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Harry Morgan

Harry MorganAKA Harry Bratsburg

Born: 10-Apr-1915
Birthplace: Detroit, MI
Died: 7-Dec-2011
Location of death: Los Angeles, CA
Cause of death: Pneumonia
Remains: Cremated

Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor
Party Affiliation: Democratic

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Col. Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H

Harry Morgan was a long-time character actor, famous as Col. Sherman Potter on M*A*S*H, and as Officer Bill Gannon, Jack Webb's sidekick on the 1960s revival of Dragnet. He played Pete, the wacky neighbor, on the 1950s series December Bride with Spring Byington, then took the character to a spin-off series, Pete & Gladys with Cara Williams. On other series, he played sidekicks to Dennis Weaver in Kentucky Jones, Robert Conrad on The D.A., and Richard Boone twice, on the early '60s anthology The Richard Boone Show, and on the early '70s cop show Hec Ramsey.

Morgan studied law at the University of Chicago, until Depression-era finances forced him to leave school. He worked as a salesman while appearing in amateur plays, and landed his first professional role in a 1937 staging of At Mrs. Beam's opposite Frances Farmer. His film career was mostly character work, including High Noon with Gary Cooper, The Ox Bow Incident with Henry Fonda, The Glenn Miller Story with Jimmy Stewart, Inherit the Wind with Spencer Tracy and Fredric March, Appointment with Danger with Alan Ladd, and John Wayne's last film, The Shootist.

Morgan was married for 45 years to stage actress Eileen Detchon, until her death. His second wife was Barbara Quine, granddaughter of Francis X. Bushman, a silent era movie star who played Messala in the 1925 Ben-Hur. In 1996, in an argument after attending a party, Morgan was arrested for beating Quine, and according to the police report, she had "a red, swollen left foot, a one-quarter-inch cut near her right eye and a bruised right arm." Charges were dropped when he agreed to attend anger management classes.

In addition to providing the only hints of humor on Dragnet, Morgan worked with Webb on numerous other projects. They both appeared in the 1949 noir Appointment with Danger, and the 1950 thriller Dark City starring Charlton Heston. Webb produced three of Morgan's TV series, The D.A., Hec Ramsey, and, of course, Dragnet, and Morgan directed several episodes of Webb's Adam-12. He also wrote the foreword to Webb's biography, My Name's Friday.

For the first fifteen years of his movie career, he was billed as Henry Morgan, while at the same time a comedian used the same stage name with growing success. Both became well-known, both eventually starred in TV series, and to make matters more confusing they were very nearly the same age, born only weeks apart in 1915, both white with similar builds and facial structures. The Morgan of M*A*S*H and Dragnet yielded the name in the late 1950s, becoming Harry Morgan. That other Henry Morgan died in 1994.

Father: Henry Bratsburg (mechanic)
Mother: Anna Olsen
Wife: Eileen Detchon (stage actress, m. 1940, d. 1985, four sons)
Son: Charles Morgan (attorney)
Son: Paul Morgan (attorney)
Son: Christopher Morgan (television producer)
Son: Daniel Morgan (d. 1982)
Wife: Barbara Bushman Quine (m. 12-Dec-1986, until his death)

    High School: Muskegon High School, Muskegon, MI
    University: University of Chicago (dropped out)

    John Kerry for President
    Emmy 1980 for M*A*S*H
    Domestic Violence arrested in Brentwood, CA 2-Jul-1996, charges dropped
    Norwegian Ancestry Paternal
    Swedish Ancestry Maternal

    TELEVISION
    Third Rock from the Sun Dr. Suter (1996-97)
    After MASH Dr. Sherman Potter (1983-84)
    M*A*S*H Col. Sherman T. Potter (1975-83)
    Dragnet 1967 Bill Gannon (1967-70)
    Dr. Kildare Francis X. Healy (1965)
    The Richard Boone Show Various Roles (1963-64)
    Pete and Gladys Pete Porter (1960-62)
    December Bride Pete Porter (1954-59)

    FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
    Family Plan (12-Mar-1998)
    Incident in a Small Town (23-Jan-1994)
    Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore (19-Jan-1992)
    The Incident (4-Mar-1990)
    Dragnet (26-Jun-1987) · Gannon
    Sparkling Cyanide (5-Nov-1983)
    The Flight of Dragons (1982) [VOICE]
    More Wild Wild West (7-Oct-1980)
    Scout's Honor (30-Sep-1980)
    The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (6-Jul-1979)
    Backstairs at the White House (29-Jan-1979)
    The Cat from Outer Space (9-Jun-1978)
    The Bastard (22-May-1978)
    Exo-Man (18-Jun-1977)
    The Shootist (11-Aug-1976)
    The Apple Dumpling Gang (1-Jul-1975)
    Charley and the Angel (23-Mar-1973)
    Snowball Express (22-Dec-1972)
    Scandalous John (22-Jun-1971)
    Support Your Local Gunfighter (26-May-1971) · Taylor
    The Barefoot Executive (17-Mar-1971)
    Viva Max! (22-Jan-1970)
    Support Your Local Sheriff (26-Mar-1969) · Olly Perkins
    The Flim-Flam Man (22-Aug-1967)
    What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (31-Aug-1966) · Maj. Pott
    Frankie and Johnny (31-Mar-1966) · Cully
    John Goldfarb, Please Come Home (24-Mar-1965)
    How the West Was Won (1-Nov-1962) · Ulysses S. Grant
    Cimarron (16-Feb-1961) · Jessie Rickey
    Inherit the Wind (Jun-1960) · Judge
    The Mountain Road (Jun-1960)
    It Started with a Kiss (19-Aug-1959)
    The Teahouse of the August Moon (29-Nov-1956) · Sgt. Gregovich
    Star in the Dust (13-Jun-1956) · Lew Hogan
    Backlash (20-Apr-1956) · Tony Welker
    The Bottom of the Bottle (1-Feb-1956)
    Not as a Stranger (28-Jun-1955)
    Strategic Air Command (25-Mar-1955) · Sgt. Bible
    The Far Country (4-Oct-1954) · Ketchum
    About Mrs. Leslie (27-Jun-1954) · Fred Blue
    Prisoner of War (4-May-1954)
    The Forty-Niners (4-May-1954)
    The Glenn Miller Story (10-Dec-1953) · Chummy
    Torch Song (23-Oct-1953)
    Arena (24-Jun-1953)
    Thunder Bay (21-May-1953)
    Stop, You're Killing Me (10-Dec-1952)
    The Toughest Man in Arizona (10-Oct-1952)
    Apache War Smoke (25-Sep-1952) · Ed Cotten
    High Noon (7-Jul-1952) · Sam Fuller
    My Six Convicts (12-Mar-1952) · Dawson
    Bend of the River (23-Jan-1952)
    Scandal Sheet (16-Jan-1952)
    Boots Malone (11-Jan-1952)
    The Blue Veil (26-Oct-1951)
    The Well (26-Sep-1951)
    The Highwayman (12-Aug-1951)
    Appointment with Danger (9-May-1951) · George Soderquist
    When I Grow Up (20-Apr-1951)
    Belle Le Grand (27-Jan-1951)
    Dark City (17-Oct-1950)
    The Showdown (15-Aug-1950)
    Outside the Wall (8-Feb-1950)
    Holiday Affair (23-Nov-1949) · Police Lieutenant
    Red Light (30-Sep-1949) · Rocky
    Strange Bargain (29-Sep-1949)
    Madame Bovary (25-Aug-1949) · Hyppolite
    Down to the Sea in Ships (22-Feb-1949)
    Yellow Sky (1-Feb-1949) · Half Pint
    Moonrise (1-Oct-1948) · Billy Scripture
    The Saxon Charm (29-Sep-1948)
    Race Street (22-Aug-1948) · Hal Towers
    The Big Clock (9-Apr-1948)
    All My Sons (27-Mar-1948) · Frank Lubey
    The Gangster (25-Nov-1947) · Shorty
    It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog (Jul-1946)
    Dragonwyck (10-Apr-1946)
    From This Day Forward (2-Mar-1946)
    State Fair (29-Aug-1945) · Barker
    A Bell for Adano (21-Jun-1945)
    Gentle Annie (Dec-1944) · Cottonwood Goss
    Wing and a Prayer (24-Jul-1944) · Ens. Malcolm Brainard
    The Eve of St. Mark (22-May-1944)
    Happy Land (10-Nov-1943)
    The Ox-Bow Incident (21-May-1943) · Art Croft
    Crash Dive (22-Apr-1943) · Brownie
    To the Shores of Tripoli (11-Mar-1942)


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