Actor 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 career

Born in New York City, Dell almost made his stage debut a few years before Dead End when he and his sister were slated for roles in The Good Earth with Alla Nazimova and Claude Rains. Dell served in the United States Merchant Marine during World War II. He appeared in numerous films as a Dead End Kid/East Side Kid/Bowery Boy. In the 1944 East Side Kids film Million Dollar Kid, Dell actually appeared as a criminal villain, pitted against the boys, who gets brought to justice in the end.

Dell’s most prominent stage role was in the play The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, written by Lorraine Hansberry. The production opened on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre on October 15, 1964, and was directed by Peter Kass. Jack Blackman designed scenery, Jules Fisher designed lighting, and Fred Voelpel designed costumes. The original cast featured Dell as Sidney Brustein and Rita Moreno as Iris Parodus Brustein. The play received mixed reviews and closed on January 10, 1965.

His other non-Dead End Kids/Bowery Boys films included The 300 Year Weekend (1971), Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? (1971), Earthquake (1974), and Framed (1975). He also appeared in The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery (1975), and The Escape Artist (1982). Dell also made several appearances on television shows during the 1960s and ’70s including Ben Casey, The Fugitive, Mannix, Then Came Bronson, I Dream of Jeannie, McCloud, Sanford and Son, and Barney Miller.

According to differing sources, either Don Francks or Dell was the uncredited actor providing the voice of Boba Fett, a Mandalorian bounty hunter, in the Star Wars Holiday Special.

Death

Dell died in North Hollywood of leukemia in 1988 at age 68.

Partial filmography

Film

Dead End (1937) – T.B.

Crime School (1938) – Bugs

Little Tough Guy (1938) – String

Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) – Pasty

They Made Me a Criminal (1939) – T.B.

Hell’s Kitchen (1939) – Ace

The Angels Wash Their Faces (1939) – Luigi

On Dress Parade (1939) – Cadet Georgie Warren

The Right Way (1939, short) – Tom Martin

You’re Not So Tough (1940) – String

Junior G-Men (1940, Serial) – Terry

Give Us Wings (1940) – String

Hit the Road (1941) – String

Mob Town (1941) – String

Sea Raiders (1941, Serial) – Bilge

Mr. Wise Guy (1942) – Charlie Manning

Junior G-Men of the Air (1942, Serial) – ‘Stick’ Munsey

Let’s Get Tough! (1942) – Fritz Heinbach

Tough As They Come (1942) – String

Smart Alecks (1942) – Hank

‘Neath Brooklyn Bridge (1942) – Skid

Mug Town (1942) – String

Kid Dynamite (1943) – Harry Wycoff

Keep ‘Em Slugging (1943) – String

Mr. Muggs Steps Out (1943) – Dips Nolan

Million Dollar Kid (1944) – Lefty

Follow the Leader (1944) – W.W. ‘Fingers’ Belmont

Block Busters (1944) – Skinny

Bowery Champs (1944) – Jim Lindsay

Come Out Fighting (1945) – Pete

Spook Busters (1946) – Gabe ‘Gabie’ Moreno

Mr. Hex (1946) – Gabe Moreno

Hard Boiled Mahoney (1947) – Gabe ‘Gabie’

News Hounds (1947) – Gabe

Bowery Buckaroos (1947) – Gabe, aka The Klondike Kid

Angels’ Alley (1948) – Ricky Moreno

Jinx Money (1948) – Gabe

Smugglers’ Cove (1948) – Gabe Moreno

Trouble Makers (1948) – Police Officer Gabe Moreno

Fighting Fools (1949) – Gabe Moreno

Hold That Baby! (1949) – Gabe ‘Gabie’ Moreno

Angels in Disguise (1949) – Gabe Moreno

Master Minds (1949) – Gabe Moreno

Blonde Dynamite (1950) – Gabe Moreno

Lucky Losers (1950) – Gabe Moreno, TV Reporter

Triple Trouble (1950) – Gabriel ‘Gabe’ Moreno

Blues Busters (1950) – Gabe Moreno

Katie Did It (1951) – Eddie (uncredited)

Escape from Terror (1955) – Col. Tovchenko

When the Girls Take Over (1962) – Henderson

The 300 Year Weekend (1971) – Wynter

Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? (1971) – Sidney Gill

Earthquake (1974) – Sal

The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery (1975) – Malcolm

Framed (1975) – Vince Greeson

The Escape Artist (1982) – Uncle Burke

Television

Year	Series	Role	Notes
1956	Armstrong Circle Theatre	Howard Mukluk Brown	Episode: “Operation Deep Freeze: Crash of the Otter”
1960	The Steve Allen Plymouth Show	The Burgomaster	1 Episode
1963	Naked City	Willie Corbin	Episode: “Man Without a Skin”
1965	Ben Casey	Michael M. Francini	Episode: “Francini? Who is Francini?”
1967	The Fugitive	Chester	Episode: “There Goes the Ball Game”
1967	Mannix	Alan Brewer	Episode: “Coffin for a Clown”
1969	The Governor and J.J.	Dr, Apthecker	Episode: “Cat on a Hot Tin Mansion”
1969	Then Came Bronson	Russ Faber	Episode: “Old Tigers Never Die–They Just Run Away”
1969	CBS Playhouse	Mickey	Episode: “Sadbird”
1970	I Dream of Jeannie	Arvel	Episode: “My Master, the Chili King”
1971	The Name of the Game	Rocco Amato	Episode: “Appointment in Palermo”
1971	McCloud	Ira Mastin	Episode: “Somebody’s Out to Get Jennie”
1972	Cutter	Leone	TV film
1972	The Corner Bar	Harry Grant	10 Episodes
1972-73	Sanford and Son	Gunman / Leader	2 Episodes: “The Suitcase Case” and “The Big Party”
1972	Banyon	Sam Whitney	Episode: “Meal Ticket”
1973	Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law	Matt Hanks	Episode: “An Often and Familiar Ghost”
1974	Nakia	Archie McIntosh	Episode: “No Place to Hide”
1975	Barney Miller	Al Shreiber	Episode: “Vigilante”
1976	Risko	Joe Risko	TV film
1976	Switch	Tony Adams	Episode: “The Things That Belong to Mickey Costello”
1976	Doc	Lindstrom	Episode: “The Westside Clinic and Deli”
1977	Serpico	Shotness	Episode: “Sanctuary”
1977	Star Wars Holiday Special	Boba Fett (voice)	TV special
1977	A Year at the Top	Frederick J. Hanover	Main Cast
1979	Legends of the Superheroes	Mordru	2 Episodes: “The Roast” and “The Challenge”

External Links

Actor Gabriel Dell – Wikipedia