The Little Tough Guys (later billed as 'The Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys') were a group of actors who made a series of films and serials released by

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

from 1938 through 1943. Many of them were originally part of

The Dead End Kids The Dead End Kids were a group of young actors from New York City 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. They prov ...

, and several of them later became members of

The East Side Kids The East Side Kids were characters in a series of 22 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 ...

and

The Bowery Boys The Bowery Boys are fictional New York City characters, portrayed by a company of New York actors, who were the subject of 48 feature films released by Monogram Pictures and its successor Allied Artists Pictures Corporation from 1946 through 1 ...

History

The urban drama ''Dead End'' became both a successful play and a hit movie, featuring six young actors playing streetwise guttersnipes:

Billy Halop William Halop (February 11, 1920 – November 9, 1976) was an American actor. Early life Halop was born to Benjamin Cohen Halop and Lucille Elizabeth Halop on February 11, 1920. Halop came from a theatrical family; his mother was a dancer, and ...

Leo Gorcey Leo Bernard Gorcey (June 3, 1917– June 2, 1969) was an American stage and film actor, famous for portraying the leader of a group of hooligans known variously as the Dead End Kids, the East Side Kids and, as adults, The Bowery Boys. Gorcey was ...

Huntz Hall Henry Richard "Huntz" Hall (August 15, 1920 – January 30, 1999) was an American radio, stage, and movie performer who appeared in the popular " Dead End Kids" movies, including ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938), and in the later " Bowery ...

Gabriel Dell Gabriel Dell (born Gabriel Marcel Dell Vecchio; October 8, 1919 – July 3, 1988) was an American actor and one of the members of what came to be known as the Dead End Kids, then later the East Side Kids and finally The Bowery Boys. Acting car ...

, Bobby Jordan, and Bernard Punsly. The troupe became known as

and starred in a series of features for

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

Little Tough Guys

In 1938,

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

borrowed the Dead End Kids (except Gorcey and Jordan) for a juvenile-delinquency drama called ''

Little Tough Guy ''Little Tough Guy'' is a 1938 crime film that starred several of the ''Dead End Kids''. In the follow-up films, the studio began using the group name '' The Little Tough Guys'', and later '' The Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys''. This was ...

''. Universal adopted this as a brand name, and turned the film into a series of 'Little Tough Guys' features. The studio filled out the cast with David Gorcey (Leo's younger brother) and Hally Chester. The next three films did not include any of the original Dead End Kids. ''Little Tough Guys in Society'' (1939) was more of a lightweight comedy, while the next two, ''Newsboys' Home'' and ''Code of the Streets'' (1939), were more dramatic. Jackie Cooper starred in ''Newsboys' Home'', but was not a member of the team. Only David Gorcey and Hally Chester remained from the first film, ''Little Tough Guy''. This was the beginning of the members of the team changing on almost a film-to-film basis. Eleven actors drifted in and out of the series, including

Frankie Thomas Frank Marion Thomas Jr. (April 9, 1921 – May 11, 2006), was an American actor, author and bridge-strategy expert who played both lead and supporting roles on Broadway, in films, in post-World War II radio, and in early television. He was ...

, Charles Duncan (who was originally hired to play Leo Gorcey's role in the play ''Dead End''), and

Billy Benedict William Benedict (April 16, 1917 – November 25, 1999), was an American actor, perhaps best known for playing "Whitey" in Monogram Pictures' The Bowery Boys series. Early years Benedict was born in Haskell, Oklahoma, After his father's dea ...

. When Warners released Bobby Jordan from his contract, Universal quickly signed him to join the rest of gang. Now, with five of the original six Dead End Kids on the payroll, Universal revised the billing to read "The Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys". In total, the Little Tough Guys made 12 feature films, and three 12-chapter serials. Leading player Halop joined the armed forces and was replaced by Jordan for the final film in the series, ''Keep 'Em Slugging'', released in 1943.

Shemp Howard Samuel Horwitz (March 11, 1895 – November 22, 1955), known professionally as Shemp Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He was called "Shemp" because "Sam" came out that way in his mother's thick Litvak accent. He is best known as the ...

of the

Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeare ...

appeared in ''Give Us Wings'', ''Hit the Road'' and ''

Keep 'Em Slugging ''Keep 'Em Slugging'' is a 1943 American film starring the Little Tough Guys and directed by Christy Cabanne for Universal Pictures. This was the final film in Universal's Little Tough Guys series, and although Universal still billed the group as ...

''. Huntz Hall cited Howard as a major influence when his later "Bowery Boys" series shifted to all-out slapstick comedy. There was still a market for these tough-teen films, and most of the Little Tough Guys principals wound up at Monogram Pictures as

and

List of Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys

as Johnny/Jimmy/Tom/Tommy/Billy/Ace (1938-1943) *

as Pig/Gyp/Toby/Bolts (1938-1943) *

as String/Terry/Bilge/Stick (1938, 1940-1943) * Bernard Punsly as Ape/Lug/Butch/Greaseball (1938, 1940-1943) * Bobby Jordan as Rap/Tommy (1940, 1943) *

David Gorcey David Gorcey (February 6, 1921 – October 23, 1984) was an American actor and the younger brother of actor Leo Gorcey. Gorcey is best known for portraying "Chuck Anderson" in Monogram Pictures' film series The Bowery Boys, and "Pee Wee" in i ...

as Sniper/Yap/Double Face Gordon (1938-1940, 1942) * Hally Chester as Dopey/Murph/Trust/Swab (1938-1941) *

as Danny/Bob (1938-1939) * Harris Berger as Sailor/Bud/Charlie (1938-1941) * Charles Duncan as Monk (1938-1939) *

William Benedict William Benedict (April 16, 1917 – November 25, 1999), was an American actor, perhaps best known for playing "Whitey" in Monogram Pictures' The Bowery Boys series. Early years Benedict was born in Haskell, Oklahoma, After his father's dea ...

as Trouble/Link/Whitey (1938-1940, 1942) * James McCallion as Danny (1939) * Kenneth Lundy as Buck (1940) *

Norman Abbott Norman Abbott (July 11, 1922 – July 9, 2016) was an American vaudevillian, actor, producer and television director. Abbott was born in New York City, where his uncle, comedian Bud Abbott, and his mother raised him. His early experience in ...

as Ape (1943)

Filmography

References

External links