A look at Leo Gorcey and his life. During the 1930s, Leo Gorcey's father worked in theater and film, often living separately from the family. In 1935, upon his return, Bernard Gorcey and Leo's younger brother David convinced Leo to audition for a minor role in the play Dead End. Leo, who had recently lost his job as a plumber's apprentice, aspired to follow in his father's footsteps.

In the play, Gorcey and his brother were cast as East 53rd Place Gang members, later known as the "2nd Avenue Boys." When another actor left the production, Gorcey, originally the understudy, was promoted to the role of Spit. He developed a stage persona of a quarrelsome guttersnipe who relished causing trouble.

In 1937, Samuel Goldwyn adapted the famous play Dead End into a film, and Gorcey and the other actors were brought to Hollywood. Over the next two decades, Gorcey became one of the busiest actors in Hollywood, starring in seven Dead End Kids films from 1937 to 1939, 21 East Side Kids films from 1940 to 1945, and 41 Bowery Boys films from 1946 to 1955.

Article courtesy of www.montecristodog.blogspot.com