Gloria Jean was a very popular child actress of the 30s, 40s and 50s. In her career, she was fortunate enough to work with the actors and actresses that we have long since idolized. Some of her co-stars were Bing Crosby, W.C. Fields, Groucho Marx, Carmen Miranda, Jerry Lewis and more! She began her road into the entertainment business as a young singer, earning herself the nickname "Baby Skylark" for her pure and melodic tone. She has vivid memories of her time in Hollywood and of the roles she has played, many of them focusing on music. She now has her own official website, www.gloriajeanchildstar.com that she runs with the help of her sister Bonnie. Gloria recently agreed to talk with us regarding her work, her famous co-stars, the recent book that was written about her and what she's been up to lately. She was extemely pleasant and enjoyable to talk with. You can click play on the player below to hear the audio stream from the interview, as well as read the transcription. Here is Ms. Gloria Jean!

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MP: I'm talking with Gloria Jean, who is a very popular child actress of the 30s, 40s and 50s. She's worked with some incredible personalities. Gloria, thank you so much for speaking with me today.

Gloria: You're welcome.

MP: You started out as singer. Your nickname was “Baby Skylark”. How did you go from being a singer to actually doing films?

Gloria: Actually, I sang for many years before I was discovered in films. They were grooming me for an opera in New York, the first child star to ever sing in an opera. Joe Pasternak, producer, was written up in the paper that he was auditioning girls to star in their first picture called "The Under Pup". Now, Joe Pasternak was Deanna Durbin's producer. So, my music teacher took me from Staten Island over to where they were auditioning to sing for Joe Pasternak. When I went in, I looked around and all the little girls were dressed and quite beautiful; they all looked like Shirley Temple, I wasn't. Well, they were ready for the audition and I said "just a moment, the piano is out of tune". Well, my music teacher could have strangled me. Joe Pasternak was impressed, he said "you know, this kid has spunk, bring her back tomorrow and we'll tune the piano." So, I did go back and I sang, and they were all quite impressed and he said "we'll let you know in a couple of weeks what we decide." When you hear that you might as well think "oh well" you know. But sure enough in two weeks, they called me and I came out to Hollywood to star in my first movie called "The Under Pup". You can imagine what a thrill that was!

MP: Was it difficult for you to balance a Hollywood career and going to school?

Gloria: Not at all because they had that all worked out. We had four hours of school along with our shooting, and the school house was right on the set. So, it was a little hard because you'd get involved in a subject and they'd call you, they were ready to shoot the film, back and forth. But, it was fun and we had proper schooling, very good educational teachers too.

MP: One of your classmates was Elizabeth Taylor.

Gloria: That's true. They had a regular school house at Universal, and Elizabeth attended with Donald O'Connor and Sabu and a lot of the young stars. Elizabeth was very shy and the teacher was worried, she said "I hope she gets over that". Well, I think she did! But she was beautiful and a lovely little girl.

MP: You worked with a lot of heavyweights at a young age. After your first film, which you said was “The Under-Pup” in 1939, you went directly into your next film “If I Had My Way” with Bing Crosby. Describe if you could, your recollections of Bing.

Gloria: Bing was wonderful, and also terrific to his little boys. One of the best things he did for me was he'd take me aside and teach me little tricks in acting. Also, he said "don't let Hollywood ruin you, you stay very close to your family, it's the most precious thing you'll ever have", and I remembered that. I really enjoyed working with Bing.

MP: Didn't Bing also give you a dog?

Gloria: Oh yes! This goes back, but the "Thin Man" series, there was a little dog called "Asta". Bing gave me Asta's niece and I called her "Patsy". You talk about adorable! She was a regular motion picture dog. I had a lot of pictures taken with her and she'd pose and she was just incredible. It was a wonderful gift.

MP: In 1941, you starred with W.C. Fields in “Never Give A Sucker An Even Break”. You played his niece. To my knowledge, this was the last film that Fields made where he was in the lead role. There’s a great line in the film where you say to him “We're falling 2,000 feet!” and he replied “It's all right, dear. Don't start worrying 'til we get down 1,999. The last foot is dangerous!” Was his on-set attitude similar to that, to where he sort of took you under his wing?

