What Was Harry Morgan's Net Worth?
Harry Morgan was an American actor and director who had a net worth of $10 million at the time of his death in 2011. Harry Morgan was probably best known for starring as Officer Bill Gannon on the NBC series "Dragnet" (1967–1970) and Colonel Sherman T. Potter on the CBS series "M*A*S*H" (1975–1983) and "AfterMASH"(1983–1985). He also played Pete Porter on the CBS sitcoms "December Bride" (1954–1959) and "Pete and Gladys" (1960–1962) and Amos Coogan on NBC's "Hec Ramsey" (1972–1974).
Harry was an Emmy-winning actor, and he had more than 160 acting credits to his name, including the films "The Ox-Bow Incident" (1943), "Wing and a Prayer" (1944), "All My Sons" (1948), "Madame Bovary" (1949), "High Noon" (1952), "Inherit the Wind" (1960), "How the West Was Won" (1962), and "The Apple Dumpling Gang" (1975) and the television series "The Richard Boone Show" (1963–1964), "Kentucky Jones" (1964–1965), "The D.A." (1971), "Gunsmoke" (1970–1975), "The Love Boat" (1978–1985), and "Blacke's Magic" (1986). He directed episodes of "M*A*S*H," "Hec Ramsey," "The Richard Boone Show," and "The D.A." as well as "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" (1964–1965) and "Adam-12" (1969). Morgan also performed on Broadway, appearing in productions of "Golden Boy" (1937–1938), "The Gentle People" (1939), "My Heart's in the Highlands" (1939), "Thunder Rock" (1939), "Night Music" (1940), "Heavenly Express" (1940), "The Cream in the Well" (1941), and "The Night Before Christmas" (1941). Harry passed away on December 7, 2011, at the age of 96 from pneumonia.
Early Life
Harry Morgan was born Harry Bratsberg on April 10, 1915, in Detroit, Michigan. His parents, Henry and Hannah, were of Norwegian and Swedish heritage. Harry grew up with siblings Arnold and Marguerite in Muskegon, Michigan, and he attended Muskegon High School, where he was a statewide debating champion. After graduating in 1933, Morgan enrolled at the University of Chicago and began acting during his junior year. In 1937, he joined New York City's Group Theatre, which was formed by Lee Strasberg, Cheryl Crawford, and Harold Clurman. Harry appeared in Clifford Odets' "Golden Boy" with the Group Theatre, making his Broadway debut at the Belasco Theatre in 1937. He also took part in summer stock theater at Connecticut's Pine Brook Country Club.
Career
Morgan's first film was 1942's "To the Shores of Tripoli," and he was often credited as "Henry Morgan" during the '40s and '50s. During this period, he appeared in films such as "The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe (1942), "The Omaha Trail" (1942), "The Ox-Bow Incident" (1943), "Wing and a Prayer" (1944), "From This Day Forward" (1946), "The Gangster" (1947), "All My Sons" (1948), "Holiday Affair" (1949), "The Highwayman" (1951), "High Noon" (1952), "Thunder Bay" (1953), "Torch Song" (1953), "The Far Country" (1954), "Under Fire" (1957), and "It Started with a Kiss" (1959). Peter played Pete Porter on the sitcom "December Bride" from 1954 to 1959, and he reprised his role on "Pete and Gladys" from 1960 to 1962. From 1967 to 1970, he starred as Officer Bill Gannon on "Dragnet" (also known as "Dragnet 1967") alongside Jack Webb, and he returned to the role in the 1987 film adaptation. In the '60s, Morgan also appeared in the films "The Mountain Road" (1960), "Cimarron" (1960), "Frankie and Johnny" (1966), "The Flim-Flam Man" (1967), and "Viva Max!" (1969) and played Judge Mel Coffey in "Inherit the Wind" (1960), which earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture – Drama. He portrayed Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in "How the West Was Won" (1962), which received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture.
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Harry played Amos Coogan on "Hec Ramsey" from 1972 to 1974, and from 1975 to 1983, he starred as Colonel Sherman T. Potter on "M*A*S*H," earning a Primetime Emmy Award and numerous nominations for his performance. He reprised the role on the 1983 spin-off "AfterMASH." Morgan appeared in the films "The Barefoot Executive" (1971), "Snowball Express" (1972), "The Apple Dumpling Gang" (1975), "The Shootist"(1976), and "The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again" (1979) and the TV movies "The Wild Wild West Revisited" (1979), "More Wild Wild West" (1980), and Scout's Honor" (1980), and he portrayed President Harry S. Truman in the 1979 miniseries "Backstairs at the White House." In the '90s, Morgan starred in the TV movies "The Incident" (1990), "Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore" (1992), and "Incident in a Small Town" (1994), co-starred with Leslie Nielsen in the film "Family Plan" (1997), and guest-starred on "The Jeff Foxworthy Show" (1995), "Grace Under Fire" (1996), and "Love & Money" (1999). He also had a recurring role as Professor Suter on the NBC sitcom "3rd Rock from the Sun" (1996–1997).
Personal Life
Harry married Eileen Ann Detchon on September 1, 1940, and they welcomed sons Charles, Daniel, Christopher, and Paul together. Sadly, Eileen died in 1985, and Daniel passed away in 1989. A photo of Detchon could be regularly seen on Colonel Sherman T. Potter's desk on "M*A*S*H," and the wife of Morgan's "Dragnet" character was named Eileen. Harry wed Barbara Bushman Quine on December 17, 1986, and they remained married until Morgan's death in December 2011. In 1996, Harry was arrested for attacking Barbara. According to the "Los Angeles Times," when police arrived at the couple's home, Barbara "reportedly had a swollen foot, a quarter-inch cut near her eye and a bruised arm. She was treated by paramedics at the scene and later taken to a hospital for further treatment." The domestic battery charges against Morgan were later dismissed.
Death
On December 7, 2011, Harry died in his sleep in Los Angeles at the age of 96 after recently being treated for pneumonia. Morgan was cremated, and his ashes were given to his family. After Harry's death, his "M*A*S*H" co-star Mike Farrell stated, "He was a wonderful man, a fabulous actor and a dear and close friend since the first day we worked together. As Alan [Alda] said, he did not have an unadorable bone in his body. He was a treasure as a person, an imp at times, and always a true professional. He had worked with the greats and never saw himself as one of them. But he was. He was the rock everyone depended on and yet he could cut up like a kid when the situation warranted it. He was the apotheosis, the finest example of what people call a 'character actor.' What he brought to the work made everyone better. He made those who are thought of as 'stars' shine even more brightly. The love and admiration we all felt for him were returned tenfold in many, many ways."
Awards and Nominations
Morgan earned 11 Primetime Emmy nominations, nine as an actor on "M*A*S*H," one as a director on "M*A*S*H," and one for "December Bride." He won for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Variety or Music Series for "M*A*S*H" in 1980. Harry received a Directors Guild of America Award nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series for "M*A*S*H" in 1982. He won a National Board of Review Award for Best Actor for "Happy Land" and "The Ox-Bow Incident" in 1943, and he was honored with a Golden Boot at the 1998 Golden Boot Awards. In 2006, Morgan and his late "Dragnet" co-star Jack Webb won a TV Land Award for Coolest Crime Fighting Team, and Harry was inducted into the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum's Hall of Great Western Performers.
