Tom Morris Jr. is an American television host and producer. He was a producer on ''

America's Most Wanted ''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Alternative Entertainment division of Fox Corporation. At the time of i ...

'' (AMW) for three years, then became an on-air correspondent on the show through 2011. In 2016, he was hired as one of the original co-hosts of ''

Live PD ''Live PD'' is an American television program that aired on the A&E Network from 2016 to 2020. It followed police officers in the course of their patrols live, broadcasting select encounters with the nation. The show was hosted by Dan Abrams ...

'', which became the most successful show in A&E's history.

Early life

Morris is the son of Dr. Eleanor Morris of Burgess, Virginia and the late Rev. T. Wright Morris. He graduated from Northumberland High School, in

Heathsville, Virginia Heathsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Northumberland County, Virginia, United States. Heathsville is the easternmost county of the Northern Neck of Virginia, which was the birthplace of three of the first five P ...

, in 1975. He earned his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...

in mass communications from

Norfolk State University Norfolk State University (NSU) is a public historically black university in Norfolk, Virginia. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Virginia High-Tech Partnership. History The institution was founded on September 18, 193 ...

Career

Morris' first job in television came while he was still in college, as an intern news writer in Norfolk, Virginia. After college, he worked as a courier with the

White House press corps The White House press corps is the group of journalists, correspondents, and members of the media usually assigned to the White House in Washington, D.C., to cover the president of the United States, White House events, and news briefings. It ...

, and worked his way up to

cameraman A camera operator, or depending on the context cameraman or camerawoman, is a professional operator of a film camera or video camera as part of a film crew. The term "cameraman" does not imply that a male is performing the task. In filmmaki ...

. Morris left the press corps in the 1980s and took a job as an economic development specialist with

Prince George's County ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrooks ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

. In 1987, he joined the U.S. State Department's newly formed antiterrorism Embassy Task Group. He was assigned to

Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...

. In 1993, Morris began working as a producer for ''

''. After three years of working on the show, the executive producer of the show assigned him to be an on-air correspondent for a murder case. He continued his on-air work for the show through 2011. In 2016, Morris was contacted by the producers of ''

'' to be a co-host alongside

Dan Abrams Daniel Abrams (born May 20, 1966) is an American media entrepreneur, television host, legal commentator, and author. He is currently the host of the prime-time show ''Dan Abrams Live'' on NewsNation, ''On Patrol: Live'' on Reelz and ''The Dan Ab ...

. He worked on the show for the entirety of its run. Morris' experience on AMW led to Live PD regularly featuring a "Wanted" segment during its episodes, starting in the first season. During season 2, Morris worked with Angeline Hartmann (who had also worked at AMW) at the

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) is a private, nonprofit organization established in 1984 by the United States Congress. In September 2013, the United States House of Representatives, United States Senate, and the Pres ...

to produce a regular "Missing" segment within the show as well. As Live PD grew in popularity, it spawned a number of

spin-offs Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gov ...

; one of those, '' Live PD: Wanted'', was hosted by Morris solo.

Other endeavors

In 2019, Morris was added to the board of directors of the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the des ...

in greater New York.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Tom, Jr. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American television hosts American television producers Norfolk State University alumni America's Most Wanted Live PD