Leo Gorcey
Leo Gorcey's parents were actor Bernard Gorcey (born 1888) who stood 4' 10", and Josephine Condon (born 1901), who stood 4' 11" and weighed 95 pounds; they worked in vaudeville in New York. In 1915, 14-year-old Josephine gave birth to Fred. In 1917, Leo was born, a large baby at 12 lb. 3 oz.; as an adult he would be 5' 6". In 1921 his brother David Gorcey was born. In 1935, Leo and David appeared in the stage play "Dead End." In 1937, this was made into a movie, and Leo became one of the busiest actors for the next 20 years -- from 1937-1939 he starred in seven Dead End Kids movies, from 1940-1945 in 21 East Side Kids films, from 1946-1956 in 41 Bowery Boys movies. In 1939, Leo married 17-year-old dancer Kay Marvis, who appeared in four of his movies. They divorced in 1944 after five years of marriage; she went on to marry Groucho Marx. In 1945, Leo married Evalene Bankston; they divorced in 1948. Leo was to have paid her $50,000 in a divorce settlement; however, when two detectives she hired broke into his home, he retaliated by firing his gun at them. They sued, and Leo countersued for illegal entry and won $35,000 back. In 1949, Leo married Amelita Ward, whom he met while filming Smugglers' Cove (1948). Their marriage produced Leo Gorcey Jr. in 1949, and a baby girl they named Jan (after Leo's producer and manager, Jan Grippo) in 1951. They divorced in 1956. That year Leo married his young nanny, Brandy, who was taking care of his two kids. They had a baby girl, Brandy Jo, in 1958. The couple divorced in 1962. Leo went to the altar one last time in February, 1968, marrying Mary Gannon. He stayed married to her until his death from liver failure on June 2, 1969, in Oakland, California.
96 acting credits
Acting · 96
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
1963
Dead End
1937
Crime School
1938
Angels with Dirty Faces
1938
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983
Out of the Fog
1941
Invisible Stripes
1939
Bowery Blitzkrieg
1941
Destroyer
1943
Mannequin
1938
Maisie Gets Her Man
1942
Flying Wild
1941
Triple Trouble
1950
Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook
1991
Angels Wash Their Faces
1939
Feudin' Fools
1952
Sunday Punch
1942
Paris Playboys
1954
Jungle Gents
1954
The Beloved Brat
1938
Midnight Manhunt
1945
Let's Get Tough
1942
Down in San Diego
1941
'Neath Brooklyn Bridge
1942
Here Come the Marines
1952
Gallant Sons
1940
The Phynx
1970
They Made Me a Criminal
1939
Kid Dynamite
1943
Hold That Baby!
1949
Jinx Money
1948
Lucky Losers
1950
Private Eyes
1953
Private Detective
1939
Loose in London
1953
Terror in the Pharaoh's Tomb
2007
Fighting Fools
1949
Dig That Uranium
1955
Hold That Line
1952
Jail Busters
1955
Spook Busters
1946
Hullabaloo
1940
Swingtime in the Movies
1938
Bowery Champs
1944
Hard Boiled Mahoney
1947
On Dress Parade
1939
Ghost Chasers
1951
Spooks Run Wild
1941
Classic Comedy Teams
1986
Mr. Muggs Rides Again
1945
Bowery Buckaroos
1947
Born to Sing
1942
Mr. Hex
1946
Let's Go Navy!
1951
Bowery Bombshell
1946
Angels with Broken Wings
1941
That Gang of Mine
1940
Pride of the Bowery
1940
High Society
1955
Clipped Wings
1953
Master Minds
1949
Follow the Leader
1944
Blonde Dynamite
1950
Hell's Kitchen
1939
Angels' Alley
1948
So This Is New York
1948
Ghosts on the Loose
1943
The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters
1954
Smuggler's Cove
1948
Live Wires
1946
Bowery Battalion
1951
Mr. Wise Guy
1942
Angels in Disguise
1949
Spy Chasers
1955
Mr. Muggs Steps Out
1943
Million Dollar Kid
1944
Portia on Trial
1937
Bowery to Bagdad
1955
Crazy Over Horses
1951
Headin' East
1937
Clancy Street Boys
1943
Smart Alecks
1942
Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitar
1966
The Bowery Boys: Legends of Laughter
2020
In Fast Company
1946
Jalopy
1953
News Hounds
1947
Block Busters
1944
Trouble Makers
1948
Blues Busters
1950
Crashing Las Vegas
1956
No Holds Barred
1952
Docks of New York
1945
Boys of the City
1940
Come Out Fighting
1945