Harry Morgan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Harry Morgan
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Harry Morgan in 1975
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| Born |
Harry Bratsberg
April 10, 1915 Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
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| Died | December 7, 2011 (aged 96) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Alma mater | University of Chicago |
| Occupation | Actor, director, writer |
| Years active | 1935–1999 |
| Television | M*A*S*H Dragnet |
| Spouse(s) |
Eileen Detchon
(m. 1940; died 1985)Barbara Bushman
(m. 1986) |
| Children | 4 |
Harry Morgan (born Harry Bratsberg; April 10, 1915 – December 7, 2011) was a famous American actor and director. He worked in television and movies for over 60 years! You might know him best from his roles as Pete Porter in December Bride and Pete and Gladys. He also played Officer Bill Gannon in Dragnet and the much-loved Colonel Sherman T. Potter in M*A*S*H. Harry Morgan also appeared in more than 100 films.
Contents
Growing Up and Starting Out
Harry Bratsberg was born in Detroit, Michigan. His parents were from Sweden and Norway. He grew up in Muskegon, Michigan, and finished high school in 1933. He was a great debater, even winning state championships!
Harry first wanted to become a lawyer. But in 1935, while he was at the University of Chicago, he started acting. He loved it!
In 1937, he began acting on stage in New York City. He joined a group called the Group Theatre. There, he worked with many actors who later became famous, like Lee J. Cobb, Elia Kazan, John Garfield, and Karl Malden.
Movies and Changing His Name
Harry Morgan made his first movie in 1942, called To the Shores of Tripoli. At first, he used the name "Henry Morgan." But there was another popular comedian named Henry Morgan. To avoid confusion, he changed his screen name to Harry Morgan.
He appeared in many important films. Some of these include The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) with Henry Fonda, High Noon (1952) with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly, and The Glenn Miller Story (1954). In The Glenn Miller Story, he played Chummy MacGregor, a friend of the famous bandleader Glenn Miller. Harry Morgan had actually been friends with the real Glenn Miller!
Later in his film career, he acted in Inherit the Wind (1960) with Spencer Tracy. He also played Ulysses S. Grant in How the West Was Won (1962) alongside John Wayne. He even appeared with Elvis Presley in Frankie and Johnny (1966). In 1987, he played Captain Gannon in the movie version of Dragnet, starring Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks.
Radio and Early TV Roles
Harry Morgan also worked in radio. In 1947, he hosted a radio show called Mystery in the Air. He also played Pete Porter in the TV show Pete and Gladys (1960–1962). His co-star was Cara Williams, who played his wife, Gladys. This show was a spin-off from another popular show called December Bride, where Harry Morgan's character was also very popular.
Becoming Officer Bill Gannon
One of Harry Morgan's most famous roles was Officer Bill Gannon. He played this character in the TV show Dragnet from 1967 to 1970. He was the partner of Joe Friday, played by Jack Webb. Harry Morgan had worked with Jack Webb before in movies and on the original Dragnet radio show.
Joining the M*A*S*H Team
Harry Morgan first appeared on M*A*S*H in 1974. He played a different character, Major General Bartford Hamilton Steele, in one episode.
The very next season, he joined the main cast of M*A*S*H as Colonel Sherman T. Potter. He took over after another actor, McLean Stevenson, left the show. Colonel Potter was a career Army officer. He was a strong leader but also a kind and caring father figure to the doctors and nurses under his command.
In 1980, Harry Morgan won an Emmy Award for his amazing acting on M*A*S*H. He once said that working on the show made him "a better human being." After M*A*S*H ended, he continued to play Colonel Potter in a short spin-off series called AfterMASH.
During the 1970s, Harry Morgan also appeared in several fun Disney movies. These included The Barefoot Executive, Snowball Express, Charley and the Angel, and The Apple Dumpling Gang.
Later Career and Achievements
In 1986, Harry Morgan starred with Hal Linden in a show called Blacke's Magic. He also returned as Captain Gannon in the 1987 Dragnet movie.
