{{Short description|Canadian actress and singer}} '''Gail Dahms''' (born June 27, 1957) is a former Canadian actress and singer, most noted as a Juno Award nominee for Most Promising Female Vocalist at the Juno Awards of 1977.<ref>Joe Sornberger, "Juno Awards: parade of the great unknowns". ''Edmonton Journal'', March 12, 1977.</ref>
Originally from Kitchener, Ontario,<ref>Jon Kiely, "Kitchener-born actress Gail Dahms says she's ready to collect for years of practice, teasing". ''Waterloo Region Record'', March 16, 1978.</ref> she had musical theatre roles in various local theatre productions, including ''South Pacific'', ''Annie Get Your Gun'', ''Guys and Dolls'' and ''Fiddler on the Roof'', in her teenage years.<ref name=ferguson>Jeremy Ferguson, "Shooting for stardom". ''Toronto Star'', July 24, 1976.</ref> She was signed to a recording contract soon after finishing high school, and recorded a number of singles in 1975 and 1976, including "Can't We Somehow", "Rescue Me" and "This Song Reminds Me of You".<ref name=ferguson/> However, she became best known in this era as the star of a series of television commercials for Turtles candy, playing a sexy Marilyn Monroe-style character who sang the jingle "Ooooh, I love Turtles" to a pair of turtle mascots.<ref name=ferguson/>
She did not release any further music as a recording artist, but continued to have acting roles, including the musical ''Eight to the Bar'',<ref>Ray Conlogue, "Eight to the Bar a glossy winner". ''The Globe and Mail'', January 12, 1980.</ref> the stage play ''The Guys in the Truck'',<ref>Mel Gussow, [https://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/22/theater/stage-sports-comedy-the-guys-in-the-truck.html "STAGE: SPORTS COMEDY 'THE GUYS IN THE TRUCK'"]. ''The New York Times'', September 22, 1982.</ref> a regular role as a nightclub singer in the television series ''Flappers'',<ref>Donn Downey, "Flappers full of silly frills". ''The Globe and Mail'', September 21, 1979.</ref> and supporting roles in the films ''The Silent Partner'',<ref>Jay Scott, "Partner adds twist of schlock to straight Canadian recipe". ''The Globe and Mail'', November 4, 1978.</ref> ''Stone Cold Dead'' and ''The Man in 5A''.
In 1983 and 1984 she appeared in a production of ''Sugar Babies'', first in Toronto,<ref>Stephen Godfrey, "Sugar Babies has what it takes". ''The Globe and Mail'', March 4, 1983.</ref> and subsequently on Broadway and in Boston.<ref>John Engstrom, "'Sugar Babies' is territory where Vegas, vaudeville meet". ''Boston Globe'', July 6, 1983.</ref> After concluding her run in that show she announced that she was moving to the United States to pursue work in Hollywood.<ref>Dina Sudlow, "Rising from Turtles to doves, Kitchener to Hollywood". ''Kingston Whig-Standard'', August 24, 1984.</ref>
She subsequently married American musician Jon Bonine, but chose to pursue family life rather than continuing her career.<ref name=aagard>Chris Aagard, "Ooooooh, yes, she still loves Turtles; Chocolate commercial took K- W's Gail Dahms to Broadway, Hollywood ... and Boise, Idaho". ''Waterloo Region Record'', August 21, 1999.</ref> She had a behind-the-scenes credit as a voice coach on the 1994 children's film ''The Little Rascals'', but after the 1994 Northridge earthquake she and Bonine moved to Boise, Idaho, where she worked in music ministry for her church and performed in Bonine's swing jazz ensemble.<ref name=aagard/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{imdb name|0197217}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dahms, Gail}} Category:1957 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century Canadian actresses Category:20th-century Canadian women singers Category:Canadian film actresses Category:Canadian musical theatre actresses Category:Canadian television actresses Category:Canadian women pop singers Category:Actresses from Kitchener, Ontario Category:Musicians from Kitchener, Ontario