Stanley Clements was born in Brooklyn on July 16, 1928. Prior to becoming a ‘little tough guy’ in the movies, 11-year-old Stanley sang at an audition for Major Bowe’s Amateur Hour. He won first prize and toured with the unit. Being a Brooklynite made it natural for him to portray the tough, Brooklyn wiseguy attitude in the movies he made in the ’40s and ’50s.

Stanley never had to beg for work. He played a toughie to perfection and from 1941 to 1965 he was seen in more than 50 films. One of his best films was made at the age of 17 when he played a 22-year-old crooked jockey in Salty O’Rourke (’45). In that film he was a scene stealer even in the many scenes with the star Alan Ladd (he died in Ladd’s arms in the film).

Other films include Going My Way (’44), Bad Boy (’49), and Robber’s Roost (’55). When Leo Gorcey left the Bowery Boys series in 1956 Stanley replaced him, co-starring with Huntz Hall for the seven final films in the series. This entire series revolved around the do-good events of the boys in their low-class neighborhood. One of the earlier films before his promotion, Ghosts on the Loose (’43), featured a newcomer to films, Ava Gardner, and also starred Bela Lugosi.

Stanley was top-billed in a few of his later ‘B’ movies such as Jet Job and Army Bound (both ’52). At 19 Stanley married Oscar-winning actress Gloria Grahame in 1945. He was the first of her four husbands. After numerous, noisy separations, they were divorced in 1948. A more lasting marriage came for Stanley with a lovely lady named Marysia, with whom he adopted a son. As Stanley told of it, “In 1964 we adopted Sylvester from Poland. He was nine when he came to us and was the first child allowed for adoption from behind the Iron Curtain.� Eleven days following the death of his former wife Gloria Grahame, Stanley Clements died of emphysema in 1981.

— Vernon Parker

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