Bobby Jordan
Encyclopedia
Robert "Bobby" Jordan was an American
actor, born in Harrison, New York
, most notable for being a member of the Dead End Kids
, the East Side Kids
and the Bowery Boys
.
.
His mother took him to talent shows in and around Harrison, New York. He also modeled for newspaper and magazine advertisements, and appeared in short films and radio programs. In the late 1920s, his family moved to the upper west side of Manhattan
. In 1929, he was cast as Charles Hildebrand in the 1929 Broadway
play, Street Scene
.
short. In 1935, he became one of the original Dead End Kids by winning the role of Angel in Sydney Kingsley's riveting Broadway drama Dead End
, about life in the slums of the east side New York City
. The play was performed at the Belasco Theatre, and ran for three years with over 600 performances. He appeared for the first season and the beginning of the second, but left in mid-November 1936. He returned in time to join the others in 1937 in Hollywood to make the movie version of the play, starring big names such as Humphrey Bogart
, Joel McCrea
, Sylvia Sidney
and Claire Trevor
.
Following the tumultuous making of Dead End, Jordan found himself "released" from his contract at Goldwyn, and subsequently appeared at Warner Brothers with the rest of the Dead End Kids. After one year, Warners released most of them, but kept Leo Gorcey
and Jordan as solo performers. Jordan appeared (as "Douglas Fairbanks Rosenbloom") in Warner's Damon Runyon
comedy A Slight Case of Murder
(1938), and at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
in Young Tom Edison
(1940).
In 1940, Jordan appeared in the film Military Academy
and accepted an offer from producer Sam Katzman
to star in a new tough-kid series called "The East Side Kids." Leo Gorcey soon joined him, then Huntz Hall
, and the trio continued to lead the series through 1943, when Jordan entered the military as a foot soldier in the 97th Infantry Division
. He was subsequently involved in an elevator accident that forced him to have surgery to remove his right kneecap.
film series. Dissatisfied with his background status, he left the series after eight entries, and made only a few films thereafter. In subsequent years, he worked as a bartender, which, since he was an alcoholic, proved to be a bad choice.
Jordan worked to support his family as a door-to-door photograph salesman and as a roughneck for an oil driller.
of the liver. He died a couple weeks later at the age of 42. Of his former Dead End Kid and East Side Kid co-star, Leo Gorcey once observed, "Bobby Jordan must not have had a guardian angel."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor, born in Harrison, New York
Harrison, New York
Harrison is a village and town in Westchester County, New York, United States, located approximately northeast of Manhattan. The population was 27,472 at the 2010 census.-Establishment:...
, most notable for being a member of the Dead End Kids
Dead End Kids
The Dead End Kids were a group of young actors from New York who appeared in Sidney Kingsley's Broadway play Dead End in 1935. In 1937 producer Samuel Goldwyn brought all of them to Hollywood and turned the play into a film...
, the East Side Kids
East Side Kids
The East Side Kids were characters in a series of films released by Monogram Pictures from 1940 through 1945. Many of them were originally part of The Dead End Kids and The Little Tough Guys, and several of them later became members of The Bowery Boys....
and the Bowery Boys
Bowery Boys
The Bowery Boys were a nativist, anti-Catholic, and anti-Irish gang based north of the Five Points district of New York City in the mid-19th century. They were primarily stationed in the Bowery section of New York, which was, at the time, extended north of the Five Points...
.
Early life and career
Bobby Jordan was a talented toddler and by the time he was six years old, he could sing, tap dance and play the saxophone. At the age of four, he was working in an early film version of A Christmas CarolA Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
.
His mother took him to talent shows in and around Harrison, New York. He also modeled for newspaper and magazine advertisements, and appeared in short films and radio programs. In the late 1920s, his family moved to the upper west side of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. In 1929, he was cast as Charles Hildebrand in the 1929 Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
play, Street Scene
Street Scene (play)
Street Scene is a play by Elmer Rice that opened at the Playhouse Theatre in New York City on January 10, 1929 and ran for a total of 601 performances. The action of this ambitious, groundbreaking play takes place entirely on the front stoop of a New York City brownstone and in the adjacent street...
.
Dead End Kids and East Side Kids
Though he was the youngest, Jordan was the first of the boys who made up the Dead End Kids to work in films, with a role in a 1933 UniversalUniversal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
short. In 1935, he became one of the original Dead End Kids by winning the role of Angel in Sydney Kingsley's riveting Broadway drama Dead End
Dead End
Dead End is a 1937 crime drama film. It is an adaptation of the Sidney Kingsley 1935 Broadway play of the same name. It stars Humphrey Bogart, Joel McCrea, and Sylvia Sidney...
