A Bunch of Old Pros - On TCM thru March 17th

I have always enjoyed watching well-seasoned professionals doing their thing.  Watching The Last Hurrah (1958) one gets to enjoy a rather large gathering of them, five of them are pictured below.  Clockwise from upper left, we have James Gleason, most famous for the role of Max Corkle in Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), and as Sylvester the cab driver in The Bishop's Wife (1947).  On his left is Ricardo Cortez born Jacob Krantz, son of Jewish Austrian immigrants, who was anointed by Hollywood as one of the second comings of Valentino.  Well, he wasn't but he did a good job as Sam Spade in the original The Maltese Falcon (1931) and would keep his acting career alive through the 1940s.  

Next, seated, is Pat O'Brien.  I did not know before this that O'Brien was a classmate of Tracy, and both were born in Milwaukee!  The other three gents were all born in New York City, a much more commonplace hometown for performers.  Anyway, the two friends even joined the Navy together to fight in WWI, but the war was over before they completed training.  They probably had a beer or two to celebrate that blessing.  

                                       The Last Hurrah (1958)

I'll skip Spencer Tracy.  Nothing to add to the above trivia.  The last person is Edward Brophy, who portrays "Ditto" in the film.  The small chubby faced gent played a number of similar characters throughout his career.  As an MGM contract player, he appeared in three of Mr. Montgomery's movies:  Free and Easy (1930) (an uncredited role as Benny the Stage Manager - look fast!); Our Blushing Brides (1930); and Hide-Out (1934) (as Detective Britt who arrests "Lucky").  

The rest of the cast isn't shabby.  Pros to include Basil Rathbone, Donald Crisp, John Carradine, Frank McHugh, and Wallace Ford.  It would take John Ford as director to keep this crowd under control!