Leo Gorcey

Also Known As: Leo Bernard Gorcey

Biography: 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.

Department: Acting

Place of Birth: New York City, New York, USA

Birthday: June 03, 1917

Deathday: June 02, 1969

Adult: No

Gender: Male

Popularity:

2.71%

Known For:

Kid Dynamite
Let's Get Tough
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Midnight Manhunt
Million Dollar Kid
Mr. Wise Guy
Pride of the Bowery
Mannequin
They Made Me a Criminal
Out of the Fog
Dead End
Angels with Dirty Faces
Spooks Run Wild
The Phynx
Bowery Blitzkrieg
Bowery to Bagdad
Jinx Money
Ghosts on the Loose
Spook Busters
Crime School
Born to Sing
So This Is New York
Boys of the City
Flying Wild
Maisie Gets Her Man
Angels' Alley
Destroyer
Bowery Bombshell
Bowery Buckaroos
The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters
Loose in London
Angels Wash Their Faces
Smart Alecks
Ghost Chasers
Dig That Uranium
Hold That Line
Jalopy
Paris Playboys
Let's Go Navy!
Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook
Swingtime in the Movies
Feudin' Fools
No Holds Barred
Jungle Gents
Clipped Wings
Triple Trouble
Master Minds
High Society
Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitar
Bowery Battalion
Blues Busters
Angels in Disguise
Private Eyes
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Follow the Leader
Hell's Kitchen
Spy Chasers
The Beloved Brat
Jail Busters
In Fast Company
Crashing Las Vegas
On Dress Parade
Gallant Sons
Here Come the Marines
Trouble Makers
'Neath Brooklyn Bridge
Terror in the Pharaoh's Tomb
Mr. Muggs Rides Again
Blonde Dynamite
Angels with Broken Wings
Lucky Losers
Mr. Hex
Crazy Over Horses
Docks of New York
Hard Boiled Mahoney
Portia on Trial
That Gang of Mine
Clancy Street Boys
Smuggler's Cove
Sunday Punch
Hullabaloo
Mr. Muggs Steps Out
Block Busters
Bowery Champs
Come Out Fighting
Hold That Baby!
Live Wires
News Hounds
Fighting Fools
The Bowery Boys: Legends of Laughter
Down in San Diego
Private Detective
Invisible Stripes
Headin' East