It probably has to do with how Gabe got taller quicker and looks a bit older than the rest of the boys, even though he's maybe really the youngest. I think he was playing those mature/gangster parts even back in the East Side Kids days. Unlike, say, Billy Benedict, who clicked with his "Whitey" persona in THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL, and pretty much played that same part everywhere he went for the rest of his career. Or kind of the opposite of Bobby Jordan, the baby-faced Dead End kid and the original leader of the East Side Kids, who wound up basically playing "Bowery Boy #3".

Gabe's versatility is a lot of fun to watch, and it had to be satisfying for him as an aspiring character man looking to the future. He lasted in the biz a lot longer than some.

And he did a terrific 'Lugosi' on that Famous Monsters Speak LP!