, about life in the slums of the east side New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The play was performed at the Belasco Theatre, and ran for three years with over 600 performances. He appeared for the first season and the beginning of the second, but left in mid-November 1936. He returned in time to join the others in 1937 in Hollywood to make the movie version of the play, starring big names such as Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
, Joel McCrea
Joel McCrea
Joel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...
, Sylvia Sidney
Sylvia Sidney
Sylvia Sidney was an American actress who rose to prominence in the 1930s appearing in numerous crime dramas.-Early life:...
and Claire Trevor
Claire Trevor
Claire Trevor was an Academy Award-winning American actress. She was nicknamed the "Queen of Film Noir" because of her many appearances in "bad girl” roles in film noir and other black-and-white thrillers...
.
Following the tumultuous making of Dead End, Jordan found himself "released" from his contract at Goldwyn, and subsequently appeared at Warner Brothers with the rest of the Dead End Kids. After one year, Warners released most of them, but kept Leo Gorcey
Leo Gorcey
Leo Bernard Gorcey was an American stage and movie actor who became famous for portraying on film the leader of the group of young hooligans known variously as the Dead End Kids, The East Side Kids and The Bowery Boys. Always the most pugnacious member of the gangs he participated in, young Leo...
and Jordan as solo performers. Jordan appeared (as "Douglas Fairbanks Rosenbloom") in Warner's Damon Runyon
Damon Runyon
Alfred Damon Runyon was an American newspaperman and writer.He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. To New Yorkers of his generation, a "Damon Runyon character" evoked a distinctive social type from the...
comedy A Slight Case of Murder
A Slight Case of Murder
A Slight Case of Murder is a 1938 comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon. The film is based on a play by Damon Runyon and Howard Lindsay. The offbeat comedy stars Edward G...
(1938), and at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
in Young Tom Edison
Young Tom Edison
Young Tom Edison is a 1940 biographical film about the early life of inventor Thomas Edison, with Mickey Rooney in the title role.-Cast:*Mickey Rooney as Thomas Edison*Fay Bainter as Nancy Edison*George Bancroft as Samuel Edison...
(1940).
In 1940, Jordan appeared in the film Military Academy
Military Academy (film)
Military Academy is an American film directed by D. Ross Lederman, scripted by Karl Brown and David Silverstein from a story by Richard English and released as a low-budget programmer by Columbia Pictures on August 6, 1940...
and accepted an offer from producer Sam Katzman
Sam Katzman
Sam Katzman was an American film producer and director. Born into a poor Jewish family, Katzman went to work as a stage laborer at the age of 13 in the fledgling East Coast film industry...
to star in a new tough-kid series called "The East Side Kids." Leo Gorcey soon joined him, then Huntz Hall
Huntz Hall
Henry Richard "Huntz" Hall was an American radio, theatrical, and motion picture performer noted primarily for his roles in the "Dead End Kids" movies, such as Angels with Dirty Faces , which gave way to the "The Bowery Boys" movie franchise, a prolific and highly successful series of comedies in...
, and the trio continued to lead the series through 1943, when Jordan entered the military as a foot soldier in the 97th Infantry Division
U.S. 97th Infantry Division
The 97th Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in World War I and World War II.-World War I:The division was activated 5 September 1918 and inactivated 20 November 1918 ; one infantry regiment served with the 76th Division....
. He was subsequently involved in an elevator accident that forced him to have surgery to remove his right kneecap.
Later career and personal life
When Jordan returned to films in 1945, he found that his former gang-mates Gorcey and Hall were getting the lion's share of both the content and the salary for the new Bowery BoysThe Bowery Boys
The Bowery Boys were fictional New York City characters who were the subject of feature films released by Monogram Pictures from 1946 through 1958....
film series. Dissatisfied with his background status, he left the series after eight entries, and made only a few films thereafter. In subsequent years, he worked as a bartender, which, since he was an alcoholic, proved to be a bad choice.
Jordan worked to support his family as a door-to-door photograph salesman and as a roughneck for an oil driller.
Death
In 1957, he and his wife divorced and, on August 25, 1965, he entered the Veterans Hospital in Sawtelle, California for treatment of cirrhosisCirrhosis
Cirrhosis is a consequence of chronic liver disease characterized by replacement of liver tissue by fibrosis, scar tissue and regenerative nodules , leading to loss of liver function...
of the liver. He died a couple weeks later at the age of 42. Of his former Dead End Kid and East Side Kid co-star, Leo Gorcey once observed, "Bobby Jordan must not have had a guardian angel."