Read Lawrence Morgan (January 30, 1931 – April 20, 2022) was an American film and television actor. He was known for playing the role of Sergeant Hapgood Tasker in the American

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

television series ''

The Deputy ''The Deputy, a Christian tragedy'' (German: ''Der Stellvertreter. Ein christliches Trauerspiel''), also published in English as ''The Representative '', is a controversial 1963 play by Rolf Hochhuth which portrayed Pope Pius XII as having failed ...

''.

Life and career

Morgan was born in Chicago, Illinois. He attended the University of Kentucky, where he played basketball and football. After two years there Morgan left to study drama at Northwestern University, then served in the United States Air Force for two years. He began his acting career in the crime drama television series '' The Big Story''in 1949. Later he joined the cast of the

television series ''

'', playing

army officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an Military, armed force or Uniformed services, uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant off ...

Sergeant Hapgood Tasker, who had blindness in one eye, wearing a

eye patch An eyepatch is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, an adhesive bandage, or a plastic device which is clipped to a pair of glasses. It is often worn ...

. Morgan also appeared in the Broadway play ''

Li'l Abner ''Li'l Abner'' is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbilly, hillbillies in the impoverished mountain village of Dogpatch, USA. Written a ...

''. Morgan appeared in numerous television programs, his credits including '' Gunsmoke'', ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings ...

'', ''

The United States Steel Hour ''The United States Steel Hour'' is an anthology series which brought hour long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the United States Steel Corporation (U. S ...

'', ''

M Squad ''M Squad'' is an American crime drama television series that ran from 1957 to 1960 on NBC. It was produced by Lee Marvin's Latimer Productions and Revue Studios. Its main sponsor was the Pall Mall cigarette brand; Lee Marvin, the program's ...

'', '' How the West Was Won'', '' Laramie'', '' The Outsider'', ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

'' (episode " What You Need"), '' State Trooper'' and ''

Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in parad ...

''. He also appeared in films such as ''

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, ...

'', ''

Just Between Friends ''Just Between Friends'' is a 1986 American drama film about two women whose friendship is tested by tragedy. The film was written, produced and directed by Allan Burns, and it stars Mary Tyler Moore, Christine Lahti, Ted Danson and Sam Watersto ...

'', ''

The Beach Girls and the Monster ''The Beach Girls and the Monster'' (aka ''Monster from the Surf'') is a horror and beach party film, released in 1965, directed by and starring Jon Hall. Plot Young Richard Lindsay (Arnold Lessing) has given up his career in science in favo ...

'', ''

Dillinger John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depression. He led the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dill ...

'', '' Lightning, the White Stallion'' and '' The New Centurions''. Morgan retired in 1994; his last credit was for the film ''

Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Burea ...

''. Morgan died on April 20, 2022, at the age of 91.

References

External links

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Rotten Tomatoes profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Read 1931 births 2022 deaths People from Chicago Male actors from Chicago American male film actors American male television actors 20th-century American male actors American men's basketball players University of Kentucky alumni Northwestern University alumni Western (genre) television actors 20th-century American people 21st-century American people