Dennis Morgan

Dennis Morgan (born Earl Stanley Morner; December 20, 1908 – September 7, 1994) was an American actor-singer. He used the acting pseudonym Richard Stanley before adopting the name under which he gained his greatest fame.

According to one obituary, he was "a twinkly-eyed handsome charmer with a shy smile and a pleasant tenor voice in carefree and inconsequential Warner Bros musicals of the forties, accompanied by Jack Carson." Another said, "for all his undoubted star potential, Morgan was perhaps cast once too often as the likeable, clean-cut, easy-going but essentially uncharismatic young man who typically loses his girl to someone more sexually magnetic." David Shipman said he "was comfortable, good-looking, well-mannered: the antithesis of the gritty Bogart."

Life and career Early life Morgan was born in the village of Prentice in Price County, in northern Wisconsin, the son of Grace J. (née Vandusen) and Frank Edward Morner. He was of Swedish descent on his father's side.

He graduated from Marshfield Senior High in Marshfield WI. He enrolled at Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin, as a member of the 1930 graduating class. He was awarded the Carroll College Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1983.

Early career He joined a troupe of performers at the State Lake Theatre in Chicago, and toured the midwest in Faust. He landed a job as a featured singer in the Empire Room of the famous Palmer House hotel in Chicago. He remained in Chicago as a radio announcer at the NBC Radio affiliate in Milwaukee, and went on to broadcast Green Bay Packers football games.

Stanley Morner at MGM In 1936, after relocating to Los Angeles, Morgan began appearing in films. He signed a contract with MGM as "Stanley Morner". Unbilled, he lip synced for Allan Jones singing the Irving Berlin song, A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody, in The Great Ziegfeld (1936).

He was billed as "Stanley Morner" in Suzy (1936) and could be seen in Piccadilly Jim (1936), and Old Hutch (1936). He was given supporting roles in Mama Steps Out (1937) and Song of the City (1937) but went back to small parts in Navy Blue and Gold (1937).

He was back with Carson for Two Guys from Texas (1948) then made One Sunday Afternoon (1948) with Janis Paige. He and Carson were in It's a Great Feeling (1949) with Doris Day. Exhibitors voted him the 21st most popular star in the US for 1948.

Morgan made The Lady Takes a Sailor (1949) then Perfect Strangers (1950) with Rogers and Pretty Baby (1950) with Betsy Drake. He made a Western Raton Pass (1950), and a musical Painting the Clouds with Sunshine (1951). He supported Joan Crawford in This Woman Is Dangerous (1952).

Jack L. Warner wanted to terminate Dennis Morgan's expensive contract with Warner Bros., and assigned Morgan to Cattle Town (1952), a quickie western to be produced by B-movie specialist Bryan Foy. The director was silent-era veteran Noel M. Smith, known as a fast-and-cheap director who staged reckless action scenes. Jack Warner was certain that Morgan would refuse the strenuous assignment and break the contract, but Morgan refused to forfeit his salary. He reported for work as scheduled, made the film for Smith, and collected his customary salary. After that his contract with Warners ended. Morgan later said, "My mistake was, I stayed at one studio too long. Another mistake: I turned down early television, believing then... that people should pay to see us." In 1963, he portrayed Dr. Clay Maitland in "The Old Man and the City" on NBC's The Dick Powell Theater. He performed with the Milwaukee Symphony and on the summer stage circuit.

He returned to films with Rogue's Gallery (1967). In 1968, he was cast as Dennis Roberts in the episode "Bye, Bye, Doctor" of the CBS sitcom, Petticoat Junction, and he played a cameo as a Hollywood tour guide in the all-star comedy Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood in 1976. His final screen performance was on March 1, 1980, as Steve Brian in the episode "Another Time, Another Place/Doctor Who/Gopher's Engagement" of ABC's The Love Boat.

Personal life Morgan married Lillian Vedder in Marshfield, Wisconsin, on September 7, 1933. The couple had three children: Stanley Morner Jr., Krista Kennedy, and Jim Morner. After his retirement as an actor in the late 1960s, Morgan became a rancher in Madera County, California. The station wagon they were driving in drifted off Interstate 580 southwest of Tracy, California, went over a 50-foot embankment and burst into flames. The couple were pulled from the wreckage by passers-by; they suffered severe injuries and recovered in a nearby hospital.

Morgan was a staunch Republican and a member of the Sierra Vista Presbyterian Church in Oakhurst, California.

Death After being ill with heart problems for some time, Morgan died September 7, 1994, of respiratory failure in Fresno, California.