Gloria: Yes and the funny part of it is, he was really funnier in person because he'd mumble things and of course everybody just rolled with laughter. But, he was supposed to hate children, he was very nice to me. I was 14 at the time. He really fell in love with my mother, because mother had to be with me on the set until I was 18 years old. So, she was outspoken and he was impressed with mother. Mother never thought he was funny. There was something about him, whenever he was really sad or depressed, he'd say "get Gloria's momma, I want to talk to her", and everybody was amazed. They'd send mother into the dressing room with W.C. and that's where she was for a long time, he just loved her.

MP: In 1943, you starred in “Mister Big” with Donald O’Connor, many people may know from “Singin’ In The Rain”, 1952. You played Patricia, a student who wanted to be a singer. The entire pace of the film is extremely upbeat. How was that film for you, in terms of working with Donald and also working as someone who wanted to be a singer when you actually were a singer?

Gloria: Well, whatever role you were given, you played that role. Donald was such a joy to work with. I always thought that they never gave him credit for his voice, I loved Donald's voice! Dancing came later on, you know, in the earlier pictures I did with him. He didn't dance. Can you imagine? He was so talented to begin with, of course I fell in love with him. You couldn't help it, you know I was a teenager and going to school with him and I thought he was wonderful. It was great fun working with him and we made six movies together.

MP: Did you feel while you were working in the middle of all these films, that you had any real, direct competition from actors and actresses in your same age group?

Gloria: No, it was too much fun. I loved what I was doing, it never seemed like work to me. Even though one year I did an awful lot of movies and they were B-pictures, you know. It was tiring work, that's the only thing. I found that I was quite tired and hoped for some time to relax. But that was impossible, when you're under contract to a studio, they have things for you to do all the time. As a matter of fact I'm retired now and this is what I'm doing, I'm enjoying my life, peace and quiet. But I miss the good old work that I used to do. Such great memories and great, great things that I did.

MP: In your teen years, you made a lot of films in which your scenes would ultimately be cut. But in 1947, you played with Groucho Marx and Carmen Miranda in “Copacabana”. I remember reading that Groucho sort of lobbied for you to have that part.

Gloria: Yes, that's what I understand and he also took me under his wing like most people did in those days. Groucho was a little worried because I worked with Copacabana girls and Steve Cochran who was a ladies man, and he said "listen, you just keep low key and don't let anybody sway you". He seemed to be so worried about me. One of the nicest men I've ever worked with! Carmen Miranda was a sweetheart and she was so concerned about what I ate, she was a "health nut" as they say. She was always "now you eat properly and I wish you didn't like ice cream because that's not good for you", and just funny, you know, but a lovely person.

MP: Did you have a favorite co-star among everybody you worked with?

Gloria: That's very hard to say. I think Donald was one of my favorites but each movie that I made, I found something special in everybody. That's the way I was.

MP: You were supposed to star in a show with Edward G. Robinson, Charles Boyer, and Barbara Stanwyck, but it never came about. What happened in that particular case?

Gloria: Well, I highly admired him (Robinson). There was a movie called "Flesh and Fantasy", one of my sequences was in that movie and I was a blind girl. Edward G. was so impressed, I think that was the reason that he wanted to do a movie with me. Unfortunately, it was cut out of "Flesh and Fantasy", made into a full-length feature called "Destiny" but it didn't have the impact. It broke my heart that they cut it out because it was a real dream to be in that movie. It was the first straight, dramatic role I had and I'll never forget how excited I was when Charles Boyer, who was the producer, said "guess what, you got the part!" I remember I was 17 at the time. You can imagine how excited I was.

MP: In the 1960s, I understand Elvis Presley also wanted to work with you.

Gloria: That's true. I was doing a movie with Jerry Lewis called "Ladies Man" and I was in the commissary one day and looked up, and there was Elvis. All the girls were sitting with me and they dropped thier spoons, because he was dynamic to look at. He said "Gloria Jean, I loved your voice, I can't wait to sing with you, we've got to do a movie together and sing together!" Well Gary, I was so excited. So, I told my agent about it, I said "oh I hope we can do something!", and he never did anything. I think that was a real big tragedy that nothing had come of us, you know.

MP: Why do you think it never happened?

Gloria: I really wish I knew. I think you have to pursue, when somebody suggests things, you've got to really push it through. But the agent had so many stars and he was working for them, not for me, and it was sad but it never happened.

