David Gorcey
Encyclopedia
David Gorcey was an American actor
and comedian
best known as being a member of the comedy team of The Bowery Boys
. He was the younger brother of Dead End Kids
member Leo Gorcey
.
during his childhood, and eventually made it to the stage and screen.
He is not usually thought of as one of the "original" Dead End Kids, but he did have a small role in the 1935 Broadway production of Sidney Kingsley's "Dead End". During his time as a cast member of "Dead End", David helped secure a role for his older brother Leo
, who ultimately became a star while David remained a supporting character.
Although not in the movie Dead End
(1937
), David Gorcey was actually featured in more of the Dead End Kids/East Side Kids/Bowery Boys movies than anyone else except Huntz Hall
. For five years he was credited as "David Condon" (or in one instance, "David Conden"), using his mother's maiden name to avoid accusations of nepotism. He reverted to his real name in 1957. He occasionally appeared apart from the gang, in such films as Sergeant Madden (1939
), The Babe Ruth Story
(1948
), and Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion
(1950
).
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
best known as being a member of the comedy team of The Bowery Boys
The 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....
. He was the younger brother of 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...
member 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...
.
Career
David Gorcey was born in Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York and entered the entertainment business at a young age. He appeared in vaudevilleVaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
during his childhood, and eventually made it to the stage and screen.
He is not usually thought of as one of the "original" Dead End Kids, but he did have a small role in the 1935 Broadway production of Sidney Kingsley's "Dead End". During his time as a cast member of "Dead End", David helped secure a role for his older brother Leo
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...
, who ultimately became a star while David remained a supporting character.
Although not in the movie 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...
(1937
1937 in film
The year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.- Events :*April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US....
), David Gorcey was actually featured in more of the Dead End Kids/East Side Kids/Bowery Boys movies than anyone else except 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...
. For five years he was credited as "David Condon" (or in one instance, "David Conden"), using his mother's maiden name to avoid accusations of nepotism. He reverted to his real name in 1957. He occasionally appeared apart from the gang, in such films as Sergeant Madden (1939
1939 in film
The year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
), The Babe Ruth Story
The Babe Ruth Story
The Babe Ruth Story is a 1948 baseball film biography of Babe Ruth, the famed New York Yankees slugger. It stars William Bendix as the ballplayer and Claire Trevor as his wife. It was rush released while Ruth himself was still alive. It makes no mention whatsoever of Ruth's first wife,...
(1948
1948 in film
The year 1948 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Laurence Olivier's Hamlet becomes the first British film to win the American Academy Award for Best Picture.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :...
), and Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion
Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion
Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion is a 1950 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello.-Plot:Bud Jones and Lou Hotchkiss are wrestling promoters. Their star, Abdullah , no longer wishes to follow the script for their crooked matches, especially since he is supposed to lose his...
(1950
1950 in film
The year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush...
).