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Rise to Fame
Harry Morgan spent decades as the guy you recognized without knowing his name. He left his pre-law studies at the University of Chicago for a 1937 Broadway debut, then spent 15 years in film noir and westerns. Dragnet changed the trajectory: he played Officer Bill Gannon opposite Jack Webb from 1967 to 1970. When MASH* needed to replace McLean Stevenson in 1975, Morgan came in as Colonel Potter and won an Emmy in 1980. After nearly 40 years of steady work in other people's shows, Potter finally made Morgan the name people knew.
In the Spotlight
Morgan's reputation wasn't built on leads. He played the guy who made leads look better, and did it across nine TV series and over 50 films. The AfterMASH spinoff didn't last, but Colonel Potter didn't need it. The role had already established Morgan as the benchmark for how to play a commanding officer with warmth instead of bluster. Asked at the end of MASH*'s run whether the show had made him a better actor, he said he didn't know, but it had made him a better human being.
Side Notes
Born Harry Bratsberg in Detroit, he got a studio name that created its own problem: Henry Morgan was already the name of a popular radio comedian. So the studio changed it to Harry. Both Morgans were born ten days apart in 1915, and neither was born with the surname. The other overlap worth knowing: Morgan had already appeared with Jack Webb in three film noir movies before they re-teamed for Dragnet, so their famous partnership was a reunion rather than a gamble. When MASH* scripts called for Colonel Potter to be seen painting, those canvases were Morgan's own work.
Final Chapter
Morgan died in his sleep at his Brentwood home. Mike Farrell released a statement calling him 'the apotheosis of what people call a character actor.' The Washington Post credited him with embodying the craft of character acting across six decades. His remains were cremated and given to his family.