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In memory of

Carmella Garcia Gallien

Vacaville, CA, USA

April 20, 1941 - January 12, 2015

Apr 20, 1941 - Jan 12, 2015

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Carmella (Garcia) Gallien passed away on January 12, 2015, after an epic battle with COPD.

Carmella was born in Oakland on April 20, 1941, to father Manuel Garcia, whose family had immigrated from Spain via Hawaii, and mother, Mildred Blakeman Garcia, whose family fled the Oklahoma dust bowl to settle in California. Her parents' personal experience with labor abuses inspired her father to create labor unions during very tumultuous political times, and Carmella grew up with a passion for politics and equality. Although she was personally drawn to the arts, a talented singer and aspiring actress, she was a vehement supporter of human rights, and always engaged with the Democratic party.

The family moved to Vallejo, then Pittsburgh, where Carmella graduated from Pittsburgh High School. She spent summers in Vacaville with her extended family, especially her beloved cousin, Elaine, with whom she sang at the local USO as a girl.
After high school, Carmella attended junior college and worked as a secretary in San Francisco, until meeting and marrying Jim Gallien, when she was 18. The family moved to San Jose while he completed his studies, and had their first child, Jimmy Gallien, in 1961.

Work took them to Los Angeles, where their daughter, Sheila, was born. Carmella was deeply moved by the Vietnam war protests and peace movements. She inspired her young children to care about the future, including encouraging her 6 year old daughter to write President Nixon to stop the war.

She had always dreamt of acting, and found her way in the 70s into acting classes at Merrick Studios, going on to appear with a group of people who would become her friends for life in the indie film, Sasqua. Carmella’s friends were also her family.

When she divorced in the 70s, she found a job as the secretary to the Personnel Director at KHJ Radio. Her passion for politics and understanding of people led to an unprecedented promotion, putting her in charge of KHJ’s personnel department. Her eye for talent was already being honed, and soon transitioned to become a headhunter, where she found great success.

When her daughter left for college in 1982, she found the courage to return to the arts and use her skills in sales and her eye for talent as a talent agent, starting at the Beverly Hecht Agency.

Carmella was quickly recognized for her keen judgment and unrelenting belief in her clients. She earned the trust of great character actors like Michael Parks, and placed up and coming clients in movies like The Bodyguard and innumerable series, including West Wing. She worked in powerhouse boutique agencies including Beakel & Jennings, then formed her own management company with Gail-Abbott, until her retirement.

She retired in Vacaville in 2004, where she lived until her health declined, and moved down with her daughter and granddaughter to Los Angeles, until her passing.

Carmella was an irrepressible spirit with a laugh of the ages. She spoke from the heart and without a filter, and had a special knack for seeing people for who they really are.

She was an enemy of injustice, a lover of the underdog, and never too busy to hear your story.

She was preceded in death by her parents, and brother Richard Garcia of Concord, and is survived by beloved cousins, nieces and nephews, and her children and grandchildren: Jimmy Gallien of Los Angeles, grandson James Daniel Gallien, granddaughter Kimberly Carmella, and her daughter, Sheila Gallien and granddaughter, Kaikea.

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