Greg Morris
{{Short description|American actor (1933–1996)}}
{{About|the American actor}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Greg Morris
| image = Greg Morris.JPG
| caption = Morris in 1972
| birth_name = Francis Gregory Alan Morris
| birth_date = {{birth date|1933|9|27}}
| birth_place = Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1996|8|27|1933|9|27}}
| death_place = Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| resting_place =
| othername =
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 1963–1996
| spouse = {{marriage|Leona Keyes|1956}}
| father = Francis Williams
| children = 3, including Phil and Iona
| website =
| alma_mater = University of Iowa
}}
Francis Gregory Alan Morris (September 27, 1933 – August 27, 1996) was an American actor. He was best known for portraying Barney Collier on the television series Mission: Impossible and Lieutenant David Nelson on Vega$.
Early life and career
{{Moresources|section|date=June 2023}}
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, to jazz trumpeter Francis Williams,{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/04/obituaries/no-headline-207396.html | title = Francis Williams, Trumpeter; Played With Ellington Band | date = October 4, 1983 | newspaper = The New York Times | access-date = March 27, 2018}} Morris served in the United States Army during the Korean War. While in college at Iowa on the G.I. Bill, Morris was active in college theater and hosted the late afternoon Jazz radio show, "Tea-Time", on the University of Iowa station, WSUI. He co-produced concerts at the university with a student friend.
Morris began his television acting career in the 1960s, making guest appearances on numerous TV shows such as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Twilight Zone ("The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms" from 1963), Branded, and Ben Casey. In 1966, Morris was cast in his most recognizable role as the team electronics expert Barney Collier in the TV series Mission: Impossible. Morris acquired a reputation as a practical joker, often playing pranks on the rest of the Mission: Impossible cast and crew.{{cite magazine |first=Robert |last=Greenberger |authorlink=Robert Greenberger |date=March 2023 |title=Lynda Day George: Her Missions Were Possible |url=https://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_152&products_id=1678&zenid=2hgu5onnn6uguc8o85oh8pf7q6 |magazine=RetroFan |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |location=United States |issue=25 |page=8}} Morris and Bob Johnson were the only actors to remain with Mission: Impossible throughout its entire run.
After Iowa, his first professional stage role was in The Death of Bessie Smith. One of his earliest television roles was a cameo appearance on The Dick Van Dyke Show in the 1963 episode "That's My Boy?" in which Rob Petrie becomes convinced they have taken home the wrong baby from the hospital. The revelation of Morris's character as the other child's father prompted a record setting bout of laughter from the studio audience.{{cite web | url = http://overdrive.dclibrary.org/3BC08ABB-753C-4531-A31D-490E120F0842/10/323/en/ContentDetails.htm?ID=%7BD5FF8F42-A54A-4CF4-A091-22E7405D7824%7D | title = Episode Description: The Dick Van Dyke Show – "That's My Boy??" | access-date = April 23, 2009}} He returned to the show in 1965 playing Frank "Sticks" Mandalay, a drummer, an army buddy of Rob. He also appeared in the 1963–64 season of ABC's drama about college life, Channing, starring Jason Evers and Henry Jones.
File:Mission impossible cast 1970.JPG cast in 1970]]
After Mission: Impossible was cancelled, Morris appeared in several movies and made guest TV appearances, including The Six Million Dollar Man (Episode 1-05, "Little Orphan Airplane", 1974). Morris was then cast as Lieutenant David Nelson of the Las Vegas Metro Police in the ABC TV detective series Vega$ (1978–1981), co-starring Robert Urich, Bart Braverman, and Phyllis Davis. On March 3, 1981, by which point most filming for the season had concluded, Morris was involved in a serious car accident on I-15 near Las Vegas.
After the cancellation of Vega$, Morris continued to make guest TV appearances, including several episodes in the short-lived 1988–1990 remake of the Mission: Impossible TV series, starring his son Phil Morris. Phil Morris was cast as Grant Collier, the son of Barney. Morris also appeared in two episodes of the TV series What's Happening!! as Lawrence Nelson (father of Dwayne) and in three episodes of The Jeffersons, in which he reprised his role as an electronics expert (although not as Barney Collier) in a comparison sequel of the Mission: Impossible series. Morris was also a frequent guest star on Password, Tattletales, and Password Plus in the 1960s and 1970s.
