The Best Picture win at the Oscars is the highest prize in the film industry. However, some films manage to take home the top award, yet they still don’t manage to stand the test of time. There are some Best Picture winners that no one talks about, even though they’ll always be a part of Academy Award history.
‘The Broadway Melody’ (1929) L-r: Charles King as Eddie Kearns, Bessie Love as Harriet ‘Hank’ Mahoney, Mary Doran as Flo, Anita Page as Queen Mahoney, and Nacio Herb Brown as Pianist | John Springer Collection/Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Harriet ‘Hank’ Mahoney (Bessie Love) and Queenie Mahoney (Anita Page) are vaudeville sister performers looking to break into the Broadway scene. However, romantic melodrama quickly overshadows their attempt to pursue fame as a duo.
The Broadway Melody is the second film to win the Best Picture Oscar, with only Wings coming before it.
‘The Broadway Melody’ (1929) L-r: Charles King as Eddie Kearns, Bessie Love as Harriet ‘Hank’ Mahoney, Mary Doran as Flo, Anita Page as Queen Mahoney, and Nacio Herb Brown as Pianist | John Springer Collection/Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Harriet ‘Hank’ Mahoney (Bessie Love) and Queenie Mahoney (Anita Page) are vaudeville sister performers looking to break into the Broadway scene. However, romantic melodrama quickly overshadows their attempt to pursue fame as a duo.
The Broadway Melody is the second film to win the Best Picture Oscar, with only Wings coming before it.
- 2/28/2023
- by Jeff Nelson
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Robert Donat snagged an Oscar for this sentimental crowdpleaser, a Best Picture nominee in Hollywood’s ‘Golden Year’ of 1939. The genteel chemistry between Donat’s shy schoolteacher and the charming personality Greer Garson broke hearts, and made Ms. Garson one of MGM’s top names for the next decade. It’s one of the studio’s English productions, filmed in the shadow of the coming war. A glowing new digital restoration redeems 70 years of not-so-good TV prints.
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1939 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 115 min. / Street Date January 24, 2023 / Available at Amazon.com/ 21.99
Starring: Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Terry Kilburn, John Mills, Paul Henreid, Judith Furse.
Cinematography: Freddie Young
Art Director: Alfred Junge
Film Editor: Charles Frend
Original Music: Richard Addinsell
Written by R.C. Sherriff, Claudine West, Eric Maschwitz from the novel by James Hilton
Produced by Victor Saville
Directed by Sam Wood
No, it’s not about the terrible Chips Ahoy!
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1939 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 115 min. / Street Date January 24, 2023 / Available at Amazon.com/ 21.99
Starring: Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Terry Kilburn, John Mills, Paul Henreid, Judith Furse.
Cinematography: Freddie Young
Art Director: Alfred Junge
Film Editor: Charles Frend
Original Music: Richard Addinsell
Written by R.C. Sherriff, Claudine West, Eric Maschwitz from the novel by James Hilton
Produced by Victor Saville
Directed by Sam Wood
No, it’s not about the terrible Chips Ahoy!
- 2/11/2023
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Look over the list of Best Picture winners over the years and you realise that almost every film selected is still in circulation.
William Wellman’s Wings, the very first winner in 1927, is readily available on DVD and Blu-Ray, as are such other early winners as Cimarron and Broadway Melody.
Most of the other Best Picture winners are titles that any film lover will recognise instantly. The blind spots are obvious. The Academy never chooses foreign language titles. In recent years, it has shunned comedies.
The Shape of Water may have won in 2018, but voters are generally wary about genre pictures. You don’t see many sci-fi or martial arts titles on the list.
There is a growing divide between what wins at the Oscars and what makes the money at the box office. Even so, the est Picture Oscar remains one of the most reliable bellwethers for films that will have an afterlife.
William Wellman’s Wings, the very first winner in 1927, is readily available on DVD and Blu-Ray, as are such other early winners as Cimarron and Broadway Melody.
Most of the other Best Picture winners are titles that any film lover will recognise instantly. The blind spots are obvious. The Academy never chooses foreign language titles. In recent years, it has shunned comedies.
The Shape of Water may have won in 2018, but voters are generally wary about genre pictures. You don’t see many sci-fi or martial arts titles on the list.
There is a growing divide between what wins at the Oscars and what makes the money at the box office. Even so, the est Picture Oscar remains one of the most reliable bellwethers for films that will have an afterlife.
