Gail Patrick ( born Margaret LaVelle Fitzpatrick ; June 20 , 1911 – July 6 , 1980 ) was an American actress. Margaret LaVelle Fitzpatrick was born in Birmingham , Alabama , in 1911. After graduating from college, she attended the University of Alabama , while also participating in a national audition for Paramount Pictures , which eventually led her to film. She made her debut in 1933, and achieved real success by the end of the decade, playing femme fatales, schemers, and villains in opposition to the leading ladies. Her most notable roles were in My Man Godfrey (1936), Stage Door (1937), and My Favorite Wife (1940). In 1948, after her third marriage, Patrick left filming. In 1957, together with her husband Cornwell Jackson, she became a producer of the popular TV series " Perry Mason ", which aired until 1966. The actress died in Los Angeles from leukemia at the age of 69. Read More