In the 1990s, he appeared in several TV movies as Judge Bell. He also lent his voice to an episode of The Simpsons in 1995. In that episode, he played Bill Gannon again, trying to find Homer Simpson's mother. He also had a recurring role on the TV show 3rd Rock from the Sun.
Harry Morgan also directed episodes for several TV shows, including The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and eight episodes of M*A*S*H.
In 2006, Harry Morgan was honored. He was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.
Family Life
Harry Morgan was married twice. His first wife was Eileen Detchon. They were married from 1940 until she passed away in 1985. On the set of M*A*S*H, a photo of Eileen was always on his character's desk. He had four sons with Eileen: Christopher, Charles, Paul, and Daniel.
He later married Barbara Bushman Quine in 1986. This marriage lasted until his death.
Harry Morgan was good friends with the famous bandleader Glenn Miller. They met while filming a movie in 1942.
His Passing
Harry Morgan passed away peacefully in his sleep on December 7, 2011, in Los Angeles. He was 96 years old. His son said he had recently been treated for pneumonia.
Filmography
Films
- To the Shores of Tripoli (1942) as Mouthy
- The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe (1942) as Ebenezer Burling
- The Omaha Trail (1942) as Henchman Nat
- Orchestra Wives (1942) as Cully Anderson
- Crash Dive (1943) as Brownie
- The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) as Art Croft
- Happy Land (1943) as Anton 'Tony' Cavrek
- The Eve of St. Mark (1944) as Pvt. Shevlin
- Roger Touhy, Gangster (1944) as Thomas J. 'Smoke' Reardon
- Wing and a Prayer (1944) as Ens. Malcolm Brainard
- Gentle Annie (1944) as Cottonwood Goss
- A Bell for Adano (1945) as Capt. N. Purvis
- State Fair (1945) as Barker
- From This Day Forward (1946) as Hank Beesley
- Johnny Comes Flying Home (1946) as Joe Patillo
- Dragonwyck (1946) as Klaas Bleecker
- Somewhere in the Night (1946) as Bath Attendant (uncredited)
- It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog (1946) as Gus Rivers
- Crime Doctor's Man Hunt (1946) as Jervis (uncredited)
- The Gangster (1947) as Shorty
- The Big Clock (1948) as Bill Womack
- All My Sons (1948) as Frank Lubey
- Race Street (1948) as Hal Towers
- The Saxon Charm (1948) as Hermy
- Moonrise (1948) as Billy Scripture
- Yellow Sky (1948) as Half Pint
- Down to the Sea in Ships (1949) as Britton
- The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend (1949) as Hoodlum (uncredited)
- Madame Bovary (1949) as Hyppolite
- Strange Bargain (1949) as Lt. Richard Webb
- Red Light (1949) as Rocky
- Holiday Affair (1949) as Police Lieutenant
- Hello Out There (1949) as The Young Gambler
- Outside the Wall (1950) as Garth
- The Showdown (1950) as Rod Main
- Dark City (1950) as Soldier
- Belle Le Grand (1951) as Abel Stone
- When I Grow Up (1951) as Father Reed (modern)
- Appointment with Danger (1951) as George Soderquist
- The Highwayman (1951) as Tim
- The Well (1951) as Claude Packard
- The Blue Veil (1951) as Charles Hall
- Boots Malone (1952) as Quarter Horse Henry
- Scandal Sheet (1952) as Biddle
- Bend of the River (1952) as Shorty
- My Six Convicts (1952) as Dawson
- High Noon (1952) as Sam Fuller
- What Price Glory? (1952) as Sgt. Moran (uncredited)
- Big Jim McLain (1952) as Narrator (voice, uncredited)
- Apache War Smoke (1952) as Ed Cotten
- Toughest Man in Arizona (1952) as Verne Kimber
- Stop, You're Killing Me (1952) as Innocence
