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| Public Domain image |
Gail Fisher was a real success story and I imagine the pride of Edison, New Jersey, especially during the years 1954-1978. She'd grown up in the Potters Crossing subdivision of Edison and most folks who lived there recognized it as a slum. They were poor but her mother Ona seemed to be doing her best. Ona became a widow on September 28, 1937 following the untimely death of her husband William, a carpenter by trade. Gail was the youngest of the couple's 5 children - she was only 2 years old when her father died. William's estate at the time of his death was valued at $208.00 (rounding up, that's roughly $2700.00 in today's money). A syndicated 1971 newspaper profile on Gail Fisher claims the family was left with only $8.45 when William died. Perhaps the lesser amount was the bank balance and the bulk of the holdings was in real estate or an automobile? Ona supported the family by operating her own catering business but still had time to be very active in the PTA and various local committees; she even helped organize an annual fashion show that raised money for college scholarships.
Gail knew from early on that she wanted to be an actress. Ona encouraged her to pursue something far more realistic but Gail wouldn't be discouraged. She performed in school plays, joined the cheerleading squad and entered beauty contests. It was Gail's success in the latter that paved her way. Gail took top prize in 5 competitions and won a scholarship to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in NYC for two years (1956-1958).
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| Photo from JET Magazine, 9-8-55, courtesy of Vieilles Annonces at Flickr.com |
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| courtesy of Vieilles Annonces at Flickr.com |
Gail struggled at first but ultimately found worked as a model and become the top Black Print Model. In 1957 she made her Off-Broadway debut in "Simply Heavenly."
Gail made her first television appearance in 1959 and she made history in 1963 by becoming the first Black Actresses to deliver lines in a national TV commercial when she was hired as a spokesperson for All Detergent.
Gail appeared periodically on television and continued to work on the stage for nearly a decade until she answered a casting call for the TV detective series "Mannix" and her career really took off. Producers were changing things up for the show's 2nd season (1968). The title character was branching out on his own and he needed a secretary. Anyone who remembers the show easily recalls Gail's performance as Peggy Fair. She made a real impression on me when I was a young gal watching the show and I know I'm not alone. The show is currently airing on MeTV so you can still catch her in syndication or spring for the DVD boxset.
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| Ebony Magazine, Oct 1969 |
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| Ebony Magazine, Oct 1969 |
In 1970 Gail became the first black actress to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role in Drama. She would be nominated again each of the following 3 years but no win. Between 1971 and 1974, Gail received 4 Golden Globe nominations for "Mannix,", winning twice. But alas, as many accolades as she'd received during the show's run, when it went off the air in 1975 Gail had trouble finding work.
One could understand Gail having trouble finding work after her 1978 arrest (oh, have you forgotten this was a true crime blog?) but between 1975 and 1979 Gail's only acting job was a guest spot on "Medical Center" and it wasn't by choice.
On January 19, 1978 police knocked on the door of Gail Fisher's Benedict Canyon home. They had a warrant to search the premises and they found what they were looking for in her upstairs bedroom. The Pacific Telephone Company, which had just announced huge rate hikes, suspected Gail was using an illegal "blue box" to avoid paying full price for long-distance phone calls. Unfortunately for Gail, police also found 18 grams of marijuana and 0.1 gram of cocaine in her kitchen.
Here's the confounding part and it's not the drug possession charges as cocaine use was very prevalent in the 1970s, but the blue box. These gadgets sold for between $150 and $170, and while this was far less than Gail would spend calling her family back in NJ, you wouldn't think Gail needed to scam the phone company.
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| Blue Box in use, still image from a YouTube video uploaded by df9999999999 |
Gail Fisher, then a divorced 42-years-old mother of two girls, was arrested on the spot, booked at a West Los Angeles police station and released on $1500.00 bail. Gail pled innocent and a hearing was scheduled for March. The drug possession charges were deferred when Gail agreed to enter a 6 month drug diversion treatment program but they had her dead to rights on the blue box violation so she entered a "no contest" plea to that misdemeanor offense. Gail was placed on 12 months probation, fined $350.00 and ordered to pay the phone company $1,026. The felony drug charges were dropped once she successfully completed the program.
In January 1979, newspaper columnist Mary Mason quoted Gail as saying "I'm just too good for something not to happen." However, acting jobs for Gail following her arrest number only seven. Maybe she was being too particular. Again in Mary Mason's column, "Gail said she found that television had not only become very white but degrading, especially for women. Gail says she's learning to say that "She don't grin, she don't sing, she don't dance and she don't wash windows.""
When Mary asked the actress about the arrest, Gail confessed to using the blue box, "Who isn't trying to get over. But someone planted that cocaine. It was the most humiliating and embarrassing moment of my life." Gail said she was intending to spend the break in her career writing a book. Unfortunately, that never happened or it was never published.
Gail died December 2, 2000 at the age of 65. I've seen various causes listed on numerous websites but a JET Magazine obituary that appeared in their January 8, 2001 edition quotes Gail's oldest daughter Samara as saying "She had emphysema and was diabetic. The death certificate said cardiopulmonary arrest."
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