- 2/2/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- The Independent - Film
Look over the list of Best Picture winners over the years and you realise that almost every film selected is still in circulation.
William Wellman’s Wings, the very first winner in 1927, is readily available on DVD and Blu-Ray, as are such other early winners as Cimarron and Broadway Melody.
Most of the other Best Picture winners are titles that any film lover will recognise instantly. The blind spots are obvious. The Academy never chooses foreign language titles. In recent years, it has shunned comedies.
The Shape of Water may have won in 2018, but voters are generally wary about genre pictures. You don’t see many sci-fi or martial arts titles on the list.
There is a growing divide between what wins at the Oscars and what makes the money at the box office. Even so, the est Picture Oscar remains one of the most reliable bellwethers for films that will have an afterlife.
William Wellman’s Wings, the very first winner in 1927, is readily available on DVD and Blu-Ray, as are such other early winners as Cimarron and Broadway Melody.
Most of the other Best Picture winners are titles that any film lover will recognise instantly. The blind spots are obvious. The Academy never chooses foreign language titles. In recent years, it has shunned comedies.
The Shape of Water may have won in 2018, but voters are generally wary about genre pictures. You don’t see many sci-fi or martial arts titles on the list.
There is a growing divide between what wins at the Oscars and what makes the money at the box office. Even so, the est Picture Oscar remains one of the most reliable bellwethers for films that will have an afterlife.
- 2/2/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- The Independent - Film
Arizona has adopted a new tax credit for film and TV production, as the state aims to attract productions that have gone to New Mexico and other states in recent years.
Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, allowed the legislation, Hb 2156, to become law without his signature on Wednesday. Ducey’s office declined to comment on the unusual maneuver.
The program will provide a refundable credit worth 15 to 20 of qualified production costs, plus additional bonuses for meeting certain criteria. The credit is designed to incentivize the construction of two large soundstage facilities in the Phoenix area.
“It’ll be good to put Arizona on the map again,” said state Rep. Mitzi Epstein, D-Tempe. “We have some beautiful places here that make stunning backdrops.”
The bill passed both houses of the Legislature last month with bipartisan support. But most of the opposition came from Republicans, including from House Speaker Rusty Bowers. During...
Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, allowed the legislation, Hb 2156, to become law without his signature on Wednesday. Ducey’s office declined to comment on the unusual maneuver.
The program will provide a refundable credit worth 15 to 20 of qualified production costs, plus additional bonuses for meeting certain criteria. The credit is designed to incentivize the construction of two large soundstage facilities in the Phoenix area.
“It’ll be good to put Arizona on the map again,” said state Rep. Mitzi Epstein, D-Tempe. “We have some beautiful places here that make stunning backdrops.”
The bill passed both houses of the Legislature last month with bipartisan support. But most of the opposition came from Republicans, including from House Speaker Rusty Bowers. During...
- 7/7/2022
- by Gene Maddaus
- Variety Film + TV
8 random things that happened on this day, January 26th, in showbiz history...
1931 Cimarron premieres in NYC. It becomes the first western to win Best Picture
1961 The Mark opens in theaters. You have to see the trailer to believe it (film distributors were so excited at the new raciness of the 1960s). Stuart Whitman, a rising star of the time and a last minute replacement for Richard Burton, received an Oscar nomination playing a ex-con child molester who is suspected of a new crime...
1931 Cimarron premieres in NYC. It becomes the first western to win Best Picture
1961 The Mark opens in theaters. You have to see the trailer to believe it (film distributors were so excited at the new raciness of the 1960s). Stuart Whitman, a rising star of the time and a last minute replacement for Richard Burton, received an Oscar nomination playing a ex-con child molester who is suspected of a new crime...
- 1/26/2021
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
The 63rd Academy Awards took place on March 25, 1991. For the first time in 60 years, a western took home the big prize, a first-time director beat out a veteran, the acting awards were split among four different films and an 80s pop idol caused a sensation. For the second consecutive year, Billy Crystal hosted the event, opening the night by riding in on a horse, which was most likely a plug for his upcoming film “City Slickers,” but also seemed to foreshadow the theme for the evening.
“Dances with Wolves” became the first western since “Cimarron” 60 years earlier to win Best Picture. Kevin Costner‘s epic adventure came into the night with the most nominations at 12, and walked away with the most statues at seven. Costner holds the very rare distinction of landing both a Best Director and a Best Actor nomination for the same film, while his win in the...
