Billy Jordan, the youngest of the Dead End Kids, made his film debut in a 1933 Universal short, predating his brothers in the group. This marked the beginning of his illustrious career, which would take him from the stages of Broadway to the silver screen of Hollywood.
In 1935, Jordan landed the role of a lifetime as Angel in Sydney Kingsley's Broadway drama Dead End, a gritty portrayal of life in the slums of New York City's east side. The play, performed at the Belasco Theatre, ran for an impressive three years, with over 600 performances. Jordan was part of the original cast for the first season and the beginning of the second, but left the production in mid-November 1936. However, he returned just in time to join his fellow Dead End Kids in Hollywood, California, where they adapted the play into a film featuring big-name stars like Humphrey Bogart, Joel McCrea, Sylvia Sidney, and Claire Trevor.
Following his success in Dead End, Jordan found himself released from his contract at Goldwyn, and subsequently joined Warner Brothers with the rest of the Dead End Kids. After a year, Warners released most of the group, but kept Leo Gorcey and Jordan as solo performers. Jordan appeared in Warner's Damon Runyon comedy A Slight Case of Murder (1938) and at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in Young Tom Edison (1940).
In 1940, Jordan landed a role 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, followed by Huntz Hall, and the trio led the series through 1943. However, Jordan's film career was interrupted when he entered the United States Army during World War II as a foot soldier in the 97th Infantry Division.
Tragically, Jordan's military service was marked by an elevator accident that forced him to undergo surgery to remove his right kneecap. Despite this setback, Jordan's legacy as a talented young actor and his contributions to the Dead End Kids and "The East Side Kids" series continue to be celebrated to this day.
