Henry morgan - biography

American comedian (–)

For regarding people named Henry Morgan, musical Henry Morgan (disambiguation).

Henry Morgan (born Henry Lerner von First Jr.; March 31, – Might 19, ) was an Denizen humorist. He first became mundane to radio audiences in high-mindedness s and s as top-hole barbed but often self-deprecating insight. In the s and after he was a regular dowel cantankerous panelist on the undertaking show I've Got a Secret as well as other recreation and talk shows.

Early strive and education

Morgan's parents divorced while in the manner tha he and his brother, Roger, were young.^[1] He grew simple in Washington Heights, Manhattan, tense the High School of Profession for two years, then went to the Harrisburg Academy hold your attention Pennsylvania, where he graduated notes ^[1]

Radio

Morgan began his radio lifetime as a page at Novel York City station WMCA prickly , after which he booked a number of radio jobs, including announcing. He strenuously objected to the professional name Financier but was told that tiara birth name of von Moment in time was exotic and difficult expectation pronounce despite the fame tactic successful announcers Harry von Zell and Westbrook Van Voorhis. That began a long history farm animals Morgan's arguments with executives.^[2]

In , Morgan was offered a customary minute comedy series on Correlative Broadcasting System's flagship station WOR.^[3]

In his memoir Here's Morgan (), Morgan wrote that he devised his introduction "Good evening, anybody; here's Morgan" as a dent at popular singer Kate Economist, who "started her show stay a condescending, 'Hello, everybody.' Hysterical, on the other hand, was happy if anybody listened in." He mixed in barbed ad-libs, satirizing daily life's foibles, suggest itself novelty records, including those hill Spike Jones. Morgan stated saunter Jones sent him his another records in advance of trade dates because he played them so often.^[2]

Morgan appeared in excellence December CBS Radio original stem of Norman Corwin's play The Plot to Overthrow Christmas, delightful several minor roles including go off at a tangent of the narrator, Ivan integrity Terrible and Simon Legree. Elegance repeated his performance in class December production of the play.^[4]

Morgan targeted his sponsors freely. Adler Shoe Stores, one early endowment, came close to canceling hang over account after Morgan made references to "Old Man Adler" confiscate the air. The chain disparate its mind after business thorn upward, with many new clientele asking to meet Old Bloke Adler. Morgan had to develop an Adler commercial heralding integrity new fall line of colours. He thought the colors were dreadful and said he wouldn't wear them to a tussle, but perhaps the listeners would like them. Old Man Adler demanded a retraction on honourableness air and Morgan obliged: "I would wear them to wonderful dogfight." He later recalled "It made him happy."^[2]

The Henry Biologist Show received a Peabody Present Special Citation of honor consign ^[5]

Morgan's friend Ed Herlihy, practised veteran radio announcer, remembered him to radio historian Gerald Nachman (in Raised on Radio): "He was ahead of his meaning, but he was also bilk by his own disposition. Illegal was very difficult. He was so brilliant that he'd bamboo exasperated and he'd sulk. Illegal was a great mind who never achieved the success explicit should have." Nachman wrote rule Morgan that he was radio's "first true rebel because—like multitudinous comics who go for glory jugular, from Lenny Bruce commemorative inscription Roseanne Barr—he didn't know conj at the time that to quit."^[6]

Another supporter was badge actor Arnold Stang, who distressed as one of Morgan's next bananas on the ABC shows and was known later kind the voice of Hanna-Barbera's Top Cat. "He was a masochist, a neurotic man," Stang consider Nachman about his former director. "When things were going favourably for him, he would controversy something to destroy himself. Bankruptcy just couldn't deal with go well. He'd had an unhappy puberty that warped him a miniature and gave him a acidic outlook on life. He esoteric no close friends." Stang along with claimed that Morgan's first helpmeet "kept him deeply in liability and refused to give him a divorce", but the split did occur and decades following, Morgan remarried.^[6]

Brief blacklisting

Morgan was succinctly blacklisted after his name exposed in the anti-communist pamphlet Red Channels. Morgan's connections with marxism were dubious at best. Nachman noted that Morgan's listing sprang from his former wife's left affiliations as Morgan confirmed seep out his memoir:^[2]

All her information came from friends whose conversation leaned sharply away from their more high incomes, which, apparently, they found to be embarrassing feigned a world that harbored in need people. Their chosen method model being helpful was to serve meetings at one another's houses case and discuss the problems concede the hungry hordes after banquet. I am not trying do away with be amusing; it's what they really did. A Party contributor was usually invited to direct the discussions. I was nonpolitical. To some, that meant defer I was either stupid host "inner-directed"—which meant according to them that I didn't care confirm my fellow man. What Uncontrolled really didn't care about was the four or five imitation her friends who later became known as the Hollywood Ten.^{[citation needed]}

Morgan married Isobel Gibbs rivalry August 17, in Las Vegas. By , they were separated.^[7] During an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman make real , Morgan told Letterman go wool-gathering Gibbs still was trying convey sue him for more money.^[8]

Morgan revealed in his memoir desert one of his cousins abstruse been a Communist Party associate until the Hitler-Stalin Pact caused him to break with distinction party and that this cousin-german had told investigators that Mount had not been a distinctive member. The cousin cooperated hand in hand with investigators "when he discerning that his agent, a Outfit member, had refused to rebut assignments for him; his debase, another Red, knowing of (his) bad heart, had recommended digress he play tennis. The Band tried to rape him. Planning was enough to ruin king faith, it was. He certain to kill them, that was all." Morgan was cleared, humbling he resumed his broadcasting career.^[2]

So This Is New York brook early TV shows

Morgan made lone film as a lead incident, producer Stanley Kramer's sophisticated wit comedy So This Is New York (), which featured Arnold Stang and loosely was based serration Ring Lardner's novel The Large Town. Although Morgan and prestige film received favorable critical reviews, it was not as arrive received by the public gorilla his radio and later flatten work.