“Dances with Wolves” became the first western since “Cimarron” 60 years earlier to win Best Picture. Kevin Costner‘s epic adventure came into the night with the most nominations at 12, and walked away with the most statues at seven. Costner holds the very rare distinction of landing both a Best Director and a Best Actor nomination for the same film, while his win in the...
- 1/24/2021
- by Susan Pennington
- Gold Derby
Two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks and Oscar-nominated director Paul Greengrass have teamed up again for Universal’s Western “News of the World,” one of the biggest studio films in the awards race. The duo last worked together in 2013’s “Captain Phillips,” which ended up with a best picture nomination.
Like an all-American game of baseball, “News of the World” is a straight-down-the-middle film that checks many of the boxes of classic Hollywood pictures that used to be very popular within the industry. To successfully impact the Oscars, you must also reach the newest Academy members, who are younger and hungry for new and dynamic content. If it succeeds in rallying the support of older members, the film will plant itself in the middle of the Oscar race.
“News of the World” tells the story of Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, a Civil War veteran who agrees to deliver a girl,...
Like an all-American game of baseball, “News of the World” is a straight-down-the-middle film that checks many of the boxes of classic Hollywood pictures that used to be very popular within the industry. To successfully impact the Oscars, you must also reach the newest Academy members, who are younger and hungry for new and dynamic content. If it succeeds in rallying the support of older members, the film will plant itself in the middle of the Oscar race.
“News of the World” tells the story of Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, a Civil War veteran who agrees to deliver a girl,...
- 12/11/2020
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Cimarrón, an ambitious pan-Latin American production shingle, is readying new high-profile features by Cannes-prized Agustín Toscano and Sundance best director winner Lucía Garibaldi as it gears up to shoot its first drama series in Mexico and Brazil, backed by two global platforms.
Cimarrón, headquartered in Uruguay’s Montevideo and with offices in Brazil and Argentina and service company operations in Mexico, is working on four international productions to be shot over the next few months.
Apart from Toscano and Garibaldi, the company has projects in development – movies or series – with Israel Adrián Caetano, Anahí Berneri, Marina Meliande, Gustavo Taretto and Manuel Abramovich – some of the most courted of South American directors.
Toscano’s “Perro Feroz,” scheduled to shoot in May 2021 and produced by Argentina’s Rizoma and Cimarrón in co-production with France’s Gloria Films, is set in rural Argentina in 1974 and turns on Sergio, an illiterate rural laborer who...
Cimarrón, headquartered in Uruguay’s Montevideo and with offices in Brazil and Argentina and service company operations in Mexico, is working on four international productions to be shot over the next few months.
Apart from Toscano and Garibaldi, the company has projects in development – movies or series – with Israel Adrián Caetano, Anahí Berneri, Marina Meliande, Gustavo Taretto and Manuel Abramovich – some of the most courted of South American directors.
Toscano’s “Perro Feroz,” scheduled to shoot in May 2021 and produced by Argentina’s Rizoma and Cimarrón in co-production with France’s Gloria Films, is set in rural Argentina in 1974 and turns on Sergio, an illiterate rural laborer who...
- 6/23/2020
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Pablo Stoll’s “Summer Hit,” Matías Lucchessi’s “Las rojas,” Joaquín Peñagaricano and Pablo Abdala’s “Mateína” are some of the Uruguayan projects at different stages participating in a spotlight at Cannes’ Producers Network on the Marché du Film’s digital platform on Tuesday 23.
Five Uruguayan companies, Tarkiofilm, Cimarrón, Montelona, Nadador and Salado, have been selected by the country’s national film body Icau to pitch their production slates at the new format French market.
Recently appointed general director at Icau, Uruguay’s film-tv agency, Roberto Blatt told Variety that Uruguay shows a “maturity in its cinema, backed by a great diversity of formats, genres and styles, and the high creative and technical levels of our professionals.” He went on to say, “That was made evident by the success of titles made free through Vera TV [Uruguayan broadcaster Antel’s digital platform] during the pandemic.”
Blatt pointed out that the Uruguayan public...
Five Uruguayan companies, Tarkiofilm, Cimarrón, Montelona, Nadador and Salado, have been selected by the country’s national film body Icau to pitch their production slates at the new format French market.
Recently appointed general director at Icau, Uruguay’s film-tv agency, Roberto Blatt told Variety that Uruguay shows a “maturity in its cinema, backed by a great diversity of formats, genres and styles, and the high creative and technical levels of our professionals.” He went on to say, “That was made evident by the success of titles made free through Vera TV [Uruguayan broadcaster Antel’s digital platform] during the pandemic.”
