Acting
80
Man
17 Feb 1914
14 Sept 1959 (45)
Los Angeles, California, USA
Wayne Morris
Wayne Morris (February 17, 1914 – September 14, 1959), born Bert DeWayne Morris in Los Angeles, was an American film and television actor, as well as a decorated World War II fighter ace. He appeared in many notable films, including Paths of Glory (1957), The Bushwackers (1952) and the title role of Kid Galahad in 1937. While filming Flight Angels (1940), Morris became interested in flying and became a pilot. With war in the wind, he joined the Naval Reserve and became a Navy flier in 1942, leaving his film career behind for the duration of the war. Flying the F6F Hellcat off the aircraft carrier USS Essex, Morris shot down seven Japanese planes and contributed to the sinking of five ships. He was awarded four Distinguished Flying Crosses and two Air Medals. 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 brother in law, Cdr. David McCampbell, imploring him for the chance to fly fighters. Cdr. McCampbell said "Give me a letter." He flew with the VF-15, the famed "McCampbell Heroes." He married Patricia O'Rourke, an Olympic swimmer, and sister to B-movie actress Peggy Stewart. Following 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 most of the fifties in low-budget westerns. He made an unusual career move in 1957, making his Broadway debut as a washed-up boxing champ in William Saroyan's The Cave Dwellers. He also appeared as a weakling in Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory (1957). Morris suffered a massive heart attack while visiting aboard the aircraft carrier USS Bon Homme Richard in San Francisco Bay and was pronounced dead after being transported to Oakland Naval Hospital in Oakland, California. He was 45. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Description above from the Wikipedia article Wayne Morris (American actor), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
Year | Movie / TV show / Other | Role |
---|---|---|
1961 | Buffalo Gun | Roche |
1959 | Adventures in Paradise | Sam Agnew |
1959 | Bourbon Street Beat | |
1958 | Wanted: Dead or Alive | Mayor Barney Pax |
1958 | Bat Masterson | Mace Pomeroy |
1958 | Bronco | |
1957 | Paths of Glory | Lt. Roget/Singing man |
1957 | Plunder Road | Commando Munson |
1957 | Maverick | |
1957 | The Crooked Sky | Mike Conlin |
1957 | Official Detective | |
1956 | The Gelignite Gang | Jimmy Baxter |
1955 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Bret Johnson |
1955 | Gunsmoke | Nat |
1955 | Lord of the Jungle | Jeff Wood |
1955 | The Lonesome Trail | Dandy Dayton |
1955 | The Master Plan | Major Thomas Brent |
1955 | Cross Channel | Tex Parker |
1954 | Riding Shotgun | Deputy Sheriff Tub Murphy |
1954 | The Green Buddha | Gary Holden |
1954 | The Desperado | Sam Garrett |
1954 | Two Guns and a Badge | Deputy Jim Blake |
1954 | Port of Hell | Stanley Povich |
1953 | Fighting Lawman | Deputy Marshal Jim Burke |
1953 | Texas Bad Man | Walt |
1953 | The Marksman | Deputy Marshal Mike Martin |
1953 | Star of Texas | Texas Ranger Ed Ryan / Robert Larkin |
1952 | Arctic Flight | Mike Wien |
1952 | Desert Pursuit | Ford Smith |
1951 | The Bushwhackers | Marshal John Harding |
1951 | Yellow Fin | Mike Donovan |
1951 | The Big Gusher | Kenny Blake |
1950 | Johnny One-Eye | Dane Cory |
1950 | Stage to Tucson | Barney Broderick |
1950 | Sierra Passage | Johnny Yorke |
1950 | The Tougher They Come | Bill Shaw |
1949 | Task Force | McKinney |
1949 | A Kiss in the Dark | Bruce Arnold |
1949 | The House Across the Street | Dave Joslin |
1949 | John Loves Mary | Lt. Victor O'Leary |
1949 | The Younger Brothers | Cole Younger |
1949 | Breakdowns of 1949 | Self |
1948 | The Ed Sullivan Show | Self |
1948 | The Time of Your Life | Tom |
1948 | The Big Punch | Chris Thorgenson |
1947 | Deep Valley | Jeff Barker |
1947 | The Voice of the Turtle | Comm. Ned Burling |
1947 | So You Want to Be in Pictures | Himself (uncredited) |
1947 | Blow-Ups of 1947 | Self |
1941 | The Smiling Ghost | Alexander "Lucky" Downing |
1941 | I Wanted Wings | Tom Cassidy |
1941 | Bad Men of Missouri | Bob Younger |
1941 | Three Sons o' Guns | Charley Patterson |
1940 | An Angel from Texas | Mac McClure |
1940 | Flight Angels | Artie Dixon |
1940 | Gambling on the High Seas | Jim Carter |
1940 | Brother Rat and a Baby | Billy Randolph |
1940 | Double Alibi | Stephen Wayne |
1940 | Ladies Must Live | Corey Lake |
1940 | The Quarterback | Jimmy Jones and Billy Jones |
1939 | The Return of Doctor X | Walter Wichita Garrett |
1939 | The Kid from Kokomo | Homer Baston |
1938 | Men Are Such Fools | Jimmy Hall |
1938 | Valley of the Giants | Bill Cardigan |
1938 | Love, Honor and Behave | Ted Painter |
1938 | Out Where the Stars Begin | Wayne Morris |
1938 | The Kid Comes Back | Rush Conway |
1938 | Brother Rat | Billy Randolph |
1937 | Kid Galahad | Ward 'Kid Galahad' Guisenberry |
1937 | Smart Blonde | Railroad Information Clerk (uncredited) |
1937 | Submarine D-1 | "Sock" McGillis |
1937 | Once a Doctor | Sailor on Nirvana |
1937 | Land Beyond the Law | Dave Seymour |
1937 | Under Southern Stars | Dallas |
1936 | China Clipper | Navigator on Clipper |
1936 | King of Hockey | Bill "Jumbo" Mullins |
1936 | Here Comes Carter | Bill |
1936 | Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1) | Self |
1936 | Polo Joe | Spectator (uncredited) |
Year | Movie / TV show / Other | Role |
---|---|---|
1950 | Sierra Passage | Associate Producer |