Who Am I? July 3, 2021

I was born in NYC at the dawn of the ‘Roaring Twenties.’ My mom, Lucille, had been a dancer. As a kid I got a job on a popular radio show playing a juvenile and similar jobs followed. I attended the Professional Children’s School in N.Y.C.

My big break came when I landed the role of a “j.d.” (“juvenile delinquent”) gang leader on Broadway in a play that later became a famous film. As a young tough, I got to co-star with some of the giants of the silver screen to include Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Pat O’Brien, Sylvia Sidney and even a very young Marilyn Monroe. I’m pretty sure you will recognize the photos and names of some of my ‘gang members’ whose Jewish ethnicity was the same as mine. On screen, one of them went alternately by the descriptive monikers of “Spit,”“Muggs” or “Slip.” His real life dad, Bernard, ran “Louie’s Sweetshop” in many of his films. Another member, of Polish-Jewish descent, went by the name of “Dippy.”

Admittedly, my connection to north Jersey is somewhat tenuous. It occurred in the early 1940’s when I played a drummer in a film whose setting was a New Jersey ‘roadhouse,’ a joint called “The Jungle”.

In 1942 I joined the U.S. Army Signal Corps and earned my sergeant stripes while working for Special Services. 

I was kind of stereotyped as a juvenile gang leader so my movie career waned in the post-WWII years. I became at “R.N.” (“Registered Nurse”) and worked for a time at St. John’s Hospital in CA specializing in pediatrics.

I drifted and become addicted to alcohol. In 1954 I even got jailed after I called the W. Los Angeles police and threatened suicide. I joined “A.A.” and began turning my life around. I snagged a few TV roles but never really regained my footing or former acclaim.

If you visit Hollywood you can find the star awarded to ‘our gang’ on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

That’s me in the center photo below. Below me, on the left, is a photo of “Spit” and on the right of “Spit” is “Dippy.” (1a)Who Am I? (1b)Who was my fellow gang member that went by such aliases of “Spit,”“Muggs” or “Slip?”(1c)Who was gang member “Dippy?”(2a)What was the name of my breakthrough play and film? (2b) What film did I make with a New Jersey roadhouse setting? (3) What is my connection to Carroll O’Connor? (4)Where is my cinema gang’s star located on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame? (5) In 1974, shortly before my death, which automobile was my ride?