Blatt pointed out that the Uruguayan public...
- 6/22/2020
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
One of the great actresses nominated for the Academy Award multiple times (five) without a win and one of the best screwball comediennes of the Golden Age of Hollywood, Irene Dunne is considered one of the foremost performers of that era, known for her versatility, style and sophistication.
Dunne was born December 20, 1898, in Louisville, Kentucky. The daughter of a music teacher, she was raised around music and had a natural talent for it. She won a scholarship to the Chicago Musical College, and hoped to become an opera singer, but did not pass her audition with the Metropolitan Opera Company. However, she found success in musical theater, eventually appearing in several Broadway productions. While playing the lead in a road company of “Show Boat,” Dunne was discovered by Hollywood and was soon on her way to a varied and prosperous acting career.
SEECary Grant movies: 15 greatest films ranked from worst...
Dunne was born December 20, 1898, in Louisville, Kentucky. The daughter of a music teacher, she was raised around music and had a natural talent for it. She won a scholarship to the Chicago Musical College, and hoped to become an opera singer, but did not pass her audition with the Metropolitan Opera Company. However, she found success in musical theater, eventually appearing in several Broadway productions. While playing the lead in a road company of “Show Boat,” Dunne was discovered by Hollywood and was soon on her way to a varied and prosperous acting career.
SEECary Grant movies: 15 greatest films ranked from worst...
- 12/20/2019
- by Susan Pennington and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
One of the great actresses nominated for the Academy Award multiple times (five) without a win and one of the best screwball comediennes of the Golden Age of Hollywood, Irene Dunne is considered one of the foremost performers of that era, known for her versatility, style and sophistication.
Dunne was born December 20, 1898, in Louisville, Kentucky. The daughter of a music teacher, she was raised around music and had a natural talent for it. She won a scholarship to the Chicago Musical College, and hoped to become an opera singer, but did not pass her audition with the Metropolitan Opera Company. However, she found success in musical theater, eventually appearing in several Broadway productions. While playing the lead in a road company of “Show Boat,” Dunne was discovered by Hollywood and was soon on her way to a varied and prosperous acting career.
Dunne displayed her impressive acting abilities almost immediately,...
Dunne was born December 20, 1898, in Louisville, Kentucky. The daughter of a music teacher, she was raised around music and had a natural talent for it. She won a scholarship to the Chicago Musical College, and hoped to become an opera singer, but did not pass her audition with the Metropolitan Opera Company. However, she found success in musical theater, eventually appearing in several Broadway productions. While playing the lead in a road company of “Show Boat,” Dunne was discovered by Hollywood and was soon on her way to a varied and prosperous acting career.
Dunne displayed her impressive acting abilities almost immediately,...
- 12/20/2019
- by Susan Pennington, Misty Holland and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Robert Dix, the son of a big-screen icon who made his own mark in Hollywood with appearances in dozens of films, including Forbidden Planet, Forty Guns and a succession of B-grade horror movies, has died. He was 83.
Dix died Monday of respiratory failure at a hospital in Tucson, Arizona, his wife, Lynette, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Dix was the youngest son (by 10 minutes) of Richard Dix, who made the transition from the silent era to talkies, received a best actor nomination in the best picture Oscar winner Cimarron (1931) and starred in the series of Whistler film noirs at Columbia ...
Dix died Monday of respiratory failure at a hospital in Tucson, Arizona, his wife, Lynette, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Dix was the youngest son (by 10 minutes) of Richard Dix, who made the transition from the silent era to talkies, received a best actor nomination in the best picture Oscar winner Cimarron (1931) and starred in the series of Whistler film noirs at Columbia ...
Robert Dix, the son of a big-screen icon who made his own mark in Hollywood with appearances in dozens of films, including Forbidden Planet, Forty Guns and a succession of B-grade horror movies, has died. He was 83.
Dix died Monday of respiratory failure at a hospital in Tucson, Arizona, his wife, Lynette, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Dix was the youngest son (by 10 minutes) of Richard Dix, who made the transition from the silent era to talkies, received a best actor nomination in the best picture Oscar winner Cimarron (1931) and starred in the series of Whistler film noirs at Columbia ...
