Louis John Gardella

Louis John Gardella (born 5 April 1897, Vallejo, California, died 21 Oct 1970, Los Angeles, California age 75) was the second husband of B-movie heroine Lynne Roberts.

Louis J. Gardella
Born5 April 1897
Vallejo, California
Died21 Oct 1970
Los Angeles, California
NationalityUS
Occupationengineer, motion picture executive
Spouse(s)June Gardella
Lynne Roberts

Early years

Louis J Gardella was the son of Joseph Gardella, who owned a tallow works, and Carlotta Gardella, both Italian immigrants. Louis Gardella was a construction company executive, then head of the machinery construction division of the War Production Board.[1][2] Later Gardella worked as an assistant to Republic Pictures president Herbert J. Yates. Gardella married former child actress June King in Las Vegas, 1938; later he told her the ceremony was illegal. June King sued for damages and reached a settlement with Gardella.[3]

Marriage to Lynne Roberts

Gardella married Lynne Roberts, December 16, 1944, in Salome, Arizona,[4] two days after she divorced her first husband, William Engelbert, Jr. One day, Gardella brought Roberts' 4-year-old son, Billy, to the Republic lot to watch Lynne in one of her biggest scenes in a new Gene Autry picture, Sioux City Sue. Billy surveyed the scene in silence for a few moments, then asked: "Where's Gene Autry?" On being informed that the Singing Cowboy was not working in this particular scene, Lynne's son turned to Gardella in disgust and said. "Let's go home, Daddy."[5]

Divorce from Lynne Roberts

Roberts and Gardella separated in 1949 but were reconciled.[6] In 1951, the marriage ended in divorce. In court, Gardella's attorney argued that the couple's Arizona wedding was invalid because Roberts was not legally divorced from William Engelbert, Jr., although Roberts claimed she had a Mexican divorce decree.[7]

Later life

After leaving Republic Pictures, Gardella worked for Hughes Aircraft. He died in Los Angeles and is buried in Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, San Mateo, California..[8]

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gollark: Ah. Well. This is problematic.
gollark: By which I mean go downstairs and find my spare keyboard/small screen.
gollark: Okay, I may have to directly access the core servers to override the ~~virus~~ accidental DoS attack.
gollark: Oh. I see. Critical RAM issue.

References
  1. Gardella appointed construction head. The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) 15 Sep 1942, Tuesday, Page 20
  2. 1940 United States Federal Census
  3. Ex child actress wins back wages as 'wife'. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, New York. 9 Dec 1943 p2
  4. MARRIAGES. Variety (Archive: 1905-2000)157.3 (Dec 27, 1944): 39
  5. Actress' Small Fry Unimpressed By Fame. Spartanburg Herald-Journal - Aug 4, 1946
  6. Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California) Monday, April 16, 1951 Page 5
  7. Daytona Beach Morning Journal - May 25, 1951
  8. Louis J Gardella on findagrave.com
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