Morgan Adair Jones (June 15, 1928 – January 13, 2012) was an American

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. His acting credits, which included more than 170 roles in

, included reoccurring appearances in ''

Highway Patrol A highway patrol is a police unit, detail, or law enforcement agency created primarily for the purpose of overseeing and enforcing traffic safety compliance on roads and highways within a jurisdiction. They are also referred to in many countri ...

'' during the 1950s and '' The Blue Angels''.

Early life

Jones was born in Wooster in Wayne County in northeastern

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. He enlisted the United States Navy and moved to California when he was stationed at

Naval Base Coronado Naval Base Coronado (NBC) is a consolidated Navy military base, installation encompassing eight military facilities in southern California, stretching from San Clemente Island, located 70 miles west of San Diego, to Mountain Warfare Training Camp ...

Career

Jones played Nevada mining magnate Sandy Bowers in the 1955 episode, "The Crystal Gazer," of the syndicated television

anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...

, ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American Western (genre), Western anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was ...

'', hosted by

Stanley Andrews Stanley Martin Andrews (born Andrzejewski; August 28, 1891 – June 23, 1969) was an American actor perhaps best known as the voice of Daddy Warbucks on the radio program ''Little Orphan Annie'' and later as "The Old Ranger", the first host of ...

. Natalie Norwick (1923-2007) was cast as Mrs. Bowers, the former Eilley Orrum, who consults a crystal ball to guide her decisions. She helped Bowers to locate a gold strike. The two marry, spend recklessly on a world tour, and build the still-standing Bowers Mansion between Reno and Carson City. Bowers dies of

silicosis Silicosis is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust. It is marked by inflammation and scarring in the form of Nodule (medicine), nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs. It is a type of pneum ...

, a lung disease that affects miners, and Eilley is left with many unpaid bills for which she was responsible. She had not foreseen that their fortune would run dry so quickly. Supporting actor(1956) Highway. Patrol Jones appeared some twenty-five times on the screen. He had a lead role in the 1957

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as Extraterrestrial life in fiction, extraterrestria ...

, '' Not of This Earth'', by

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...

, as well as other castings in '' Apache Woman'' in 1955, ''

Forbidden Planet ''Forbidden Planet'' is a 1956 American science fiction action film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced by Nicholas Nayfack and directed by Fred M. Wilcox (director), Fred M. Wilcox from a script by Cyril Hume that was based on a film story by ...

'' in 1956, ''

Fear Strikes Out ''Fear Strikes Out'' is a 1957 American biographical sports drama film depicting the life and career of American baseball All-Star player Jimmy Piersall. It is based on Piersall's 1955 memoir ''Fear Strikes Out: The Jim Piersall Story'', co-writt ...

'' in 1957, ''

Official Detective ''Official Detective'' is an American anthology television series which aired in syndication from 1957 to March 19, 1958. The series was hosted by veteran film actor Everett Sloane.McNeil, Alex (1996). ''Total Television'' (4th ed.). New York: ...

'' episode 'The Night It Rained Bullets' as Bronson (1957),Classic TV Archive Episode Guide '' Bells Are Ringing'' in 1960. He appeared in ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'' episodes "

Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up? "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?" is episode 64 of the American television anthology series '' The Twilight Zone.'' It originally aired on May 26, 1961, on CBS. Opening narration Plot While investigating reports about a UFO, state ...

" in 1961, and "

The Parallel "The Parallel" is episode 113 of the American television anthology series '' The Twilight Zone''. In this episode an astronaut returns from a voyage to find the world not quite the same as he remembers it. It was an early example of the concept ...

" in 1963. In 1966 he appeared in “

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

". Jones appeared in an episode of the 1970

situation comedy A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

'' The Tim Conway Show'' and a 1965 episode of ''

Hazel Hazels are plants of the genus ''Corylus'' of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family, Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K ...

''.

Personal life

Jones was married twice, and became a

widower A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjective for ...

in both marriages. His first marriage was to

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

talent agent A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds work for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, dancers, and other professionals in various entertainm ...

Joan Granville, ending with her death in 1974. His second wife, Carole Tetzlaff, whom he married in the 1970s, was the daughter of

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

Ted Tetzlaff Ted Dale Tetzlaff (born Dale Herbert Tetzlaff; June 3, 1903 – January 7, 1995) was an American Academy Award-nominated cinematographer active in the 1930s and 1940s. Career Tetzlaff was particularly favored by the actress Carole Lombard, whom ...

. Jones relocated to Hollywood after leaving the U.S. Navy in order to pursue acting. His first professional acting role was a small part in the 1952 musical, ''

Singin' in the Rain ''Singin' in the Rain'' is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds, and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell, Rita Moreno a ...

''.

Death

Morgan Jones died in Tarzana in the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California, at the age of 83. He was survived by his son and his granddaughter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Morgan 1928 births 2012 deaths American male television actors American male film actors 20th-century American male actors People from Wooster, Ohio United States Navy sailors Male actors from Ohio Male actors from Hollywood, Los Angeles