| The
Bowery Boys
a/k/a The Dead End Kids/ Eastside Kids
following is an excerpt from the Des
Moines Register Budding
actor Joe Aronow took the name Bobby Stone to honor his
benefactor, Des Moines lawyer Irving Stone who helped the
teen in his dream to be in the movies. The youth later said
he had never had a business manager and credited his business
acumen to his days of working as a carrier for The Des Moines
Register. Stone’s last screen appearance was said
to be in Elvis Presley’s “Kissin’
Cousins” in 1964.
Bobby Stone was born Joe Aronow
in Des Moines in 1922. He left for Hollywood at 16, obsessed
with becoming an actor.
He reached his goal and was best known for his performances
in the popular “East Side Kids”/
“Bowery Boys” series of movies, playing
a tough New York street kid.
When World War II came along, Stone served in the Army
in entertainment divisions, mainly in the South Pacific.
On returning to Hollywood after the war, he decided
he would prefer to work behind the scenes rather than
in front of the camera. That led to his longtime career
as a casting director and production manager, primarily
for director Sam Katzman, who had created the “Bowery
Boys” films.
Aronow says Stone loved his work — “he
had a ball” — and was particularly proud
of Katzman’s better-quality films such as “Your
Cheatin’ Heart,” about country singer Hank
Williams, and two Elvis Presley movies, “Harum
Scarum” (1965) and “Kissin’ Cousins”
(1964). For the latter, Stone cast himself as the driver
of an Army jeep and can be seen briefly on creen.
Aronow says his brother was known for
his sense of humor, and when Colonel Tom Parker, Presley’s
manager, gave Stone a life-sized imitation gorilla,
he kept it in a foyer of his home, using it to startle
guests.
~Des Moines Register
Eastside
Kids/Bowery Boys from L to r:
Leo Gorcey, Billy Halop, Huntz Hall, Gabe Dell,
Bernard Punsley and center front, Bobby Jordan
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A little known fact
about Elvis was that he enjoyed The Bowery Boys and
their movies, perhaps inspired by his acquaintance with
former Eastside Kid, Bobby Stone.
Elvis would spend time in his bed at Graceland, particularly
during periods of illness, and enjoy watching the old
movies, including reruns of the Bowery Boys, which had
again become popular in the 1960's when Elvis had first
met Bobby Stone.
The Bowery Boys are again enjoying renewed recognition
via You Tube and film festivals, inspiring yet a new
generation of movie-goers. Their popularity seems to
increase with time as their film antics, wildness, and
tough-guy good looks, remain timeless. Certainly, they
impressed Elvis. But did Elvis impress The Bowery Boys?
He surely impressed Bobby Stone, but what did Leo Gorcey
and Huntz Hall think of Elvis Presley®, the up and
coming King of Rock and Roll? While Sach and Slip hung
out weekly at Louie's Sweetshop, Elvis was fast becoming
a rock and roll legend. The Bowery Boys grew up in the
era of swing music, and several were champs at doing
the Jitterbug, but what did they think of this new phenomenon,
rock and roll, and the latest sensation in music, Elvis!?
Huntz Hall once compared the arrival of the Dead End
Kids (prior Eastside Kids/Bowery Boys) in Hollywood
to the arrival in the USA of the Beatles.
The Kin of Rock and
Roll wonders: what did The Bowery
Boys think of Elvis Presley®?
Stay tuned to find out more...
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Des
Moines-born Bobby Stone joins Elvis Presley and actress
Yvonne Craig on the set of “Kissin' Cousins.”