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Leo Bernard Gorcey (June 3, 1917 – June 2, 1969) 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 was the filmic prototype of the young punk. He was the shortest and the oldest of the original gang. In 1917, 16-year-old Irish-American Josephine (Condon) Gorcey — already a mother at 14 — gave birth to her second son, Leo, in New York City. She and her... MORE

Leo Bernard Gorcey (June 3, 1917 – June 2, 1969) 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 was the filmic prototype of the young punk. He was the shortest and the oldest of the original gang. In 1917, 16-year-old Irish-American Josephine (Condon) Gorcey — already a mother at 14 — gave birth to her second son, Leo, in New York City. She and her 31-year-old Jewish husband, Bernard Gorcey, were vaudeville actors; both were small people. Bernard Gorcey was 4' 10, and his wife was 4' 11". Their son Leo would reach 5' 6" as an adult. In 1921, another son was born, David Gorcey. They raised their children in the Jewish faith. In the 1930s, Leo's father became estranged from the family while working in theater and film. When he returned in 1935, he and David persuaded Leo to try out for a small part in the play Dead End. Having just lost his job as a plumber's apprentice and seeing his father's relative success, Leo decided to give acting a try. Leo and David LESS