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. [1]
Originally from Kitchener, Ontario, [2] 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. [3] 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". [3] 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. [3]
She did not release any further music as a recording artist, but continued to have acting roles, including the musical Eight to the Bar, [4] the stage play The Guys in the Truck, [5] a regular role as a nightclub singer in the television series Flappers , [6] and supporting roles in the films The Silent Partner , [7] Stone Cold Dead and The Man in 5A .
In 1983 and 1984 she appeared in a production of Sugar Babies , first in Toronto, [8] and subsequently on Broadway and in Boston. [9] After concluding her run in that show she announced that she was moving to the United States to pursue work in Hollywood. [10]
She subsequently married American musician Jon Bonine, but chose to pursue family life rather than continuing her career. [11] 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. [11]