Sally Starr (TV hostess)
Alleen Mae Beller, also known as Sally Starr (January 25, 1923 – January 27, 2013) was a prominent 1950s and 1960s celebrity television personality. Using a cowgirl persona, she appealed to local TV audiences of several generations of children through American radio, Broadway stage, movies and as a recording artist for more than sixty years. Fans remained loyal in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (referred to locally as the Delaware Valley), and embraced her cowgirl personality as part of their own family identity, and sometimes referred to her as "Aunt Sally" or "Our Gal Sal."[1][2][3]
Sally Starr
Her numerous personal appearances at events were an attraction for both children and adults.[4] In paying tribute to her following her death, popular Philadelphia disc jockey Jerry Blavat, said of Starr:[5]
But Starr was not only considered to be a character personality, she was also a well-rounded performer. The first top-rated female disc jockey in the country, she worked as an announcer, writer and producer while also appearing on stage and in movies, establishing herself as a pioneer in the history of early broadcast television and radio in the United States.[6]
Biography[edit]
Starr was born as Alleen Mae Beller in Kansas City, Missouri,[7] and legally changed her name to Starr in 1941. She was the second oldest of five girls. Her parents, Charles and Bertha Beller, encouraged her to enter the world of show business, for which she exhibited both talent and ambition. At the age of twelve, she and her sister Mildred, who were billed as the "Little Missouri Maids," made their debut on the CBS radio program "Brush Creek Follies".[8]
Illness and death[edit]
On New Year's Eve in 1992, Starr suffered a severe heart attack. Following medical treatment, she completed her recuperation during early 1993 while residing at the home of her sister, Mary Boyd. Hundreds of her fans reportedly sent get well cards, artwork, and gifts.[22]
Starr died at a Berlin, New Jersey nursing home on January 27, 2013, two days after her 90th birthday, from undisclosed causes.[6][23]