Shortly before his death in 1996, Morris saw the film version of Mission: Impossible starring Tom Cruise. He so disliked the movie that he left the theater early,{{cite web | url = http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9605/29/imposssible/index.html | last = Tush | first = Bill | location = New York | date = May 26, 1996 | work = CNN | title = 'Mission: Impossible' TV stars disgruntled | access-date = May 4, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180412222316/https://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9605/29/imposssibles/index.html | archive-date = April 12, 2018 | url-status = dead}} calling it "an abomination."{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/29/arts/greg-morris-61-debonair-star-of-tv-s-mission-impossible.html | title = Greg Morris, 61, Debonair Star Of TV's 'Mission Impossible' | date = August 29, 1996 | newspaper = The New York Times | access-date = March 22, 2010 | first = Nick | last = Ravo | page = D19}}
Personal life
Morris married his wife Leona Keyes in 1956, and remained married for 40 years until his death in 1996. Together they had three children, including actor Phil Morris and actress Iona Morris. Leona Morris died on November 2, 2016, aged 81.{{Cite web|date=November 12, 2016|title=Leona Alvadeen Keys Morris Obituary (1935 - 2016) Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/latimes/name/leona-morris-obituary?pid=182490092|access-date=2021-08-27|website=Legacy.com}}
Death
Morris died on August 27, 1996, of lung and brain cancer in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the age of 62.{{cite web | url = http://edition.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9608/28/morris.obit/ | title = 'Mission: Impossible' actor dies | work = CNN | date = August 28, 1996 | access-date = February 23, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190223184805/https://edition.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9608/28/morris.obit/ | archive-date = February 23, 2019 | url-status = dead}}
Filmography
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1963
| Dr. Foster | Season 1 Episode 17: "Forecast: Low Clouds and Coastal Fog" |
| 1963
| Victim | Episode: "Of Rusted Cannons and Fallen Sparrows" |
| 1963
| Lincoln Ball | Episode: "The Gift of the Koodjanuk" |
| 1963
| Lieutenant Woodard | Episode: "The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms" |
| 1963
| Sergeant Perc Linden | Episode: "The Proud and the Angry" |
| 1963
| Crew Chief | Episode: "The Two Star Giant" |
| 1963
| Mr. Peters | Episode: "That's My Boy??" |
| 1964
| Burial Detail Inmate (uncredited) | Season 2 Episode 18: "Final Escape" |
| 1964
| Crew Chief | Episode: "To Kill a Man" |
| 1964
| Dr. Pete Clarke | |
| 1964
| Highway Patrol Officer | |
| 1965
| Mickey Deming | Episode: "Wings of an Angel" |
| 1965
| I Spy | Jim Rogers | Episode: "Lori" |
| 1965
| Yusef | |
| 1965
| Frank "Sticks" Mandalay | Episode: "Bupkis" |
| 1966
| FBI Agent Balaban | TV movie written by Rod Serling |
| 1966–1973
| Main cast |
| 1973
| Mannix | Escaped Convict | Episode: "Climb a Deadly Mountain" |
| 1974
| Josh | Episode: "Little Orphan Airplane" |
| 1974
| Himself | Game Show Participant / Celebrity Guest Star |
| 1975
| The Streets of San Francisco | Eddie Griffin | Episode: "Merchants of Death" |
| 1976
| Red Salter | |
| 1976
| S.T.A.B. | Richard Hill |
| 1976
| Willis | Episodes: "The Hawaiian Connection", parts 1 & 2 |
| 1977
| Lawrence Nelson | Episode: "If I'm Elected" |
| 1978
| Caribe | Episode: "Light-Fingered Lady" |
| 1978
| Cliff Collier | Episode: "A Night to Raise the Dead" |
| 1978
| Ted Harmon | Episode: "War Games / Queen of the Boston Bruisers" |
| 1978
| Shelby | Episode: "The Intimate Friends of Janet Wilde" |
| 1978–1981
| Vega$ | Lieutenant Dave Nelson | Recurring |
| 1978
| Guest star | Episode: "Till Death Do Us Part – Maybe/Chubs/Locked Away" |
| 1979
| Himself | Game Show Participant / Celebrity Guest Star |
| 1979
| Beeman Jones | Miniseries, part 1 |
| 1979
| What's Happening!! | Lawrence Nelson | Episode: "Dwayne's Debate" |
| 1983
| Gary Jordan | Episode: "P.S., I Love You" |
| 1983
| Jimmy's Cousin | Episodes: "Mission: Incredible" parts 1-3 |
| 1983
| Fantasy Island | Chief of Surgery | Episode: "The Wedding Picture / Castaways" |
| 1984
| Dave Reemer | Episode: "Exercise in Murder" |
| 1984
| Lieutenant Andrews | Episode: "Lovers and Other Killers" |
| 1985
| Himself | Game Show Participant / Celebrity Guest Star |
| 1988
| General Masters | Episode: "The Second Seal" |
| 1988–1990
| Recurring |
| 1989
| Damon | Episode: "The Invisible People" |
| 1995
| TekWar | Hacker | Episode: "Killer Instinct" |
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0606569}}
- {{TV Guide person|152572}}
- [http://www.tv.com/people/greg-morris/ Greg Morris] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122050634/http://www.tv.com/people/greg-morris/ |date=January 22, 2015 }} at [http://www.tv.com/ TV.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190520230801/http://www.tv.com/ |date=May 20, 2019 }}
- [http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9608/28/morris.obit/ 'Mission: Impossible' actor dies]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Greg}}
Category:American male television actors
Category:Deaths from brain cancer in Nevada
Category:American male film actors
Category:Male actors from Cleveland
Category:University of Iowa alumni
Category:Deaths from lung cancer in Nevada