Gloria Pall, ‘Voluptua’ Hostess Deemed Too Hot For TV, Dies At 85

Gloria Pall, who was once deemed “too hot for TV,” has died at age 85.

Trying to capitalize on the success of Vampira, executives at KABC-TV cast the former model and showgirl as Voluptua, the busty hostess of a love-themed movie program, in 1954. Pall, whose shapely figure earned her the nicknames “Eyeful Tower” and “Miss Cleavage,” greeted viewers with, “Relax, take off your shoes, loosen your ties” before introducing the week’s romantic film.

Pall would then make costume changes behind a translucent screen, ending the program wearing just a men’s pajama top. Religious and PTA groups protested the show, and it was canceled after just seven weeks.

“You put that on television and people went crazy,” documentary filmmaker R.H. Greene said. “They were simultaneously titillated and appalled. Gloria was way too hot to handle.”

On her website, Pall said, “[Voluptua] was suggestive — corny not porny — but the public couldn’t handle it at the time.” Pall called the 1950s “a wonderful time in my life and in the world.” She said she enjoyed the privilege and fame of being a pin-up girl and dated the world’s richest men, such as Howard Hughes.

Pall went on to be featured in photo spreads in Playboy and Life. She also went on to have a small, but memorable role, in the 1957 film, Jailhouse Rock.

In her 30s, Pall got her real estate license and began selling houses on Sunset Strip. The sign outside her office said, “Call Pall.”

Gloria Pall died of heart failure on December 30 at a hospital in Burbank, California. A memorial service is planned for January 20.