Leo Gorcey

Leo Gorceys parents were actor Bernard Gorcey born 1888 who stood 4 10 and Josephine Condon born 1901 who stood 4 11 and weighed 95 pounds they worked in vaudeville in New York In 1915 14yearold Josephine gave birth to Fred In 1917 Leo was born a large baby at 12 lb 3 oz as an adult he would be 5 6 In 1921 his brother David Gorcey was born In 1935 Leo and David appeared in the stage play Dead End In 1937 this was made into a movie and Leo became one of the busiest actors for the next 20 years from 19371939 he starred in seven Dead End Kids movies from 19401945 in 21 East Side Kids films from 19461956 in 41 Bowery Boys movies In 1939 Leo married 17yearold dancer Kay Marvis who appeared in four of his movies They divorced in 1944 after five years of marriage she went on to marry Groucho Marx In 1945 Leo married Evalene Bankston they divorced in 1948 Leo was to have paid her 50000 in a divorce settlement however when two detectives she hired broke into his home he retaliated by firing his gun at them They sued and Leo countersued for illegal entry and won 35000 back In 1949 Leo married Amelita Ward whom he met while filming Smugglers Cove 1948 Their marriage produced Leo Gorcey Jr in 1949 and a baby girl they named Jan after Leos producer and manager Jan Grippo in 1951 They divorced in 1956 That year Leo married his young nanny Brandy who was taking care of his two kids They had a baby girl Brandy Jo in 1958 The couple divorced in 1962 Leo went to the altar one last time in February 1968 marrying Mary Gannon He stayed married to her until his death from liver failure on June 2 1969 in Oakland California