groucho Marx gave her a minor role in his film "Copacabana";
this appearance ultimately landed her four more: in "I Surrender, Dear,"
"Manhattan Angel," "An Old-Fashioned Girl," and "There's a Girl in My
Heart."
As the 1950s began, Gloria made several singing shorts that aired during
television's early days. Other than that and a few guest appearances on
TV series, her acting career was virtually finished. She appeared in 1955's
forgettable "Air Strike" and worked in a couple of film that were never
released. Jerry Lewis found her working as a restaurant hostess and gave
her a part in his movie "The Ladies' Man," which was meant to relaunch
her career, but her scenes didn't make the final cut. Shortly after, she was
briefly married and had a son; at that point she virtually retired from the
screen and went to work for the cosmetics firm Redken until 1993, when
she retired.
Gloria was reintroduced to a limelight of sorts by the magic of eBay,
where her movies, some of which are in the public domain, were being
sold. With her sister Bonnie's help (she handled the computer end of
things, as Gloria didn't do "Windows") she got onto eBay and sold
copies of the movies she appeared in, as well as signed photographs
of herself (old publicity shots). Spurred by the popularity of these, she
published her autobiography, "Gloria Jean: A Little Bit of Heaven" in
2005.
After her sister Bonnie's death in 2007, Gloria moved to Hawaii to live
with her son and his family.