Leo Gorcey

Leo Bernard Gorcey(June 3, 1917– June 2, 1969) was an American stage and film actor, famous for portraying the leader of a group of hooligans known variously as theDead End Kids,the East Side Kidsand, as adults,The Bowery Boys.Gorcey was famous for his use ofmalapropisms,such as "I depreciate it!" instead of "I appreciate it!"

Leo Gorcey
Gorcey in 1945
Born	Leo Bernard Gorcey (1917-06-03)June 3, 1917 New York City,United States
Died	June 2, 1969(1969-06-02)(aged 51) Oakland, California,United States
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1935–1969
Spouses	Kay Marvis ​ ​ (m.1939;div.1944)​ Evalene Bankston ​ ​ (m.1945;div.1948)​ Amelita Ward ​ ​ (m.1949;div.1956)​ Brandy Davis ​ ​ (m.1956;div.1962)​ Mary Gannon ​ (m.1968)​
Children	3
Parent(s)	Bernard Gorcey Josephine Condon
Relatives	David Gorcey(brother)

Early years

Gorcey was born inNew York Cityon June 3, 1917, the son of Josephine (née Condon), anIrish Catholicimmigrant, andBernard Gorcey,aRussian Jewishimmigrant. Both werevaudevillianactors of short stature. Bernard Gorcey was 4 ft 10 in (1.47 m) and his wife was 4 ft 11 in (1.50 m). Their son would reach 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) in adulthood.

Film career

In the 1930s, Gorcey's father lived apart from the family while working in theater and film. When he returned in 1935, he and Leo's younger brotherDavid Gorceypersuaded Leo to audition for a small part in the playDead End.Leo had just lost a job as a plumber's apprentice and wished to emulate his father's modest success. The Gorcey boys were cast in small roles as two members of the East 53rd Place Gang (originally dubbed the "2nd Avenue Boys" ) in the playDead EndbySidney Kingsley.Charles Duncan, originally cast as Spit, left the play, and Gorcey, his understudy, was promoted. Gorcey created the stage persona of a quarrelsome guttersnipe whose greatest joy was to make trouble.

Gorcey in the filmGallant Sons(1940)

In 1937,Samuel Goldwynmade the popular play into afilm of the same nameand transported the six rowdy young men toHollywood.Gorcey became one of the busiest actors in Hollywood during the following 20 years, starring in sevenDead End Kidsfilms between 1937 and 1939, 21East Side Kidsfilms between 1940 and 1945, and 41Bowery Boysfilms between 1946 and 1955.

The earlier films presented Gorcey in variations of hisDead Endcharacter Spit, a sneering tough guy meeting anyone's challenge with a wisecracking remark. In the early 1940s, as the dramatic films shifted to roughneck comedy, Gorcey embellished his dialogue withmalapropisms,always delivered in a thickBrooklyn accent."A clever deduction" would be mangled by Gorcey as "a clever seduction"; "I reiterate" became "I regurgitate"; "optical illusion" came across as "optical delusion"; and "I should see an optometrist" was rendered as "I should see an ichthyologist." A studio press release reported that Gorcey spent 30 minutes a day studying a dictionary: "He has made something of a career for himself as an actor by the use of words no one else has ever heard of, and by the misuse or mispronunciation of others."

In 1944, Gorcey took a recurring role on thePabst Blue Ribbon Townradio show, starringGroucho Marx.He also had a small role in a 1948 film, the comedySo This Is New York,starring radio comediansHenry MorganandArnold Stang,which was Gorcey's last appearance as a straight character actor.

In 1945Sam Katzman,producer of the East Side Kids series, flatly refused to meet Gorcey's demand of double his usual salary. Gorcey walked out on Katzman, and Katzman discontinued the series. Gorcey turned toDead EndteammateBobby Jordan,who suggested a meeting with Jordan's agent, Jan Grippo. The series became The Bowery Boys, with Gorcey holding a 40% financial share, and Grippo as producer. Gorcey brought aboard his father, Bernard Gorcey, to appear as Louie Dumbrowski, the panicky owner of a sweet shop where the boys gathered, as well as his brother David to play one of the gang members.

