Leo Gorcey
Known for: Acting
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.
Filmography
Series
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962
Film
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
First Cab Driver
1963
Film
Angels with Dirty Faces
Bim
1938
Film
Dead End
Spit
1937
Film
On Dress Parade
Slip Duncan
1939
Film
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1983
Film
Hell's Kitchen
Gyp Haller
1939
Film
Triple Trouble
Slip Mahoney
1950
Film
The Phynx
Leo Gorcey
1970
Film
Jail Busters
Slip Mahoney
1955
Film
Live Wires
Terrence 'Slip' Mahoney
1946
Film
In Fast Company
Terence Aloysius 'Slip' Mahoney
1946
Film
Destroyer
Seaman Sarecky
1943
Film
Headin' East
Boy Boxer in Gym (uncredited)
1937
Film
Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook
Muggs (archive footage)
1991
Film
Jalopy
Terrence Aloysius 'Slip' Mahoney
1953
Film
Invisible Stripes
Jimmy
1939
Film
Spooks Run Wild
Muggs McGinnis
1941
Film
Let's Go Navy!
Terence Aloysius 'Slip' Mahoney
1951
Film
So This Is New York
Sid Mercer
1948
Film
Angels Wash Their Faces
Leo Finnegan
1939
Film
Midnight Manhunt
Clutch Tracy
1945
Film
Bowery to Bagdad
Slip Mahoney
1955
Film
Ghosts on the Loose
Muggs McGinnis
1943
Film
Crashing Las Vegas
Terence Aloysius 'Slip' Mahoney
1956
Film
Crime School
Charles 'Spike' Hawkins
1938
Film
They Made Me a Criminal
Spit
1939
Film
Block Busters
Muggs McGinnis
1944
Film
Mr. Wise Guy
Muggs McGinnis
1942
Film
Bowery Blitzkrieg
Muggs McGinnis
1941
Film
That Gang of Mine
Muggs Maloney
1940
Film
The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters
Slip Mahoney
1954
Film
Follow the Leader
Muggs McGinnis
1944
Film
Classic Comedy Teams
The East Side Kids (archive footage)
1986
Film
Born to Sing
'Snap' Collins
1942
Film
Blonde Dynamite
Slip Mahoney
1950
Film
Feudin' Fools
Terence Aloysius 'Slip' Mahoney
1952
Film
Angels with Broken Wings
Punchy Dorsey
1941
Film
Docks of New York
Muggs McGinnis
1945
Film
Fighting Fools
Slip Mahoney
1949
Film
Mannequin
Clifford Cassidy
1938
Film
Out of the Fog
Eddie
1941
Film
Private Detective
Newsboy (uncredited)
1939
Film
Maisie Gets Her Man
Cecil
1942
Film
Loose in London
Terence Aloysius "Slip" Mahoney
1953
Film
Portia on Trial
Joe Gannow
1937
Film
Ghost Chasers
Terence Aloysius 'Slip' Mahoney
1951
Film
Dig That Uranium
Terence Aloysius 'Slip' Mahoney
1955
Film
Jungle Gents
'Slip' Mahoney
1954
Film
High Society
Slip Mahoney
1955
Film
Down in San Diego
'Snap' Collins
1941
Film
Hold That Line
Terence Aloysius 'Slip' Mahoney
1952
Film
Mr. Muggs Steps Out
Muggs McGinnis
1943
Film
Flying Wild
Muggs McGinnis
1941
Film
Bowery Bombshell
Terence Aloysius 'Slip' Mahoney
1946
Film
Come Out Fighting
Muggs McGinnis
1945
Film
Sunday Punch
'Biff'
1942
Film
Swingtime in the Movies
Crime School Kid (uncredited)
1938
Film
Smuggler's Cove
Slip Mahoney
1948
Film
Angels' Alley
Terence 'Slip' Mahoney
1948
Film
Paris Playboys
Slip Mahoney
1954
Film
Lucky Losers
Slip Mahoney
1950
Film
News Hounds
Terence J. Montgomery 'Slip' Mahoney
1947
Film
The Beloved Brat
Spike Matz
1938
Film
Blues Busters
Slip Mahoney
1950
Film
Private Eyes
Slip Mahoney
1953
Film
Clancy Street Boys
Muggs McGinnis
1943
Film
Gallant Sons
Doc Reardon
1940
Film
Mr. Hex
Slip Mahoney
1946
Film
Terror in the Pharaoh's Tomb
Muggs McGinnis (archive footage)
2007
Film
Angels in Disguise
Slip Mahoney
1949
Film
Clipped Wings
Slip Mahoney
1953
Film
Hard Boiled Mahoney
Terence Aloysius 'Slip' Mahoney
1947
Film
Crazy Over Horses
Terence Aloysius 'Slip' Mahoney
1951
Film
'Neath Brooklyn Bridge
Muggs McGinnis
1942
Film
Spy Chasers
Slip Mahoney
1955
Film
Bowery Champs
Muggs McGinnis
1944
Film
Master Minds
Slip Mahoney
1949
Film
Kid Dynamite
Muggs McGinnis
1943
Film
Bowery Buckaroos
Slip Mahoney
1947
Film
Mr. Muggs Rides Again
Muggs McGinnis
1945
Film
Smart Alecks
Muggs McGinnis
1942
Film
Trouble Makers
Slip Mahoney
1948
Film
Boys of the City
Muggs McGinnis
1940
Film
Jinx Money
Terrence 'Slip' Mahoney
1948
Film
Spook Busters
Terence Aloysius 'Slip' Mahoney
1946
Film
Hullabaloo
Apartment House Bellhop
1940
Film
Here Come the Marines
Terence Aloysius 'Slip' Mahoney
1952
Film
Pride of the Bowery
Muggs Maloney
1940
Film
Let's Get Tough
Muggs McGinnis
1942
Film
Million Dollar Kid
Muggs McGinnis
1944
Film
Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitar
Leo
1966
Film
Bowery Battalion
Slip Mahoney
1951
Film
Hold That Baby!
Slip Mahoney
1949
Film
No Holds Barred
Terence Aloysius 'Slip' Mahoney
1952
Film
The Bowery Boys: Legends of Laughter
(archive footage)
2020