Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall became two of the most recognizable faces in American B-movie comedy, starring together for decades in the Bowery Boys film series. Gorcey, born in New York City on June 3, 1917, was the son of Josephine Condon, an Irish Catholic immigrant, and Bernard Gorcey, a Russian Jewish immigrant. Both parents performed in vaudeville. After losing his job as a plumber’s apprentice in 1935, Gorcey followed his father and brother into show business, landing a small role in the Broadway play Dead End.
When Samuel Goldwyn turned the play into a 1937 film, Gorcey and five other young actors were brought to Hollywood, launching a twenty-year movie career. Gorcey appeared in seven Dead End Kids films between 1937 and 1939, playing Mugs McKinnus, and then starred in 21 East Side Kids films from 1940 to 1945. His most famous role came in 1946, when he took on the character Terrence Aloysius Slip Mahoney in the Bowery Boys series. Gorcey played Slip in 41 films over the next decade, defining the role with malapropisms like “I depreciate it” for “I appreciate it” and “optical delusion” for “optical illusion.
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The series also featured Gorcey’s real-life father, Bernard, as Louie Dumbrowski, the dim-witted owner of the sweet shop where the boys hung out. Leo Gorcey’s trademark fedora, always pinned up in the front, became one of the most recognizable props in comedy films of the era. Beyond the series, Gorcey appeared in the 1938 classic Angels with Dirty Faces alongside James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart. In 1944, he had a recurring role on the radio show Pabst Blue Ribbon Town, hosted by Groucho Marx.
Gorcey’s career took a dark turn after his father died in 1955 from injuries sustained in a car accident. He began abusing alcohol and reportedly became violent, trashing a film set in a rage. When the studio refused his demand for a pay raise, he quit the Bowery Boys and was replaced by Stanley Clements for the final seven films. His brother David remained with the series until it ended in 1958.
Gorcey’s acting work slowed considerably during the 1960s. He had a cameo in the 1963 comedy It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and appeared with Hall in two low-budget films, Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitar in 1966 and The Phynx in 1970. He also appeared in a 1969 television commercial for Pontiac. Huntz Hall was born Henry Richard Hall on August 15, 1920, in New York City, the fourteenth of sixteen children.
He earned the nickname “Huntz” supposedly because of his large nose. After attending Catholic schools, he began performing on radio at age five and joined the Dead End Broadway cast in 1935, reprising his role in the 1937 film. Hall stayed busy outside the main series, appearing in The Return of Dr. X in the late 1930s, A Walk in the Sun in 1945, and Herbie Rides Again in 1974.
During World War II, he served in the United States Army working in the training film division. In the 48 Bowery Boys films in which Hall appeared, he played Horace Debussy “Sach” Jones. His comic mannerisms and physical comedy made him a favorite among younger viewers, and when Gorcey quit the series, Hall received top billing in the final films. Hall also found work on television, appearing as a villain on an episode of Flipper in the 1960s, with guest roles on The Chicago Teddy Bears, Barefoot in the Park, CHiPs, and Diff’rent Strokes.
The Beatles considered using both Gorcey and Hall for the cover of the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. According to reports, Gorcey demanded a fee of $400, and the band declined to pay anyone for the photos. Hall made the cut and appeared on the cover; Gorcey did not.
Gorcey was married five times and had three children. His first wife, Marjorie, later married Groucho Marx. He died of liver failure linked to his alcoholism on June 2, 1969, one day before his 52nd birthday. He is buried at Valhalla Memorial Park in Los Angeles.
Hall’s final film appearance came in the 1993 comedy Auntie Lee’s Meat Pies. He died of congestive heart failure on January 30, 1999, at age 78, and was interred at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California.