Dix died Monday of respiratory failure at a hospital in Tucson, Arizona, his wife, Lynette, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Dix was the youngest son (by 10 minutes) of Richard Dix, who made the transition from the silent era to talkies, received a best actor nomination in the best picture Oscar winner Cimarron (1931) and starred in the series of Whistler film noirs at Columbia ...
Exclusive: Ant Farm, among the highest-profile entertainment marketing companies in Hollywood, is shuttering. Deadline hears that the move was announced internally this morning in a meeting called by top brass of Ant Farm’s parent company Omnicom, which told employees that operations would cease in 60 days. We hear that employees will get a severance package.
Sources say Omnicom is cutting all business that is not showing a profit. That means they are shutting down the entire Los Angeles-based company, which during the past 18 months has undergone key exec departures (and clients with them), layoffs and downsizing.
An employee at Ant Farm’s L.A. office who answered the phone declined to offer details when contacted by Deadline today, referring a request to a New York spokesperson. New York-based reps from Omnicom did not respond to requests for comment.
Ant Farm had been among the bigger Hollywood firms in the incredibly...
Sources say Omnicom is cutting all business that is not showing a profit. That means they are shutting down the entire Los Angeles-based company, which during the past 18 months has undergone key exec departures (and clients with them), layoffs and downsizing.
An employee at Ant Farm’s L.A. office who answered the phone declined to offer details when contacted by Deadline today, referring a request to a New York spokesperson. New York-based reps from Omnicom did not respond to requests for comment.
Ant Farm had been among the bigger Hollywood firms in the incredibly...
- 7/27/2018
- by Patrick Hipes and Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
Warner Bros has claimed a legal victory over Spanish firm Gaidels Land for illegally selling the studio’s movies in the territory.
In a communique issued today by Warner Bros. International Television Distribution, the studio announced that following a trial in the Commercial Court in Madrid it had “prevailed” in its lawsuit against Gaidels Land S.L.
Warner Bros. accused distributor Gaidels of selling classic movies without license to local broadcasters in Spain using forged documents. Among movies sold illegally were Cimarron, Cool Hand Luke and Kelly’s Heroes.
According to Warner Bros, after hearing arguments in early June, the court ordered Gaidels to “immediately cease all distribution of the films and awarded Warner Bros. damages on account of Gaidels’ copyrights infringement.” The amount of damages was not disclosed. Gaidels was not available for comment when contacted.
“Warner Bros. takes the issue of motion picture piracy in Spain very seriously,...
In a communique issued today by Warner Bros. International Television Distribution, the studio announced that following a trial in the Commercial Court in Madrid it had “prevailed” in its lawsuit against Gaidels Land S.L.
Warner Bros. accused distributor Gaidels of selling classic movies without license to local broadcasters in Spain using forged documents. Among movies sold illegally were Cimarron, Cool Hand Luke and Kelly’s Heroes.
According to Warner Bros, after hearing arguments in early June, the court ordered Gaidels to “immediately cease all distribution of the films and awarded Warner Bros. damages on account of Gaidels’ copyrights infringement.” The amount of damages was not disclosed. Gaidels was not available for comment when contacted.
“Warner Bros. takes the issue of motion picture piracy in Spain very seriously,...
- 6/20/2018
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Man of the West
Directed by Anthony Mann
Written by Reginald Rose
USA, 1958
Man of the West was director Anthony Mann’s final Western of the 1950s. As such, it stands as something of a cumulative expression of his generic preoccupations and stylistic preferences, preoccupations and preferences that were consistently integrated in a decade’s worth of some of the finest Westerns ever made. What Mann accomplished in this particular genre during a 10-year period is one of the most impressive chapters in American film history, but Man of the West is more than just a summation of the period; it is as good, if not better in many ways, as the extraordinary pictures that came before it.
Taking over the reigns from James Stewart, who had previously starred in five earlier landmark Mann Westerns, is Gary Cooper, another perennial aw shucks leading man. Like with Stewart, Mann upsets this archetypal Cooper screen persona.
Directed by Anthony Mann
Written by Reginald Rose
USA, 1958
Man of the West was director Anthony Mann’s final Western of the 1950s. As such, it stands as something of a cumulative expression of his generic preoccupations and stylistic preferences, preoccupations and preferences that were consistently integrated in a decade’s worth of some of the finest Westerns ever made. What Mann accomplished in this particular genre during a 10-year period is one of the most impressive chapters in American film history, but Man of the West is more than just a summation of the period; it is as good, if not better in many ways, as the extraordinary pictures that came before it.
