Harry Bratsberg

Harry Morgan (born Harry Bratsberg; April 10, 1915 – December 7, 2011) was an American actor and director whose television and film career spanned six decades. Morgan's major roles included Pete Porter in both ''December Bride'' (1954–1959) and ''Pete and Gladys'' (1960–1962); Officer Bill Gannon on ''Dragnet (franchise), Dragnet'' (1967–1970); Amos Coogan on ''Hec Ramsey'' (1972–1974); and his starring role as List of M*A*S*H characters#Sherman T. Potter, Colonel Sherman T. Potter in ''M*A*S*H (TV series), M*A*S*H'' (1975–1983) and ''AfterMASH'' (1983–1985). Morgan also appeared in more than 100 films.

Early life and career

Morgan was born Harry Bratsberg in Detroit, the son of Hannah and Henry Bratsberg.United States Census for 1930; Census Place: Muskegon, Muskegon, Michigan; Roll: 1014; p. 7B; Enumeration District: 27; Image: 830.0. His parents were of Swedish and Norwegian ancestry. In his interview with the Archive of American Television, Morgan spelled his Norwegian family surname as "Brasburg". Many sources, however, including some family records, list the spelling as "Bratsburg". According to one source, when Morgan's father Henry registered at junior high school, "the registrar spelled it Brasburg instead of Bratsberg. Bashful Henry did not demur."

Morgan was raised in Muskegon, Michigan, and graduated from Muskegon High School in 1933, where he achieved distinction as a statewide debating champion. He originally aspired to a Juris Doctor, J.D. degree, but began acting while a junior at the University of Chicago in 1935.

He began acting on stage under his birth name, in 1937, joining the Group Theatre (New York), Group Theatre in New York City formed by Harold Clurman, Cheryl Crawford, and Lee Strasberg in 1931. He appeared in the original production of the Clifford Odets play ''Golden Boy (play), Golden Boy'', followed by a host of successful Broadway roles alongside such other Group members as Lee J. Cobb, Elia Kazan, John Garfield, Sanford Meisner, and Karl Malden. Morgan also did summer stock at the Pine Brook Country Club located in the countryside of Nichols, Connecticut.

Film work

Morgan made his screen debut (originally using the name "Henry Morgan") in the 1942 movie ''To the Shores of Tripoli''. His screen name later became "Henry 'Harry' Morgan" and eventually Harry Morgan, to avoid confusion with the popular Henry Morgan (comedian), humorist of the same name.

In the same year, Morgan appeared in the movie ''Orchestra Wives'' as a young man pushing his way to the front of a ballroom crowd with his date to hear Glenn Miller's band play. A few years later, still credited as Henry Morgan, he was cast in the role of pianist Chummy MacGregor in the 1954 biopic ''The Glenn Miller Story''.

Morgan continued to play a number of significant roles on the big screen in such films as ''The Ox-Bow Incident'' (1943), ''Wing and a Prayer'' (1944), ''A Bell for Adano'' (1945), ''Dragonwyck (film), Dragonwyck'' (1946), ''The Gangster (1947 film), The Gangster'' (1947), ''The Big Clock (film), The Big Clock'' (1948), ''The Well (1951 film), The Well'' (1951), ''High Noon'' (1952), ''Torch Song (1953 film), Torch Song'' (1953), and several films in the 1950s for director Anthony Mann, including ''Bend of the River'' (1952), ''Thunder Bay (film), Thunder Bay'' (1953), ''The Glenn Miller Story'' (1954), ''The Far Country'' (1955), and ''Strategic Air Command (film), Strategic Air Command'' (1955). In his later film career, he appeared in ''Inherit the Wind (1960 film), Inherit the Wind'' (1960), ''How the West Was Won (film), How the West Was Won'' (1962) (as Ulysses S. Grant), ''John Goldfarb, Please Come Home!'' (1965), ''Frankie and Johnny (1966 film), Frankie and Johnny'' (1966), ''The Flim-Flam Man'' (1967), ''Support Your Local Sheriff!'' (1969), ''Support Your Local Gunfighter'' (1971), ''Snowball Express'' (1972), ''The Shootist'' (1976), ''The Wild Wild West Revisited'' (1979), and as Captain Gannon in the film version of ''Dragnet (1987 film), Dragnet'' (1987) with Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks.

