Robert G. Jordan

 Robert G. Jordan (April 1, 1923 – September 10, 1965)

Jordan was an actor, most notable for being a member of the Dead End Kids, the East Side Kids, and The Bowery Boys. Though he was the youngest, Jordan was the first of the boys who made up the Dead End Kids to work in films with a role in a 1933 Universal short. In 1935, he became one of the original Dead End Kids by winning the role of Angel in Sydney Kingsley's Broadway drama Dead End about life in the slums of the east side of New York City. The play was performed at the Belasco Theatre and ran for three years with over 600 performances. He appeared for the first season and the beginning of the second but left in mid-November 1936. He returned in time to join the others in 1937 in Hollywood, California to make the movie version of the play, starring big names such as Humphrey Bogart, Joel McCrea, Sylvia Sidney, and Claire Trevor. Following the making of Dead End, Jordan found himself "released" from his contract at Goldwyn, and, subsequently, he appeared at Warner Brothers with the rest of the Dead End Kids. After one year, Warners released most of them, but kept Leo Gorcey and Jordan as solo performers. In 1940, Jordan appeared in the film Military Academy and accepted an offer from producer Sam Katzman to star in a new tough-kid series called "The East Side Kids." Leo Gorcey soon joined him, then Huntz Hall, and the trio continued to lead the series through 1943, when Jordan entered the United States Army during World War II as a foot soldier in the 97th Infantry Division. He was subsequently involved in an elevator accident that forced him to have surgery to remove his right kneecap. After returning from service, Jordan worked sparingly in Hollywood. In subsequent years, Jordan worked as a bartender, a bad choice for him considering his alcoholism. He was married once, from 1946 until a divorce in 1957. On August 25, 1965, he entered the Veterans Hospital in Sawtelle, California, for treatment of cirrhosis of the liver. He died on September 10, 1965 at age 42. Jordan is buried at Los Angeles Veterans Cemetery.