Leo Gorcey

Biography

Leo Gorcey was born in 1917 to actor Bernard Gorcey, who stood at just 4' 10", and Josephine Condon, who was 4' 11" and weighed a mere 95 pounds. Both parents were involved in vaudeville in New York City. Their family grew when Josephine gave birth to her first son, Fred, in 1915, followed by Leo, who was a hefty 12 pounds and 3 ounces at birth. In 1921, Leo welcomed his brother David into the family.

Gorcey found fame early in his career, starring in the 1935 stage play "Dead End," which was adapted into a film in 1937. This marked the beginning of a prolific acting career that spanned two decades. Between 1937 and 1939, he starred in seven films featuring the Dead End Kids, followed by 21 East Side Kids movies from 1940 to 1945, and 41 Bowery Boys films from 1946 to 1956.

In his personal life, Leo married dancer Kay Marvis in 1939, but they divorced in 1944. He had a tumultuous second marriage to Evalene Bankston, which ended in 1948 after a high-profile divorce battle. He married Amelita Ward in 1949, with whom he had two children before their marriage dissolved in 1956. Leo then wed his young nanny, Brandy, and had another daughter, Brandy Jo, before their split in 1962. His final marriage was to Mary Gannon in February 1968, lasting until his untimely death from liver failure on June 2, 1969, in Oakland, California.