Four Degrees of Gale Storm

You know the concept -- Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Supposedly, any entertainer can be connected within six links to the dancin' star of Footloose.

All well and good for Mr. Bacon's contemporaries, but what about someone at the height of her TV fame right around the time he was born? I decided to test the theory with none other than Gale Storm (1922-2009), the beloved star of the Golden Age sitcoms My Little Margie (1952-55) and The Gale Storm Show: Oh Susanna! (1956-60) -- and one of the subjects of my first book, The Women Who Made Television Funny.

Here's what I came up with:

     1. Gale Storm's second TV sitcom featured Roy Roberts as her boss, Captain Huxley.

     2. Roy Roberts went on to play bank president Mr. Cheever on The Lucy Show, which starred Lucille Ball.

     3. Lucille Ball made the 1968 hit movie Yours, Mine, and Ours, which featured Tim Matheson as her stepson, Mike. (Bonus point: Matheson also made a guest appearance on Here's Lucy.)

     4. Tim Matheson later starred in the wildly popular comedy National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), which gave young Kevin Bacon his film debut, as hapless fraternity pledge Chip Diller.

"Thank you, sir, may I have another?"

See, that wasn't too difficult. Anyone want to try Gracie Allen?