Born in Philadelphia on January 1, 1945, Adelaide Gail Sloatman was the daughter of a US Navy nuclear weapons researcher and grew up in Hollywood.
    Gail’s mother, Laura Nettie Sloatman (née Freitas), was born in 1921, to Arthur J. Freitas and Adelaide Freitas (born Silva).
    Arthur was born on February 4, 1896, in Lihue Kauai, Hawaii.
    Adelaide was born on November 25, 1898, in Kauai, Hawaii.
    Laura – known as “Tutu” – had two siblings: Lillian and Sybil.
    “Tutu” married John “Jack” Klein Sloatman on December 5, 1940.
John was born on March 16, 1915, in Philadelphia. Ahmet Zappa claims that his grandfather was a James Bond-like figure: “He helped pioneer the first atomic submarine and he’s credited with keeping our aircraft carriers in the water. And he was at Area 51 during the ‘UFO crash landing’. When he was introduced to my father – boom! They started talking about aliens and they even devised a plan to build an anti-gravitational machine in the late 60s, for the low, low price of $7000!”
    ‘Captain Jack’ is pictured on the cover of We’re Only In It For The Money.
    John and “Tutu” begat six other children: John K. Sloatman III (“Jay”/”Dunt” – half of the two-headed roadie on the cover of Over-Nite Sensation, born January 21, 1941); Joyce K. Sloatman (born April 18, 1947 – her son Jade, from her marriage to James Teta, is credited with ‘Burp Art Performances’ on the “Congress Shall Make No Law...” album; his belches could also be heard throughout the Broadway The Hard Way tour); Sherri G. Sloatman (born February 23, 1951); Arthur “Midget” Sloatman (FZ’s guitar tech, born June 24, 1952); Herbert “Squidget” Sloatman (Midget’s twin); and Mariel Jennifer Betts (born February 7, 1962).
    When the family moved to London in 1959, Gail attended Marymount International School, and later – with her Bardot good looks – modelled for photographers David Bailey and Terence Donovan. She also had a brief dalliance with English actor Ian Ogilvy.
    On her return to the US, Gail studied at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology prior to moving back to LA. In 1966, while working at Sunset Strip’s Whisky a Go Go, she met Frank who had just released his debut album with The Mothers, Freak Out! Gail became the second Mrs Zappa the following year while heavily pregnant with their first child, Moon Unit. The marriage lasted until Frank’s death in 1993 and produced three more children.
    On November 15, 1990, Frank and Gail created the Zappa Family Trust, which later saw Gail ferociously execute her role as the guardian of her husband’s work – sending cease and desist letters to tribute bands, fan websites and anyone she felt impinged on Frank’s copyrights.
    Shortly before he died, Frank apparently told Gail to “sell everything, get out of the music business and go get a house at the beach.” While she mostly ignored this advice, she did buy a beach house in 1997 (28980 Cliffside Drive, Malibu, CA 90265) for $2,400,000. The property was sold six years later for $5,800,050.
    In July 2015, Gail handed over the daily operations of the family business to Ahmet, who was appointed co-trustee with his younger sister, Diva, each receiving 30% of the estate (Moon and Dweezil got 20% each). After Gail’s passing, a very public family rift ensued: Dweezil believed his younger siblings were trying to control his surname and make it unfeasible for him to perform his father’s music under the name ‘Zappa Plays Zappa’, while a bitter Moon Unit wrote, “I can’t help but wonder how on earth adopting GZ-flavoured, rock ‘n’ roll Mommie Dearest, exclusionary and nefarious secret business practices protects OUR father’s legacy or honours HIS wishes?”
    Also after she passed, her eldest brother John/Jay/Dunt threatened to sue his niece Moon, her uncle Bob Zappa (fl. 1943-2018) “and others”, for $20 million in damages.
    John is the father of actress Lala (the Hawaiian form of Laura, born October 12, 1970), whose films include Pump Up The Volume (1990), which also featured Ahmet. In 1987, she appeared in the Honker Home Video Bunny, Bunny, Bunny with Moon and their friend Kyle Richards: her name was added to Cal Schenkel’s star chart on the back cover of the One Size Fits All album that same year.
    Lala’s mother was Joan Lou Gatt, who appears at FZ’s feet on the cover of Roxy & Elsewhere. As Cal Schenkel notes, “her hand is not where you think it is!” Frank jokingly refers to Joan as “Dunt’s ex-wife” during Be-Bop Tango (Of The Old Jazzmen’s Church), though they did in fact later separate. Joan sadly passed away in 1996 and receives a posthumous credit in Roxy – The Movie.
    In the late eighties, Lala dated actor Corey Haim (fl. 1971-2010) and from 1996 to 1998 was married to singer Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes.
    John Sr. (Gail’s father), died in Orange County following a heart attack on September 16, 1967, aged 52.
Gail’s mother later remarried, to George Carlton Price, on November 14, 1982 in Santa Barbara. George was born on August 23, 1906, in Massachusetts. He died less than a year after marrying “Tutu” on August 4, 1983.
    “Tutu” died in 2015 at age 93, a few months before her eldest daughter.
    Gail passed away after a battle with lung cancer on October 7, 2015, and was buried atop Frank (“Where she’s always wanted to be,” quipped Ahmet) in an unmarked grave in Westwood Memorial Park.

This is an edited version of an article that appears in my book, Frank Zappa FUQ.