Taking over the reigns from James Stewart, who had previously starred in five earlier landmark Mann Westerns, is Gary Cooper, another perennial aw shucks leading man. Like with Stewart, Mann upsets this archetypal Cooper screen persona.
- 11/13/2014
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
Harry Morgan, the actor best known for his role as the well-respected, sometimes irascible Colonel Sherman T. Potter in the long-running series "M*A*S*H", died Wednesday morning at his home in Los Angeles. He was 96.
He was born Harry Bratsberg on April 10, 1915 in Detroit, Michigan, to Henry and Anna Bratsberg, where his father worked for war hero and car designer Eddie Rickenbacker. The family soon moved to Muskegon, Michigan, where Harry, hoping to be a lawyer, became heavily involved debate and speech classes; his junior year in high school he won a debate championship at the University of Michigan. He attended the University of Chicago for a few years, before leaving school and finding employment with an office equipment maker who eventually sent him to Washington D.C. It was during his time in Washington D.C. that Harry got his start on the stage, joining the Civic Theater in Ben Hecht’s "Front Page". Eventually, he moved on to a Mt. Kisco summer stock theater company, where he met and acted regularly with actress Frances Farmer. Ms. Farmer had quite an impact of his life; she promoted his career by involving him to acting classes with Elia Kazan, and also introduced him to her University of Washington classmate Eileen Detchon. He married Detchon in 1940 and they would have four children, sons Christopher, Charles, Paul and Daniel. Harry's stage career continued to grow, as he joined New York's Group Theater, whose members included Kazan, Karl Malden and Lee J. Cobb. When Hollywood agent Charlie Feldman saw him perform on Broadway, he signed the young actor and had him quickly under studio contract with Twentieth Century Fox, where he changed his name to Henry Morgan.
Harry and Eileen made the move to Hollywood in the early 1942 and his first billed appearance (as Henry Morgan) came that year in To the Shores of Tripoli. To avoid confusion with a popular comedian of the time, another name change soon followed, and he became Harry Morgan. Morgan’s film career prospered, and in the next 5 decades he appeared in many now-legendary dramatic films, including The Ox-Bow Incident, All My Sons, Madame Bovary, High Noon, The Glenn Miller Story, Inherit the Wind, Cimarron, How the West Was Won, Frankie and Johnny, The Apple Dumpling Gang and The Shootist.
While building this impressive film resume, Morgan was simultaneously working regularly in radio and television, with brief roles in "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", "Cavalcade of America" and "The Twentieth Century Fox Hour" before landing the role of comedic neighbor Pete Porter in "December Bride", which eventually lead to the spin-off series "Pete and Gladys". In 1963, his TV career took a turn toward more serious projects, as part of the ensemble in "The Richard Boone Show" and an iconic role as Officer Bill Gannon in 1967’s "Dragnet". The series, and his performance in it, was not only a precursor to modern police and detective series, but would also inform the 1987 film Dragnet, a comedic reimagination of the show starring Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks; Morgan appeared in this film as Captain Bill Gannon.
Despite decades spent working in film and TV, it would be his work in the TV series "M*A*S*H" that made him instantly recognizable around the world. After a memorable, Emmy-nominated guest turn as loony Major General Steele at the beginning of the third season in 1974, Morgan was invited back to join the cast a year later as Colonel Sherman T. Potter, the late-career Army man sent to run the eccentric medical unit after the loss of their previous commanding officer. Morgan's nuanced performance as dedicated leader and surgeon with an unwavering sense of right and wrong combined with a father-like protectiveness of his staff, allowed Potter to grow organically through the long run of the series. The small touches he brought to the role – Potter's paintings were done by Morgan himself, and the picture of Mildred Potter on Potter’s desk was actually Morgan's wife Eileen – only added to the authentic humanity of his portrayal, and in 1980 Morgan won an Emmy for his performance. After the series came to an end in 1983, Morgan continued the role in the short-lived spin-off "AfterMASH".
After the death of his wife Eileen in 1985, he kept himself busy making guest appearances in series such as "The Love Boat" and took a regular role in the single season run of "Blacke's Magic". In December of 1986, he married Barbara Bushman, the granddaughter of silent film star Francis X. Bushman. His work as a TV guest star continued through the late 1990s in "The Simpsons," "3rd Rock from the Sun," "Grace Under Fire", and his final movie work included Family Plan and the short film Crosswalk.
