Biography of Harry Morgan, prolific television actor and star of "M*A*S*H" and "Dragnet"

Veteran actor Harry Morgan is best known by today's generation as Colonel Potter from *M*A*S*H*. Film critic Leonard Maltin describes him as “an everyman, equally effective playing characters who are wisecracking… brutal…obtuse…or authoritative.” Meet one the best and most prolific character actors in the history of stage and screen: Harry Morgan.

Early Life

Morgan was born Harry Bratsburg on April 10, 1915 in Detroit, Michigan to Henry and Anna Bratsburg. His father hailed from Trondheim, Norway; his mother from a small Swedish town. After migrating to America, Henry got a job working on the Erie Canal where he established a reputation as a master mechanic.

Economic times were good and Henry moved the family to Detroit so he could work in the automobile manufacturing industry. They moved again in 1920, to Muskegon, Michigan. Young Harry would later graduate from Muskegon High School with the additional honor of winning the statewide high school debating championship.

The Old College Try

Morgan originally wanted to go to pursue law as a profession, and went to law school at University of Chicago. Depression-era finances forced him to drop out after two hard years. He found work as an office supply salesman, and put his elocution skills to work while appearing in summer stock plays in Washington DC in the mid-1930s.

The Stage Beckons

1937 was a turning point for Morgan. Through acting connections, he was able to join the famed Group Theater in New York City. His colleagues there included luminaries such as Lee J. Cobb, Elia Kazan, Sanford Meisner, John Garfield, and Karl Malden. He finally began to enjoy professional success on the stage.

Moving to the Silver Screen

In 1940, Morgan married Eileen Detchon. (The couple had four sons and remained married until her death in1985). They chose southern California as their honeymoon spot. Morgan found work in Hollywood, and starred in Hello Out There! opposite Jennifer Jones. His stage work soon led to a contract with Fox Studios and a few dozen feature films. His film debut was in To the Shores of Tripoli, in 1942.

Altogether, Morgan acted in over 100 feature films, including Inherit the Wind, Frankie and Johnny, The Glen Miller Story, Support Your Local Sherriff, The Ox-Bow Incident, High Noon, How the West Was Won, and The Shootist.

Somehow, Morgan found time to use his considerable vocal talents to host a radio show for NBC in 1947, Mystery in the Air starring Peter Lorre. Even today, his voice is instantly recognizable to millions of fans around the world.

Small Screen Champion

Morgan’s film career alone puts him in the pantheon of great character actors. Nevertheless, no other actor has equaled his achievement of starring in 11 different television series. He began as the male lead in the early sitcom Pete & Gladys in 1960-2.

His next role was one his most memorable: Bill Gannon, Sgt. Joe Friday’s partner on the crime series Dragnet, starring Jack Webb. The show ran from 1967-70; Morgan provided a little bit of light-hearted relief to Webb’s legendary deadpan delivery.

Morgan’s next major role was on the watershed series M*A*S*H. He made a guest appearance in 1974, and became a regular in 1975 as Col. Sherman T. Potter. Potter was the tough, caring father of the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital as it endured the full emotional gamut of the Korean War experience. Morgan’s work on M*A*S*H won him an Emmy in 1980. The final episode of M*A*S*H, aired on February 28, 1983, was watched by over 105 million Americans or 77% of the viewing audience. It remains the most watched television episode in American history.

Later Life

Widower Morgan married Barbara Bushman Quine in 1986. (She is the granddaughter of silent film star Francis X. Bushman. As of this writing, the Morgans are still married.)

In 1987, Morgan reprised his role as Bill Gannon role in Dan Aykroyd’s film parody of Dragnet. This time around, he chose to play Gannon as the deadpan boss to Aykroyd’s flatfoot.

Younger fans know Morgan as Dr. Suter from the 1996-7 series Third Rock from the Sun.

Wisdom from Colonel Potter

It seems Morgan’s favorite character was the paternal army commander, Col. Potter, of whom Morgan once said he “wouldn’t mind playing him forever”. It’s easy to imagine Potter speaking Morgan’s real-life wisdom: “Just remember there’s a right way and a wrong way to do everything and the wrong way is to keep trying to make everybody else do it the right way.”

SOURCES:

• Lawzone.com
• Filmreference.com
• Starpulse.com