Lifestyles Article - Don Gallery
By Heather Wilson


Kind-hearted and perpetually cheery, befriending a blind dog led to Don Gallery meeting the owners of Casa Kimberley, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s former home here. It was meant to be. He and Liz go way back, dating in the ‘40s and still keeping in touch. And now he shares fond memories of those days – the heady Golden Years of Hollywood – with visitors to the romantic landmark.

He and his wife Patricia volunteer in other capacities, as well. They’re involved in rescuing street animals – spaying, neutering and taking them in until permanent homes are found – and hosting Hollywood Spotlight Productions events, proceeds going to local charities. And thanks to the encouraging tone Don sets as head of the Puerto Vallarta Writers’ Group, several aspiring authors have been published.

Growing up the child of celebrity in Brentwood, California, Jean Harlow was his godmother, his father a National Broadcasting vice president, and his mother silent film star ZaSu Pitts. In a rare move, the government honored her seamless transition from silent movies to the “talkies,” to stage, radio and then television with a postage stamp bearing her likeness.

Don graduated from Stanford in 1942 – just in time for the war. He trained as a fighter pilot with Gene Autry before transferring into the Counter Intelligence Corps, forerunner to the CIA. Traveling around Europe from ‘44 to ‘47, he searched for war criminals and found some, becoming involved in The War Crime Trials.

He later interviewed celebrities on "American Movie Classics" and acted in 36 Warner Brothers films. While his mother was making “Life with Father,” she introduced him to the 15-year-old Elizabeth Taylor and they soon became known as “the cutest couple in town,” the same aphorism he and former sweetheart Shirley Temple once had.

These days Don still acts occasionally and hosts TV shows like “The Secret Hideaways of the Rich,” which airs this January. Whenever possible, he and Patricia visit their daughter and her oil executive husband in Venezuela, as they did previously in South Africa and Holland.

Now 81 years young, Don still plans to complete a manuscript he’s been “formulating for many years” on the golden years of Hollywood.