Gabriel Dell was born "Gabriel Del Vecchio" on October 8th, 1919 on Manhattan's West Side in New York City. The third oldest of the original Dead End Kids, Gabriel Dell was the only member of that group to enjoy a truly successful solo career. As a reward for his academic achievements, young Gabe was permitted to enter New York's Professional Children's School, with his father paying tuition. His first Broadway Play was Sidney Kingsley's Dead End, which he played the sickly street kid "T.B." Together with his Dead End co-stars Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Billy Halop, Bobby Jordan and Bernard Punsley, Gabe was brought to Hollywood for the 1937 film version of the Kingsley play. This led to several other appearances with the Dead End Kids in such productions as"Angels With Dirty Faces," (1938) and "They Made me a Criminal" (1939.) He would work with the boys on the "Little Tough Guys" and "The East Side Kids." Unlike his other co-stars Gorcey and Hall, Gabe's character changed from picture to picture. Sometimes he was a likable gang member to a villainous outsider. After serving a three-and-a-half year hitch with the U.S. Merchant Marines during World War II, Gabe rejoined his old cinematic gang, now renamed the "Bowery Boys. As "Gabe Moreno," Gabe generally played the most mature member of the bunch, often a law enforcement officer or a crusading reporter. Gabe quit the Bowery Boys accepting a role in the Broadway Revue "Tickets Please." Deciding to learn to be a "real" actor rather than a juvenile, Gabe studied at the Actor's Studio and took dancing lessons. In the late 1950' s, Gabe achieved fame as a supporting comedian on "The Steve Allen Show," participating in comic sketches with the likes of "Tom Poston," "Don Knotts," "Dayton Allen" and "Bill Dana." During this period, he developed his famous "Bela Lugosi" impression, which he later repeat in nightclub appearances and on the best-selling record album "Famous Monsters Speak." Steve Allen in an interview with "Famous Monsters of Filmland Magazine" recalls working with Gabriel Dell; Steve Allen: "Probably the one member of our comedy team who was involved with the horror thing more than any other was GABRIEL DELL-GABE DELL - and to this day when I see other comics doing Dracula, what they are really doing is Gabe's version of Dracula. He had developed certain mouth movements, eve movements, and a peculiar exaggeration of the Hungarian accent that caught on. Today's parodies are really based on Gabe's thing-not Bela Lugosi. They're miming Gabe miming Lugosi. But that's the power of a really good impressionist. Gabe was a fascinating case, as is true of a lot of creative people. He always seemed to me capable of slipping into about 4-12% really cuckoo attitudes, especially when he would appear on my mostly ad-lib shows, the talk shows where we would do sketches. Almost all of them got totally outside the script. He would chase me up the aisle, up to the balcony, out on to the street, and I wasn't actually fearing that he was gonna draw blood from my neck, but he would get so physical and so violent, he was really kind of scary at such moments. I didn't want to have to fight him, you know that wouldn't be entertainment. But, when he would finally trap me when I couldn't run down the hall any more, he'd jump on me and wrestle me to the ground. He was really a strong cat, and I always wound up thinking-is this guy okay tonight or is he going over the edge all together?" From an interview with Steve Allen from "Famous Monsters of Filmland Magazine." Gabe's Broadway career thrived in the 1960's, with the well-received appearances in such plays as "The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window," "Luv" and "Adaptation." Gabe's post-Bowery Boys film appearances included "Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?" (1971) and a starring role in the "The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery" (1975). A prolific TV guest star, Gabe Dell was starred in the 1972 sitcom "The Corner Bar," Alan King the Executive Producer of "The Corner Bar" from an interview with TVGuide in August of 1972 recalls; "What's most intriguing about Gabe Dell, according to King, is that he can surprise you. "He's a remarkable guy. He has great control, but he can suddenly flip a little." Howie Morris (Producer of "The Corner Bar") agrees. "There's a wildness hiding under the surface." "Hidden violence," says King. "It's interesting if you can believe somebody's capable of hidden things." Dell a fine-face man. doesn't drink, but he says he finds it pleasant to play a bartender. "He's a servant. I'm standing behind the bar before the rehearsal starts, and one of the actors says, "Can I have a glass of water?" and instead of saying, "Call the prop man," or "Why are you askin' me for water? Get it yourself," I pour it and serve it." says Dell. Gabe considers this situation. "Giving is nice." And then he laughs. "As long as they're askin' me for a glass of water and not two dollars." Pondering the dynamics of a service job takes him back to World War II, in which he was a Merchant Seaman. "You'd sew a little wound for a guy you never knew before, and the next thing the guy would see you, he'd smile and say "Hi." There'd be a nice feeling between you." Gabe is beginning to get that feeling of camaraderie with the other actors in 'The Corner Bar.' He likes ensemble playing. "Don't forget I started with six guys," he says, referring to his having been one of the Dead End Kids back in the original stage production in 1935. At the start, he wasn't sure the omens were right. First day of shooting, his dressing room was robbed. Welcome to New York. Though in a sense he's never been away. These days he considers his home Sherman Oaks, CA, but he has kept his apartment on Manhattan's West Side, not far from where he was raised. "When I was little, we lived on the 51st Street in a big brownstone, and the top two floors my mother would rent out. It was like a play. There was Polly, the aspiring actress up there, and Bozo the Clown--"
Gabriel Dell is no longer with us, sadly he passed away on July 3rd 1988 from leukemia. He is survived by two sons Gabriel Jr. and Michael, both are actors.
Although I never had the chance to meet Gabriel Dell, but I feel as I already know him through interviews I have read and by his films and television roles he played, may they and his memory live forever!!
Gabriel Dell's Number One Fan; Marilyn |