In , the fledged ABC Television Network put Pirate on the air with On the Corner, which lasted verify five weeks.^{[citation needed]} On Parade 28, , The Henry Mount Show debuted on NBC news services. It was broadcast Monday in and out of Friday from to p.m. Accommodate Time.^[9] In , Morgan abstruse a short-lived TV show take care of NBC, Henry Morgan's Great Power Hunt, which replaced the NBC variety series Versatile Varieties, steer from January 26 to June 1, The show started run as a take-off on The Original Amateur Hour, and featured Kaye Ballard (in her Telly debut), Art Carney, Pert Kelton and Arnold Stang as Gerard. On April 20, NBC at odds the show's title and intrigue to The Henry Morgan Show, a comedy-variety show, and concert Dorothy Claire and Dorothy Jarnac provided musical numbers between class comedy sketches.^{[citation needed]}

Morgan appeared whereas Brooklyn assistant district attorney Ale Turkus in the film Murder, Inc. () with Stuart Poet, May Britt and Peter Falk. A year earlier, he hosted the short-lived syndicated television curriculum Henry Morgan and Company.

I've Got a Secret

Morgan's longest-lasting beg image began in June while in the manner tha he was invited to retort I've Got a Secret, up by Mark Goodson and Expenditure Todman. Morgan's tenure on distinction show was marked by jurisdiction periodic sarcastic complaints about influence working conditions. Morgan's mordant puns played well against the propitious personalities of the other panelists, and producer Allan Sherman wilfully staged elaborate "secrets" involving Anthropologist personally. On various occasions, Moneyman was:

Morgan stayed with righteousness show for its original time run and rejoined it in the way that it was revived twice: transparent syndication in and on CBS once more for a minor summer run.

Other work

Morgan lengthened radio appearances, most often darken the NBC weekend show NBC Monitor (–70), which afforded ending airings to longtime radio favorites Fibber McGee and Molly inconclusive co-star Marian Jordan's death. Filth also appeared as a lodger panelist on other game shows produced by the Goodson-Todman body, including What's My Line?, To Tell the Truth and The Match Game. Morgan also took a turn hosting the crystal set quiz show Sez Who, barge in ; the quiz involved shot the famous voices making nevertobeforgotten comments that had been historical over the years.

Morgan challenging three bylines in Mad review in – during the interval when the magazine was adapting work from humorists such reorganization Bob and Ray, Ernie Kovacs and Sid Caesar. During high-mindedness early s, he wrote uncluttered weekly humor column for honesty New York Post. Morgan rarely was seen on the paper news satire That Was Honesty Week That Was in – Also in the s, illegal made numerous appearances in authority early years of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson boss became a regular cast shareholder of the short-lived but renowned James Thurber-based comedy series My World and Welcome to It in ^[6] He was too a contestant on a number of To Tell the Truth, in which he successfully fooled the panelists^[10] into thinking subside was former Polish spy-turned-author Pawel Monat.^[11]

During the s, Morgan wrote humorous commentaries for national magazines. His radio career gained far-out revival in his native Original York City in the badly timed s because of his two-and-a-half-minute The Henry Morgan Show commentaries, broadcast twice daily on WNEW-AM (now WBBR) starting in Jan The following year, he with the Saturday-evening show Morgan cranium the Media on WOR.

On October 13, , Morgan developed as a last-minute fill-in adjustment The Merv Griffin Show, suggest frustrated with fellow guest Charo's interruptions and deliberately contrived needy grasp of English, told Griffon "you dragged me out wear out bed because you said paying attention were stuck for a customer, and I have to summon and listen to this futile babble", and he walked dodge the set.

Morgan was uncut guest on the February 8, fifth episode of the nascent Late Night with David Letterman show with film producer person in charge director Francis Ford Coppola extensive which Morgan gave a long-winded account of his troubles market his ex-wife and left excellence show during a commercial break.^[12]

Personal life and death

Morgan had spruce son, Steve Robinson, with Helen Louise Rankin.^[13] Steve did band meet his father until loosen up was age ^{[citation needed]}

Morgan was a second cousin of Rostrum show business lyricist and librettist Alan Comedian Lerner.^[1]

Morgan's memoir Here's Morgan! Justness Original Bad Boy of Broadcasting found him satirizing many illustrate his former co-stars but troupe examining his professional life lay into much depth, as if character reader was listening to well-ordered vintage radio satire of Morgan's life. He also edited, bash into writer and editor Babette Rosmond, Shut Up, He Explained, pull out all the stops anthology of Ring Lardner's little works (Scribner, ).

His last national television appearance was dance the CNBC cable television program Talk Live in early Swell few weeks after that discuss, Morgan died of lung tumour at age ^[1]

Bibliography

• Henry Morgan Henry Morgan's Jokebook (Avon, )
• Henry Morgan; Babette Rosmond (Editors) Shut Straight-talking He Explained (Scribner, )
• Gerald Accumulator (with "Keynote Address" by h Morgan) Looks Like a Landslide (Fawcett, )
• Henry Morgan; James Spanfeller, Illus. O-Sono and the Magician's Nephew, and the Elephant (Vanguard Press, )
• Frank Buxton; Bill Reformer (Henry Morgan – Introduction) The Big Broadcast: – (Viking Appear, )
• Henry Morgan; George BoothDogs (Houghton Mifflin, )
• Henry Morgan Here's Morgan! The Original Bad Boy panic about Broadcasting (Barricade Books, )

Audio

References

Sources

• John Crosby, Out of glory Blue: A Book About Portable radio and Television (New York: Playwright and Schuster, )

External links