Wayne Morris


Wayne Morris was an American film and television actor, as well as a decorated World War II fighter ace. He appeared in many films, including Paths of Glory, The Bushwackers, and the title role of Kid Galahad.

Early life and career

Morris was born in Los Angeles County, California, to Bert DeWayne Morris and Anna Lorea Morris. He attended Los Angeles City College and was a fullback on that school's varsity football team. He gained acting experience through his work at the Pasadena Playhouse.
His film debut was in the China Clipper. He played the title character of Kid Galahad, a story of a young prizefighter that featured some of Hollywood's biggest stars, Bette Davis, Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart. His career flourished in films like Brother Rat, which starred Ronald Reagan, and in Bogart's only horror film, The Return of Doctor X.

Military service

While filming Flight Angels, Morris became interested in flying and became a pilot. With war in the wind, he joined the United States Naval Reserve and became a United States Navy aviator in 1942, leaving his film career behind for the duration of World War II.
Morris was considered by the Navy as physically 'too big' to fly fighters. After being turned down several times as a fighter pilot, he went to his uncle-in-law, Commander David McCampbell, imploring him for the chance to fly fighters. McCampbell said "Give me a letter." He flew the F6F Hellcat off the aircraft carrier with Fighter Squadron 15, the famed "McCampbell Heroes."
A December 15, 1944, Associated Press news story reported that Morris was "credited with 57 aerial sorties, shooting down seven Japanese Zeros, sinking an escort vessel and an antiaircraft gunboat and helping sink a submarine and damage a heavy cruiser and a minelayer." He was awarded four Distinguished Flying Crosses and two Air Medals.

Later career

After the war, Morris returned to films, but his nearly four-year absence had cost him his burgeoning stardom. He continued to act in movies, but the pictures, for the most part, sank in quality. Losing his boyish looks but not demeanor, Morris spent much of the 1950s in low-budget westerns, but also appeared as the cowardly Lieutenant Roget, one of the main characters, in Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory.
In 1957, Morris made his Broadway debut as a washed-up boxing champ in William Saroyan's The Cave Dwellers.
On television, Morris starred in a 1956 episode of Science Fiction Theater, "Beam of Fire". In 1958, Morris appeared in Gunsmoke as "Nat", a groom almost shot to death. Wayne Morris played "Captain Hathaway" in 1959 on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and posthumously as Sheriff Sam Cloggett in 1960 on New Comedy Showcase.

Personal life

Morris was first married to tobacco heiress Leonora Schinasi; the couple later divorced. Eighteen months later, Morris married the 19-year-old Patricia Ann O'Rourke at the Long Beach, California Naval Air Base February 25, 1942. He had two daughters and a son.

Death

Aged 45, Morris died of a coronary occlusion on September 14, 1959, aboard the attack aircraft carrier.

Awards and decorations

During his naval service, Morris earned the following decorations:

Filmography

  • China Clipper as Navigator on Clipper
  • Here Comes Carter as Bill
  • Polo Joe as Spectator
  • King of Hockey as Bill 'Jumbo' Mullins
  • Smart Blonde as Railroad Information Clerk
  • Once a Doctor as Sailor on 'Nirvana'
  • Land Beyond the Law as Dave Massey / Dave Seymour
  • Kid Galahad as Ward Guisenberry / Kid Galahad
  • Submarine D-1 as 'Sock' McGillis
  • The Kid Comes Back as Rush Conway
  • Love, Honor and Behave as Ted Painter
  • Men Are Such Fools as Jimmy Hall
  • Valley of the Giants as Bill Cardigan
  • Brother Rat as Billy Randolph
  • The Kid from Kokomo as Homer Baston
  • The Return of Doctor X as Walter Garrett
  • Brother Rat and a Baby as Billy Randolph
  • Double Alibi as Stephen Wayne
  • An Angel from Texas as Mac McClure
  • Flight Angels as Artie Dixon
  • Gambling on the High Seas as Jim Carter
  • Ladies Must Live as Corey Lake
  • The Quarterback as Jimmy Jones and Billy Jones
  • I Wanted Wings as Tom Cassidy
  • Badmen of Missouri as Bob Younger
  • Three Sons o' Guns as Charley Patterson
  • The Smiling Ghost as Lucky Downing
  • Deep Valley as Jeff Barker
  • The Voice of the Turtle as Comm. Ned Burling
  • The Time of Your Life as Tom
  • The Big Punch as Chris Thorgenson
  • John Loves Mary as Lieutenant Victor O'Leary
  • A Kiss in the Dark as Bruce Arnold
  • The Younger Brothers as Cole Younger
  • Task Force as McKinney
  • The House Across the Street as Dave Joslin
  • Johnny One-Eye as Dane Cory
  • The Tougher They Come as Bill Shaw
  • Stage to Tucson as Barney Broderick
  • Sierra Passage as Johnny Yorke
  • The Big Gusher as Kenny Blake
  • The Bushwhackers as Marshal John Harding
  • Yellow Fin as Mike Donovan
  • Desert Pursuit as Ford Smith
  • Arctic Flight as Mike Wien
  • Star of Texas as Texas Ranger Ed Ryan / Robert Larkin
  • The Marksman as Deputy Marshal Mike Martin
  • The Fighting Lawman as Deputy Marshal Jim Burke
  • Texas Bad Man as Walt
  • Riding Shotgun as Deputy Sheriff Tub Murphy
  • The Desperado as Sam Garrett
  • The Master Plan as Major Thomas Brent
  • Two Guns and a Badge as Deputy Jim Blake
  • The Green Carnation as Gary Holden
  • Port of Hell as Stanley Povich
  • Lord of the Jungle as Jeff Wood
  • The Lonesome Trail as Dandy Dayton
  • Cross Channel as Tex Parker
  • The Gelignite Gang as Jimmy Baxter
  • The Crooked Sky as Mike Conlin
  • Paths of Glory as Lieutenant Roget
  • Plunder Road as Commando Munson
  • Official Detective as Holmes
  • Alfred Hitchcock Presents as Bret Johnson
  • New Comedy Showcase as Sheriff Sam Cloggett
  • Buffalo Gun as Roche