Features Jealousy (1929) as Hugo (credited as Stanley Morner) True to the Navy (1930) as Bob Oldfield (credited as Stanley "Tiny" Morner) Anybody's Woman (1930) as Nick Stephenson (credited as Stan Morner) They Call It Sin (1932) as Gregory Russell (credited as Jack Morner) I Conquer the Sea! (1936) as Tommy Ashley The Great Ziegfeld (1936) as Stage Singer in 'Pretty Girl' Number (uncredited) Suzy (1936) as Lieutenant Piccadilly Jim (1936) as Chrystal Club Singer (uncredited) Old Hutch (1936) as Passerby at Fishing Lake (uncredited) Mama Steps Out (1937) as Chuck Thompson Song of the City (1937) as Tommy Navy Blue and Gold (1937) as Marine 2nd Lieutenant Men with Wings (1938) as Galton King of Alcatraz (1938) as First Mate Rogers Illegal Traffic (1938) as Cagey Miller Persons in Hiding (1939) as Mike Flagler Waterfront (1939) as James 'Jim' Dolen No Place to Go (1939) as Joe Plummer The Return of Doctor X (1939) as Michael Rhodes The Fighting 69th (1940) as Lieutenant Ames Three Cheers for the Irish (1940) as Angus Ferguson Tear Gas Squad (1940) as Tommy McCabe Flight Angels (1940) as Chick Farber River's End (1940) as John Keith / Sergeant Derry Conniston Kitty Foyle (1940) as Wyn Strafford Affectionately Yours (1941) as Richard 'Rickey' Mayberry Kisses for Breakfast (1941) as Rodney Trask Bad Men of Missouri (1941) as Cole Younger Captains of the Clouds (1942) as Johnny Dutton In This Our Life (1942) as Peter Kingsmill Wings for the Eagle (1942) as Corky Jones The Hard Way (1943) as Paul Collins Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943) as Tommy Randolph The Desert Song (1943) as Paul Hudson / El Khobar Shine On, Harvest Moon (1944) as Jack Norworth The Very Thought of You (1944) as Sergeant David Stewart Hollywood Canteen (1944) as himself God Is My Co-Pilot (1945) as Colonel Robert Lee Scott Christmas in Connecticut (1945) as Jefferson Jones One More Tomorrow (1946) as Thomas Rufus 'Tom' Collier III Two Guys from Milwaukee (1946) as Prince Henry The Time, the Place and the Girl (1946) as Steven Ross Cheyenne (1947) as James Wylie Always Together (1947) as The Bridegroom (uncredited) My Wild Irish Rose (1947) as Chauncey Olcott To the Victor (1948) as Paul Taggart Two Guys from Texas (1948) as Steve Carroll One Sunday Afternoon (1948) as Timothy L. 'Biff' Grimes It's a Great Feeling (1949) as Dennis Morgan The Lady Takes a Sailor (1949) as Bill Craig Perfect Strangers (1950) as David Campbell Pretty Baby (1950) as Sam Morley Raton Pass (1951) as Marc Challon Painting the Clouds with Sunshine (1951) as Vince Nichols This Woman Is Dangerous (1952) as Dr. Ben Halleck Cattle Town (1952) as Mike McGann (last film for Warner Bros.) Pearl of the South Pacific (1955) as Dan Merrill The Gun That Won the West (1955) as Jim Bridger Uranium Boom (1956) as Brad Collins Rogue's Gallery (1968) as Dr. Jonas Pettingill Busby Berkeley (1974) as himself (documentary) Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976) as Tour Guide

Short subjects Annie Laurie (1936) as William Douglas Ride, Cowboy, Ride (1939) as Dinny Logan The Singing Dude (1940) as Rusty March On, Marines (1940) as Bob Lansing Stars on Horseback (1943) as himself (uncredited) The Shining Future (1944) as himself Road to Victory (1944) as himself (uncredited) I Am an American (1944) as himself (uncredited) Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Goes to Bat (1950) as himself

Selected television appearances Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1958) (Season 3 Episode 26: "Bull in a China Shop") as Detective Dennis O'Finn

Radio Year !! Program !! Episode/source

This Woman Is Dangerous In 1949, as "honorary mayor" of La Crescenta, representing Two Strike Series, Inc., he "offered to donate five acres of land for the park if the County of Los Angeles would purchase two more adjoining acres to complete the initial parcel. In 1950, the Board of Supervisors responded with an additional 3.54 acres of parkland."

Morgan dedicated Two Strike Park on July 4, 1959, named for his belief that "a kid forced to play in the streets, with no place to play, already has two strikes against him".

Wisconsin Hall of fame In 1983, Morgan, along with his film pal, Jack Carson, who had died in 1963, were inducted into the Wisconsin Performing Artists Hall of Fame.