Early in his career Dr. McCabe taught acting at Detroit's Wayne State University, City College of New York, Interlochen Arts Academy, and New York University where, as professor of dramatic art, he headed the Educational Theatre Department for many years. He also had a strong interest in popular culture: movies, Broadway plays and musicals, and comedies. His "Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy" first published in 1961, is credited with helping to establish the critical reputation of the 20th-century comedy duo. He also wrote separate books about each man: "The Comedy World of Stan Laurel" (1974) and "Babe: The Life of Oliver Hardy" (1989). Having become a show-business biographer, McCabe also wrote "George M. Cohan: The Man Who Owned Broadway" (1973); "Cagney by Cagney" (the ghostwritten autobiography of James Cagney, 1976); "Cagney" (1997); "Charlie Chaplin" (1978 and 1992); "Grand Hotel" (1987 and 1993); and "Laurel & Hardy" Al Kilgore & Richard W. Bann (1984). He also contributed to "The Laurel and Hardy Encyclopedia" by Glenn Mitchell (1995).