Leo Bernard Gorcey (June 3, 1917 – June 2, 1969) was an American stage and movie actor who became famous for portraying on film the leader of the group of young hooligans known variously as the Dead End Kids, The East Side Kids and The Bowery Boys. Leo Gorcey was the shortest and the oldest of the original gang.
In 1917, 16-year-old Josephine Condon—already a mother at 14—gave birth to her second son, Leo, in New York City. Josephine and her 31-y...
more
Leo Bernard Gorcey (June 3, 1917 – June 2, 1969) was an American stage and movie actor who became famous for portraying on film the leader of the group of young hooligans known variously as the Dead End Kids, The East Side Kids and The Bowery Boys. Leo Gorcey was the shortest and the oldest of the original gang.
In 1917, 16-year-old Josephine Condon—already a mother at 14—gave birth to her second son, Leo, in New York City. Josephine and her 31-year-old husband Bernard Gorcey were vaudeville actors and both were a little under five feet tall. Leo would eventually reach 5' 6". Always the most pugnacious member of the gangs he participated in, young Leo was the filmic prototype of the young punk. In 1921, his younger (and most recognized) brother, David Gorcey, was born.
In the 1930s, Leo's father became estranged from the family while working in theater and film. When he returned in 1935, he and David persuaded Leo to try out for a small part in the play Dead End. Having just lost his...
less