Radio and television

Morgan hosted the NBC radio series ''Mystery in the Air'' starring Peter Lorre in 1947. On Columbia Broadcasting System, CBS, he played Pete Porter in ''Pete and Gladys'' (1960–1962), with Cara Williams as wife Gladys. ''Pete and Gladys'' was a Spin-off (media), spin-off of ''December Bride'' (1954–1959), starring Spring Byington, a show in which Morgan had a popular recurring role. In 1950, Morgan appeared as an obtrusive, alcohol-addled hotel clerk in the ''Dragnet'' radio episode "The Big Boys".

1960s: ''Dragnet'' and other roles

After ''Pete and Gladys'' ended production, Morgan guest-starred in the role of Al Everett in the 1962 episode "Like My Own Brother" on Gene Kelly's ABC drama series, ''Going My Way (TV series), Going My Way'', loosely based on the 1944 Bing Crosby Going My Way, film of the same name. That same year, he played the mobster Bugs Moran in an episode of ABC's ''The Untouchables (1959 TV series), The Untouchables'', with Robert Stack. In 1963, he was cast as Sheriff Ernie Backwater on Richard Boone's ''Have Gun – Will Travel'' Western (genre), Western series on CBS, then worked as a regular cast member on the 1963–64 anthology series ''The Richard Boone Show''.

In the 1964–1965 season, Morgan co-starred as Seldom Jackson in the 26-week NBC comedy/drama ''Kentucky Jones'', starring Dennis Weaver, formerly of ''Gunsmoke''.

Morgan is even more widely recognized as Officer Dragnet (series), Bill Gannon, Joe Friday's partner in the revived version of ''Dragnet (series), Dragnet'' (1967–1970).

Morgan had also appeared with ''Dragnet'' star Jack Webb in three film noir movies, ''Dark City (1950 film), Dark City'' (1950), ''Appointment with Danger'' (1951) and ''Pete Kelly's Blues (film), Pete Kelly's Blues'' (1955), and was an early regular member of Jack Webb's stock company of actors on the original ''Dragnet'' radio show. Morgan later worked on two other shows for Webb: 1971's ''The D.A. (1971 TV series), The D.A.'' and the 1972–1974 Western series, ''Hec Ramsey.'' Morgan also appeared in four episodes of ''Gunsmoke'' ("The Witness" – aired 11/23/1970, "Milligan" - aired 11/6/72, "The Wiving" - aired 10/14/1974 and "Brides and Grooms", sequel to The Wiving - aired 2/10/1975).

Morgan appeared in the role of Inspector Richard Queen, uncle of Ellery Queen in the 1971 television film ''Ellery Queen: Don't Look Behind You''.

1970s: ''M*A*S*H''

Morgan's first appearance on ''M*A*S*H'' was in the show's third season (1974–1975), when he played the mentally unbalanced Major General Bartford Hamilton Steele in "List of M*A*S*H episodes (season 3), The General Flipped at Dawn", which first aired on September 10, 1974.

The following season, Morgan joined the cast of ''M*A*S*H'' as Sherman T. Potter, Colonel Sherman T. Potter. A fan of the sitcom, Morgan replaced McLean Stevenson, who left the show at the end of the previous season. Unlike Stevenson's character Henry Blake, Potter was a career Army officer who was a firm yet good-humored, caring father figure to those under his command.

In 1980, Morgan won an Emmy Award for his performance on ''M*A*S*H''. When asked if he was a better actor after working with the show's talented cast, Morgan responded, "I don't know about that, but it's made me a better human being." After the end of the series, Morgan reprised the Potter role in a short-lived spinoff series, ''AfterMASH''.

Morgan also appeared in several Disney movies throughout the decade, including ''The Barefoot Executive'', ''Snowball Express'', ''Charley and the Angel'', ''The Apple Dumpling Gang (film), The Apple Dumpling Gang'', ''The Cat from Outer Space'' (opposite McLean Stevenson) and ''The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again''.

Later years

In 1986, he co-starred with Hal Linden in ''Blacke's Magic'', a show about a magician who doubled as a detective solving unusual crimes. One season was made. Morgan's character, Leonard Blacke, was a semiretired con artist.