The series was immediately successful, and Gorcey starred in four Bowery Boys films per year through 1955. That year, his father died as a result of injuries from an automobile accident. Gorcey, devastated, began abusing alcohol and lost a great deal of weight. When he allegedly trashed a film set in an intoxicated rage (an occurrence which was later vehemently denied in the 1980s by both Huntz Hall and David Gorcey),the studio refused to grant him a pay raise that he had demanded, so he parted ways with the Bowery Boys and was replaced in the last seven films byStanley Clements.However, Gorcey's brother David remained with the series until it ended in late 1957.

During the 1960s, Gorcey did very little acting. He had a bit part in the 1963 comedyIt's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Worldand he appeared with old sidekickHuntz Hallin a pair of low-budget films,Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitarin 1966 andThe Phynx,released in 1970 after his death. Gorcey also made an appearance in a television commercial for a 1969Pontiacmodel.

Autobiography

In 1967, Gorcey self-published an autobiography,An Original Dead-End Kid Presents: Dead End Yells, Wedding Bells, Cockle Shells, and Dizzy Spells,which was limited to 1,000 copies. It was reprinted in 2004.

Personal life

In May 1939, Gorcey married 15-year-old dancer Kay Marvis, who appeared in four of his Monogram movies. They divorced in 1944 and the following year, Marvis became the second wife ofGroucho Marx.

Gorcey married actress Evalene Bankston in October 1945, but they divorced two years later. He was arrested for firing a gun at his wife when she entered his home inVan Nuys,California, but was acquitted of the charge in 1948.

In February 1949, Gorcey married actressAmelita Ward,with whom he had appeared inClancy Street BoysandSmugglers' Cove.The marriage produced two children, including Leo Gorcey Jr., but the couple were divorced in February 1956. Later that year, Gorcey married Brandy Davis. They had a daughter, Brandy Gorcey Ziesemer, but divorced in 1962. Gorcey was married to Mary Gannon on July 12, 1968,until his death, nearly one year later.

Death

Gorcey, a lifelong alcoholic, died ofliver failureon June 2, 1969, one day short of his 52nd birthday.He is buried at Molinos Cemetery inLos Molinos, California.

Legacy

In 1967, Gorcey's image was to appear in the crowd of celebrities on the cover of the Beatles' albumSgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,but because he requested a fee, he was removed.