- Thunder Bay (1953) as Rawlings
- Arena (1953) as Lew Hutchins
- Champ for a Day (1953) as Al Muntz
- Torch Song (1953) as Joe Denner
- The Glenn Miller Story (1954) as Chummy
- Prisoner of War (1954) as Maj. O.D. Hale
- The Forty-Niners (1954) as Alf Billings
- About Mrs. Leslie (1954) as Fred Blue
- The Far Country (1954) as Ketchum
- Strategic Air Command (1955) as Sgt. Bible (flight engineer)
- Not as a Stranger (1955) as Oley
- Pete Kelly's Blues (1955) (uncredited)
- The Bottom of the Bottle (1956) as Felix – Barkeep
- Backlash (1956) as Tony Welker
- Operation Teahouse (1956) as Himself
- UFO (1956) as "Red Dog 1" (voice)
- Star in the Dust (1956) as Lew Hogan
- The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956) as Sgt. Gregovich
- Under Fire (1957) as Sgt. Joseph C. Dusak
- It Started with a Kiss (1959) as Charles Meriden
- The Mountain Road (1960) as Sgt. 'Mike' Michaelson
- Inherit the Wind (1960) as Judge Mel Coffey
- Cimarron (1960) as Jesse Rickey
- How the West Was Won (1962) as Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
- John Goldfarb, Please Come Home (1965) as Secretary of State Deems Sarajevo
- Frankie and Johnny (1966) as Cully
- What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966) as Maj. Pott
- The Flim-Flam Man (1967) as Sheriff Slade
- Star Spangled Salesman (1968) as TV Cop
- Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) as Olly Perkins
- Viva Max! (1969) as Chief of Police Sylvester
- The Barefoot Executive (1971) as E.J. Crampton
- Support Your Local Gunfighter! (1971) as Taylor
- Scandalous John (1971) as Sheriff Pippin
- Snowball Express (1972) as Jesse McCord
- Charley and the Angel (1973) as The Angel formerly Roy Zerney
- The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975) as Homer McCoy
- The Shootist (1976) as Marshall Thibido
- Maneaters Are Loose! (1978) as Toby Waites
- The Cat from Outer Space (1978) as General Stilton
- The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979) as Maj. T.P. Gaskill
- The Wild Wild West Revisited (TV, 1979) as Robert T. Malone
- More Wild Wild West (TV, 1980) as Robert T. Malone
- Scout's Honor (TV, 1980) as Mr. Briggs
- The Flight of Dragons (1982) as Carolinus (voice)
- Sparkling Cyanide (TV, 1983) as Captain Kemp
- Dragnet (1987) as Gannon
- 14 Going on 30 (TV, 1988) as Uncle Herb
- The Incident (TV, 1990) as Judge Bell
- Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore (TV, 1992) as Judge Bell
- Incident in a Small Town (TV, 1994) as Judge Bell
- Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick (1996)
- Family Plan (1997) as Sol Rubins
- Crosswalk (1999) as Dr. Chandler
TV
- Have Gun Will Travel (1958) A Snare for Murder as Fred Braus; American Primitive (1963) as Sheriff Ernie Backwater
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1959) Episode 159 Anniversary Gift as Hermie Jenkins
- The Untouchables (1962) Episode 100 Double Cross as George Bugs Moran
- Pete and Gladys (1960–1962)
- Dragnet (1967–1971)
- M*A*S*H (1975--1983)
- The Bastard (TV miniseries, 1978) as Capt. Caleb
- The Love Boat (1978)
- Backstairs at the White House (TV miniseries, 1979) as President Harry S. Truman
- Murder, She Wrote (1987) Season 3, Episode 21 "The Days Dwindle Down" as Retired Lt. Richard Webb
- You Can't Take It with You (1987–1988) as Martin Vanderhof
- The Simpsons (1995) Episode 136 "Mother Simpson" as Bill Gannon
- 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996) as Professor Suter
See also
In Spanish: Harry Morgan para niños