He is survived by Barbara, his sons Christopher, Charles and Paul, and grandchildren Spencer, Rosemary and Jeremy.
He was preceded in death by his first wife Eileen in 1985 and his son Daniel in 1989.
He was born Harry Bratsberg on April 10, 1915 in Detroit, Michigan, to Henry and Anna Bratsberg, where his father worked for war hero and car designer Eddie Rickenbacker. The family soon moved to Muskegon, Michigan, where Harry, hoping to be a lawyer, became heavily involved debate and speech classes; his junior year in high school he won a debate championship at the University of Michigan. He attended the University of Chicago for a few years, before leaving school and finding employment with an office equipment maker who eventually sent him to Washington D.C. It was during his time in Washington D.C. that Harry got his start on the stage, joining the Civic Theater in Ben Hecht’s "Front Page". Eventually, he moved on to a Mt. Kisco summer stock theater company, where he met and acted regularly with actress Frances Farmer. Ms. Farmer had quite an impact of his life; she promoted his career by involving him to acting classes with Elia Kazan, and also introduced him to her University of Washington classmate Eileen Detchon. He married Detchon in 1940 and they would have four children, sons Christopher, Charles, Paul and Daniel. Harry's stage career continued to grow, as he joined New York's Group Theater, whose members included Kazan, Karl Malden and Lee J. Cobb. When Hollywood agent Charlie Feldman saw him perform on Broadway, he signed the young actor and had him quickly under studio contract with Twentieth Century Fox, where he changed his name to Henry Morgan.
Harry and Eileen made the move to Hollywood in the early 1942 and his first billed appearance (as Henry Morgan) came that year in To the Shores of Tripoli. To avoid confusion with a popular comedian of the time, another name change soon followed, and he became Harry Morgan. Morgan’s film career prospered, and in the next 5 decades he appeared in many now-legendary dramatic films, including The Ox-Bow Incident, All My Sons, Madame Bovary, High Noon, The Glenn Miller Story, Inherit the Wind, Cimarron, How the West Was Won, Frankie and Johnny, The Apple Dumpling Gang and The Shootist.
While building this impressive film resume, Morgan was simultaneously working regularly in radio and television, with brief roles in "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", "Cavalcade of America" and "The Twentieth Century Fox Hour" before landing the role of comedic neighbor Pete Porter in "December Bride", which eventually lead to the spin-off series "Pete and Gladys". In 1963, his TV career took a turn toward more serious projects, as part of the ensemble in "The Richard Boone Show" and an iconic role as Officer Bill Gannon in 1967’s "Dragnet". The series, and his performance in it, was not only a precursor to modern police and detective series, but would also inform the 1987 film Dragnet, a comedic reimagination of the show starring Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks; Morgan appeared in this film as Captain Bill Gannon.
Despite decades spent working in film and TV, it would be his work in the TV series "M*A*S*H" that made him instantly recognizable around the world. After a memorable, Emmy-nominated guest turn as loony Major General Steele at the beginning of the third season in 1974, Morgan was invited back to join the cast a year later as Colonel Sherman T. Potter, the late-career Army man sent to run the eccentric medical unit after the loss of their previous commanding officer. Morgan's nuanced performance as dedicated leader and surgeon with an unwavering sense of right and wrong combined with a father-like protectiveness of his staff, allowed Potter to grow organically through the long run of the series. The small touches he brought to the role – Potter's paintings were done by Morgan himself, and the picture of Mildred Potter on Potter’s desk was actually Morgan's wife Eileen – only added to the authentic humanity of his portrayal, and in 1980 Morgan won an Emmy for his performance. After the series came to an end in 1983, Morgan continued the role in the short-lived spin-off "AfterMASH".
After the death of his wife Eileen in 1985, he kept himself busy making guest appearances in series such as "The Love Boat" and took a regular role in the single season run of "Blacke's Magic". In December of 1986, he married Barbara Bushman, the granddaughter of silent film star Francis X. Bushman. His work as a TV guest star continued through the late 1990s in "The Simpsons," "3rd Rock from the Sun," "Grace Under Fire", and his final movie work included Family Plan and the short film Crosswalk.
He is survived by Barbara, his sons Christopher, Charles and Paul, and grandchildren Spencer, Rosemary and Jeremy.
He was preceded in death by his first wife Eileen in 1985 and his son Daniel in 1989.
- 12/7/2011
- by Heather Campbell
- IMDb News
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