Me and the Dead End Kid,a book about Gorcey written by his son Leo Jr., was published in 2003. In 2017, a third book on his life appeared,Leo Gorcey's Fractured Worldby Jim Manago, which included an examination of Gorcey's use ofmalapropismsin the Bowery Boys films. Also in 2017, Richard Roat, known for having the largest collection of Dead End Kids/Little Tough Guys/East Side Kids/Bowery Boys memorabilia in the United States, published the bookHollywood's Made-to-Order Punks: The Dead End Kids, Little Tough Guys, East Side Kids and the Bowery Boys,complete with photographs, behind-the-scenes trivia, and interviews with the surviving Dead End Kids/Little Tough Guys/East Side Kids/Bowery Boys that he'd collected since the 1980s.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1937	Dead End	Spit	Dead End Kids film
1937	Portia on Trial	Joe Gannow
1937	Headin' East	Boy boxer in gym	Uncredited
1937	Mannequin	Clifford
1938	The Beloved Brat	Spike Matz
1938	Crime School	Spike	Dead End Kids film
1938	Angels with Dirty Faces	Bim	Dead End Kids film
1938	Swingtime in the Movies	Himself	Dead End Kids film / Short / Uncredited
1939	They Made Me a Criminal	Spit	Dead End Kids film
1939	Hell's Kitchen	Gyp Haller	Dead End Kids film
1939	The Angels Wash Their Faces	Leo Finnegan	Dead End Kids film
1939	On Dress Parade	Slip Duncan	Dead End Kids film
1939	Private Detective	Newsboy	Uncredited
1939	Invisible Stripes	Jimmy
1940	Boys of the City	Muggs McGinnis	East Side Kids film
1940	That Gang of Mine	Muggs Malone	East Side Kids film
1940	Hullabaloo	Apartment house bellhop	Uncredited
1940	Gallant Sons	"Doc" Reardon
1940	Pride of the Bowery	Muggs McGinnis	East Side Kids film
1941	Road to Zanzibar	Boy
1941	Flying Wild	Muggs	East Side Kids film
1941	Angels with Broken Wings	Punchy Dorsey
1941	Out of the Fog	Eddie
1941	Bowery Blitzkrieg	Muggs	East Side Kids film
1941	Down in San Diego	Snap Collins
1942	Spooks Run Wild	Muggs	East Side Kids film
1942	Born to Sing	Snap Collins
1942	Mr. Wise Guy	Muggs McGinnis	East Side Kids film
1942	Sunday Punch	Biff
1942	Let's Get Tough!	Muggs McGinnis	East Side Kids film
1942	Maisie Gets Her Man	Cecil
1942	Smart Alecks	Muggs McGinnis	East Side Kids film
1942	'Neath Brooklyn Bridge	Muggs McGinnis	East Side Kids film
1943	Kid Dynamite	Muggs McGinnis	East Side Kids film
1943	Clancy Street Boys	Muggs McGinnis	East Side Kids film
1943	Ghosts on the Loose	Muggs McGinnis	East Side Kids film
1943	Destroyer	Sarecky
1943	Mr. Muggs Steps Out	Muggs McGinnis	East Side Kids film
1944	Million Dollar Kid	Muggs McGinnis	East Side Kids film
1944	Follow the Leader	Muggs McGinnis	East Side Kids film
1944	Block Busters	Muggs McGinnis	East Side Kids film
1944	Bowery Champs	Muggs McGinnis	East Side Kids film
1945	Docks of New York	Muggs McGinnis	East Side Kids film
1945	Mr. Muggs Rides Again	Muggs McGinnis	East Side Kids film
1945	Midnight Manhunt	Clutch Tracy
1945	Come Out Fighting	Muggs McGinnis	East Side Kids film
1946	Live Wires	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1946	In Fast Company	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1946	Bowery Bombshell	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1946	Spook Busters	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1946	Mr. Hex	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1947	Hard Boiled Mahoney	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1947	News Hounds	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1947	Bowery Buckaroos	Slip Mahoney (aka: "Dead-Eye" Dan McGurk)	Bowery Boys film
1948	Angels' Alley	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1948	So This Is New York	Sid Mercer
1948	Jinx Money	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1948	Smugglers' Cove	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1948	Trouble Makers	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1949	Fighting Fools	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1949	Hold That Baby!	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1949	Angels in Disguise	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1949	Master Minds	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1950	Blonde Dynamite	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1950	Lucky Losers	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1950	Triple Trouble	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1950	Blues Busters	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1951	Bowery Battalion	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1951	Ghost Chasers	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1951	Let's Go Navy!	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1951	Crazy Over Horses	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1952	Hold That Line	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1952	Here Come the Marines	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1952	Feudin' Fools	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1952	No Holds Barred	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1953	Jalopy	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1953	Loose in London	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1953	Clipped Wings	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1953	Private Eyes	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1954	Paris Playboys	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1954	The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1954	Jungle Gents	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1955	Bowery to Bagdad	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1955	High Society	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1955	Spy Chasers	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1955	Jail Busters	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1955	Dig That Uranium	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1956	Crashing Las Vegas	Slip Mahoney	Bowery Boys film
1963	It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World	First cab driver	Cameo
1965	Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitar	Leo
1970	The Phynx	Himself	Final film role

Television

Year	Series	Role	Notes
1962	The Dick Powell Theatre	Billy Vale	Episode: "No Strings Attached"
1962	Mr. Smith Goes to Washington	Windy	Episode: "...But What Are You Doing for Your Country?"

External links

• Leo GorceyatIMDb
• Leo Gorceyat theInternet Broadway Database
• Leo GorceyatFind a Grave