Voluptua reported missing; Career rebounds quickly

(photo from LIFE magazine)

December 2012--
Gloria Pall, the sultry hostess of a 1950s Los Angeles TV show that was canceled because it was deemed too hot for television, has died.

Pall was cast by KABC-TV in 1954 to introduce each week’s romantic movie. Appearing as “Voluptua,” the statuesque Pall greeted viewers with a breathy coo and made sexy poses and flirtatious remarks.

The station canceled the show after seven weeks amid pressure from religious and parent groups, and lackluster commercial sponsorship. The protests attracted national media attention.

Pall, who later became a real estate agent, said her character was simply being suggestive.

She also had a brief acting career and had memorable roles. In an image from the 1957 film “Jailhouse Rock,” her legs frame Elvis Presley’s face at a burlesque show; she clutches Kirk Douglas’ arm in a scene from 1954’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”; and in “Crimson Kimono,” a classic 1959 film noir, Pall played a stripper named Sugar Torch, who gets shot in the opening scene.