What is Garrett Morris' Net Worth?
Garrett Morris is an American comedian, actor, and singer who has a net worth of $1 million. Morris is best known for being one of the original cast members of "Saturday Night Live," appearing on the show from 1975 to 1980. He also played Stan Winters on "Martin" (1992–1995), Uncle Junior King on "The Jamie Foxx Show" (1996–2001), and Earl Washington on "2 Broke Girls" (2011–2017). Garrett has more than 100 film and television credits to his name, including "Cooley High" (1975), "Car Wash" (1976), "Coneheads" (1993), "How High" (2001), "The Longshots" (2008), "The Jeffersons" (1983–1984), and "Hunter" (1986–1989). He has appeared on Broadway in "Hallelujah, Baby!," "I'm Solomon," "Operation Sidewinder," "Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death," and "What the Wine-Sellers Buy," and he released the album "Saturday Night Sweet" in 1980.
Early Life
Garrett Morris was born Garrett Isaac Morris on February 1, 1937, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Garrett's mother was 16 years old when he was born, and in a 2014 interview with CBS News, Morris revealed that the pregnancy was the result of a rape. Garrett's grandfather was a preacher at a Methodist church, and he got Morris interested in the blues. Garrett has said that he "was singing the gospel AND the blues by the time [he] was four or five." Morris attended the Juilliard School of Music and Dillard University, graduating in 1958. In the late '50s, he moved to New York and performed with the Harry Belafonte Singers. In the mid-'60s, Garrett was involved with Harlem's Black Arts Repertory Theatre/School, and it was often raided by the FBI and NYPD.
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Career
Morris made his television debut in a 1960 episode of "CBS Repertoire Workshop," followed by a guest-starring role on "General Hospital" in 1963. His first movie was 1970's "Where's Poppa?," then he appeared in the film "The Anderson Tapes" (1971), the CBS sitcom "Roll Out" (1973), and the TV movie "Change at 125th Street" (1974). In 1975, Garrett got his big break when he was cast on the new NBC sketch comedy series "Saturday Night Live." He spent five seasons on the show and was known for characters like Dominican baseball player Chico Escuela, Grant Robinson, Jr. in "The Nerds" sketches, and Merkon the Conehead. He also did impersonations of Bob Marley, Diana Ross, Hank Aaron, James Brown, Martin Luther King, Jr., Muhammad Ali, Richard Pryor, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Tina Turner.
In the '80s, Morris appeared in the films "How to Beat the High Cost of Living" (1980), "The Census Taker" (1984), "The Stuff" (1985), "Critical Condition" (1987), and "The Underachievers" (1987) and guest-starred on "Diff'rent Strokes" (1982), "Murder, She Wrote" (1985), "The Twilight Zone" (1985), "The Love Boat" (1986), "227" (1987), and "Married… with Children" (1987; 1989). From 1983 to 1984, he appeared in five episodes of "The Jeffersons," and from 1986 to 1989, he played Sporty James in 28 episodes of the NBC crime drama "Hunter." Garrett appeared in 10 films during the '90s, including "Children of the Night" (1991), "Black Scorpion" (1995), and "Twin Falls Idaho" (1999), and he guest-starred on "ER" (1994), "The Wayans Bros." (1995), "Boston Common" (1997), and "Space Ghost Coast to Coast" (1998). He had a recurring role as Wiz on "Roc" from 1991 to 1992, and he appeared in 55 episodes of "Martin" from 1992 to 1995 and 100 episodes of "The Jamie Foxx Show" from 1996 to 2001.
Morris appeared in the films "Jackpot" (2001) and Who's Your Caddy?" (2007), and he co-starred with Ice Cube and Keke Palmer in 2008's "The Longshots." He portrayed preacher Carl Rainey in the 2000 TV movie "Little Richard," then he guest-starred on "According to Jim" (2001), "The Hughleys" (2001), "All of Us" (2006), and "Shameless" (2011). From 2011 to 2017, Garrett played Earl Washington on the CBS sitcom "2 Broke Girls," appearing in 138 episodes. While starring on "2 Broke Girls," Morris appeared in the films "Pawn Shop" (2012), "Freeloaders" (2015), and "Ant-Man" (2015) and guest-starred on "Psych" (2013). He competed against Alfonso Ribeiro on "Celebrity Family Feud" in 2016, and in recent years, he has appeared in the film "Grand-Daddy Day Care" (2019) and the television shows "MacGyver" (2018), "This Is Us" (2018), "Scandal" (2018), "A Black Lady Sketch Show" (2019), "Station 19" (2020), and "Self Made" (2020).
Personal Life
Garrett married a former dancer named Freda on September 20, 1996. The couple separated in 2002, and Morris filed for divorce in 2008.
In 1994, Garrett was shot in South Central Los Angeles during an attempted mugging. The bullet lodged in his spine, and his friend Bobby Lee Rhodden took him to Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital. When they arrived at the hospital, Morris "had no discernible blood pressure" and underwent surgery to stabilize his condition before surgeons were able to remove the bullet. Garrett spent more than a month in the hospital and filmed a scene for "Martin" from his hospital bed. Morris has undergone at least eight surgeries related to the shooting.
While appearing on the podcast "WTF with Marc Maron" in 2016, Garrett revealed that the shooter was eventually arrested and convicted and that some of his incarcerated fans beat the man up in prison.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa honored Morris for "his work and contributions to the black community" on February 9, 2007, and declared the day "Garrett Morris Day." Villaraigosa also named The Downtown Comedy Club, which was co-owned by Morris and Kevin Garnier, the official club of Los Angeles. The club later moved to a new location and was renamed Garrett Morris' Downtown Blues & Comedy Club.
Award Nominations
In 1979, "Saturday Night Live" was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Program; Morris shared the nomination with Lorne Michaels, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Bill Murray, Laraine Newman, and Gilda Radner. In 2002, Garrett earned a Film Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Male for "Jackpot."
Real Estate
In 1999, Morris paid $273,500 for a 1,308 square foot home in the Burbank area of Los Angeles. The home includes three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
