Who is Gyp McCarthy from The Pat Hobby Stories and what is their importance?

Gyp McCarthy appears in the story, Pat Hobby Does His Bit. He is an actor and a friend of Pat's. Down on his luck, Gyp is fighting to get the roles required to help him survive. One day Pat asks Gyp for a loan. Gyp gives it to him, but as Pat is leaving, he finds himself stuck on the set during the filming of a scene. Pat is filmed in the role Gyp was supposed to do. When the female star leaves the set, Pat is forced to take Gyp's role for the rest of the movie in the interest of continuity. Gyp is left out in the cold, without the pay he needed from the job. Unfortunately for Pat, Gyp's role included a scene in which he was to be run over by a car. Pat is forced to do this scene and finds himself forgotten in a ditch when the male star of the movie breaks his leg.