MP: There was a book written about you called “Gloria Jean: A Little Bit of Heaven”, which is a full length biography and includes many of your personal memories. Were you eager to participate in the book and are you happy with how it turned out?

Gloria: Very, very happy that the book is out, a little sad that they didn't write more about my son and his family that live in Hawaii. I'm very proud of them and the children, I have four grandchildren. They never wrote about that, but I didn't write the book really. I mean, I gave them my story and they told the truth about everything and all the pictures. I am happy that that's one book that is out, and hopefully one day somebody will approach me to do another one, and I can go into greater detail in that book.

MP: Have you ever thought about writing one yourself?

Gloria: Yes, but to be perfectly honest I'm a little tired. I have a website that's really very wonderful in keeping me busy, and I'm so busy with little projects that writing my own book would take a little time. But, it's a thought Gary and I might just do that!

MP: Many of your films are very hard to find. Some of them never went to video, nor are they even shown on television anymore. Do you know if there is any talk of having some of these movies put out on DVD, like “A Little Bit of Heaven”, “Destiny” or “I'll Remember April”?

Gloria: Well, I'll tell you what, I just found out that Turner Classic Movies, they're going to have the one I did with Bing Crosby, "If I Had My Way". So this is a great, great sign, possibly they'll release more of those films. As you know, they don't do Deanna Durbin's films, you don't see many of those either. She was, before I even went into movies, Deanna was my idol and I always thought she had a beautiful voice.

MP: Many child stars, especially nowadays, develop problems after they’re out of the limelight. But you didn’t. What did you do to handle that transition?

Gloria: Well, my advice to a lot of people that wonder what they're going to do, is to make sure that you're equipped to do other things, because you can't count on just being an actor or whatever. So when I tried to get back into the movies, when Pasternak left the studio and I went on tour I lost contact with a lot of people. Then I tried to contact them and it was a whole different ball game. A lot of them turned me down and turned the other cheek. I was very depressed but what did I do? I went to the Department of Unemployment and I said I need a job, and what can I do? The girl said "you have a wonderful speaking voice and I've got the job for you". She said "receptionist" at a company called "Redken Laboratories". Well I went there and they hired me in an instant. I worked there for 30 years. So, I consider that I made a success in my life, in two different fields. Redken was like the entertainment because I was spokeswoman and I greeted people and talked on the phone and loved my job. I just sort of carried through my family and they were behind me 100%, so it can be done instead of going by the wayside like so many that you read about. Just don't be depressed and know that you can do other things. That's what happened to me!

MP: If you could do it all over again, would you do anything differently?

Gloria: No, no I never would've dreamed that this would've happened to me. It was like a fairytale really, the way I was discovered. I'd never do anything over again.

MP: You mentioned that you do have your official website, which is www.gloriajeanchildstar.com. Your sister Bonnie helps you with that.

Gloria: She does and Bonnie is just a marvel! She does the typing and I do the dictating. We have the best time in our retirement, and Bonnie is the only living relative, outside of my son and my grandchildren. So we have a regular business going and it's so exciting to me that people remember those years. I think they were the very best, I really do!

MP: In addition to your site, do you still get to meet and talk with some of your fans?

Gloria: Oh yes! I'm living in Oxnard (California), and they just had an Oxnard Film Festival. Well, if that wasn't a thrill! They showed the movie with W.C. Fields and I got on stage and answered questions from the audience. It was just terrific! People loved the fact that I live here and I'm right on the ocean. So my life now is perfect.

MP: Is there anything else you’d like to add or you'd like to say?

Gloria: Well, only that I want people to realize that I'm happy, that I look back in the years that I was in films as the greatest in my life. Not many people can experience that.

MP: Once again, I'm speaking with Gloria Jean, who was a tremendous and very famous child actress of the 30s, 40s and 50s and as you've heard, she's worked with some incredible names and has the best experiences from her time working in what we consider the Golden Age of Hollywood. So Gloria, again, thank you so much for talking with me today.

Gloria: Gary, it was a pleasure!

*** I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to Gloria Jean for taking time out to speak with me. I'd also like to remind everyone to visit her official website, www.gloriajeanchildstar.com ***

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