In 1987, Morgan reprised his Bill Gannon character, now a police captain, captain, for a supporting role in another Dragnet (1987 film), film version of ''Dragnet'', a parody and homage to the original series written by and starring Dan Aykroyd and costarring Tom Hanks and Christopher Plummer.

In 1987–1988, Morgan starred in the one-season situation comedy series ''You Can't Take It with You (TV series), You Can't Take It with You'' as family patriarch Martin Vanderhof.

In the 1990s, Morgan starred alongside Walter Matthau in a series of television movies for CBS as Stoddard Bell, a judge who is an acquaintance/nemesis/partner of Matthau's Harmon Cobb, an attorney (''The Incident (TV movie), The Incident''; ''Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore (TV 1992), An Incident in Baltimore'', and ''Incident in a Small Town (1994 TV), Incident in a Small Town''). He also lent his voice to an episode of ''The Simpsons'' from season seven, where he once again played Bill Gannon; in the episode "Mother Simpson", Gannon and Joe Friday (voiced by Harry Shearer) are FBI agents trying to track down Homer's mother, who is a fugitive from justice.

Morgan also had a recurring role on ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' as Professor Suter, a colleague of Dick Solomon's. Morgan directed episodes for several TV series, including two episodes of ''The Alfred Hitchcock Hour'', two episodes of ''Hec Ramsey'', one episode of ''Adam-12'', and eight episodes of ''M*A*S*H''. Morgan had a guest role on ''The Jeff Foxworthy Show'' as Raymond and a guest role on ''Grace Under Fire (TV series), Grace Under Fire'' as Jean's pot-smoking boyfriend.

In 2006, Morgan was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Personal life

Morgan's first marriage was to Eileen Detchon from 1940 until her death in 1985. During Morgan's time on ''M*A*S*H'', a photograph of Detchon regularly appeared on the desk of his character. A drawing of a horse, seen on the wall behind Potter's desk, was drawn by Morgan's grandson, Jeremy Morgan. In addition, Eileen was the name of the wife of Officer Bill Gannon on ''Dragnet''. Morgan had four sons with his first wife: Christopher, Charles, Paul, and Daniel (who died in 1989).

He then married Barbara Bushman Quine (granddaughter of silent film star Francis X. Bushman) on December 17, 1986. The marriage lasted until his death. In July 1996, he was arrested on domestic battery charges for striking his wife Barbara which caused her to be admitted to the hospital. The case was later dismissed.

Morgan had two siblings, Marguerite and Arnold (both deceased).

Morgan was close friends with bandleader Glenn Miller, whom he met while filming ''Orchestra Wives'' in 1942, until Miller's death two years later. Morgan was later cast in the 1954 movie about his friend, ''The Glenn Miller Story'', playing Chummy MacGregor.

Death

Morgan died peacefully in his sleep at 3:00 a.m. local time in Los Angeles, on December 7, 2011, at the age of 96. His son, Charles, said he recently had been treated for pneumonia. His body was cremated and his remains were given to his family.

Following Morgan's death, Mike Farrell, who played B.J. Hunnicutt opposite Morgan in ''M*A*S*H'', released a statement:

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 (film), 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 (film), Gentle Annie'' (1944) as Cottonwood Goss
*''A Bell for Adano'' (1945) as Capt. N. Purvis
*''State Fair (1945 film), State Fair'' (1945) as Barker
*''From This Day Forward'' (1946) as Hank Beesley
*''Johnny Comes Flying Home'' (1946) as Joe Patillo
*''Dragonwyck (film), Dragonwyck'' (1946) as Klaas Bleecker
*''Somewhere in the Night (film), 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 film), The Gangster'' (1947) as Shorty
*''The Big Clock (film), The Big Clock'' (1948) as Bill Womack
*''All My Sons (film), All My Sons'' (1948) as Frank Lubey
*''Race Street'' (1948) as Hal Towers
*''The Saxon Charm'' (1948) as Hermy
*''Moonrise (film), Moonrise'' (1948) as Billy Scripture
*''Yellow Sky'' (1948) as Half Pint
*''Down to the Sea in Ships (1949 film), Down to the Sea in Ships'' (1949) as Britton
*''The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend'' (1949) as Hoodlum (uncredited)
*''Madame Bovary (1949 film), Madame Bovary'' (1949) as Hyppolite
*''Strange Bargain'' (1949) as Lt. Richard Webb
*''Red Light (film), Red Light'' (1949) as Rocky
*''Holiday Affair'' (1949) as Police Lieutenant
*''Hello Out There'' (1949) as The Young Gambler
*''Outside the Wall (film), Outside the Wall'' (1950) as Garth
*''The Showdown (1950 film), The Showdown'' (1950) as Rod Main
*''Dark City (1950 film), Dark City'' (1950) as Soldier
*''Belle Le Grand'' (1951) as Abel Stone
*''When I Grow Up (film), When I Grow Up'' (1951) as Father Reed (modern)
*''Appointment with Danger'' (1951) as George Soderquist
*''The Highwayman (1951 film), The Highwayman'' (1951) as Tim
*''The Well (1951 film), The Well'' (1951) as Claude Packard
*''The Blue Veil (1951 film), The Blue Veil'' (1951) as Charles Hall
*''Boots Malone'' (1952) as Quarter Horse Henry
*''Scandal Sheet (1952 film), 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 film), 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 (film), Thunder Bay'' (1953) as Rawlings
*''Arena (1953 film), Arena'' (1953) as Lew Hutchins
*''Champ for a Day'' (1953) as Al Muntz
*''Torch Song (1953 film), Torch Song'' (1953) as Joe Denner
*''The Glenn Miller Story'' (1954) as Chummy
*''Prisoner of War (film), 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 (film), Strategic Air Command'' (1955) as Sgt. Bible (flight engineer)
*''Not as a Stranger'' (1955) as Oley
*''Pete Kelly's Blues (1955 film), Pete Kelly's Blues'' (1955) (uncredited)
*''The Bottom of the Bottle'' (1956) as Felix – Barkeep
*''Backlash (1956 film), Backlash'' (1956) as Tony Welker
*''Operation Teahouse'' (1956) as Himself
*''UFO (1956 film), UFO'' (1956) as "Red Dog 1" (voice)
*''Star in the Dust'' (1956) as Lew Hogan
*''The Teahouse of the August Moon (film), The Teahouse of the August Moon'' (1956) as Sgt. Gregovich
*''Under Fire (1957 film), Under Fire'' (1957) as Sgt. Joseph C. Dusak
*''It Started with a Kiss (film), It Started with a Kiss'' (1959) as Charles Meriden
*''The Mountain Road'' (1960) as Sgt. 'Mike' Michaelson
*''Inherit the Wind (1960 film), Inherit the Wind'' (1960) as Judge Mel Coffey
*''Cimarron (1960 film), Cimarron'' (1960) as Jesse Rickey
*''How the West Was Won (film), 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 film), 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 (film), 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
*''List of The Wild Wild West episodes, The Wild Wild West Revisited'' (TV, 1979) as Robert T. Malone
*''List of The Wild Wild West episodes, More Wild Wild West'' (TV, 1980) as Robert T. Malone
*''Scout's Honor (1980 film), 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 film), Dragnet'' (1987) as Gannon
*''14 Going on 30'' (TV, 1988) as Uncle Herb
*''The Incident (1990 film), 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 film), 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 (1959 TV series), The Untouchables'' (1962) Episode 100 ''Double Cross'' as George Bugs Moran
*''Pete and Gladys'' (1960–1962)
*''Dragnet (1967 TV series), Dragnet'' (1967–1971)
*''M*A*S*H (TV series), M*A*S*H'' (1975--1983)
*''The Bastard (novel), The Bastard'' (TV miniseries, 1978) as Capt. Caleb
*''The Love Boat'' (1978)
*''Backstairs at the White House'' (TV miniseries, 1979)IMDb 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 (TV series), 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

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Harry
1915 births
2011 deaths
American people of Scandinavian descent
20th-century American male actors
American male film actors
American male stage actors
American male television actors
American people of Norwegian descent
American people of Swedish descent
American television directors
Television personalities from Los Angeles
California Democrats
Deaths from pneumonia in California
Male actors from Detroit
Male actors from Los Angeles
Male Western (genre) film actors
Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award winners
People from Muskegon, Michigan
University of Chicago alumni