Gamal created US press in November 1951 with her whirlwind marriage to Sheppard King III, part of a wealthy Dallas family that made a fortune in cotton, oil and real estate. King met her at a nightclub in Paris and proposed three hours later. King converted to Islam and took the name Abdullah. King’s mother opposed the marriage and threatened to cut him out of the family fortune. Texas socialites weren’t too keen on Gamal either – Houston oilman Glenn McCarthy, owner of the Shamrock, a big hotel in the city, told the Associated press, “Let’s not embarrass anybody, but she would never be booked at the Shamrock.”
