Garrett Morris

Garrett Isaac Morris (born February 1, 1937) is an American actor, comedian and singer. He was part of the original cast and was the first Black cast member of the sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live, appearing from 1975 to 1980. Morris played the character Jimmy on The Jeffersons (1983–1984), and starred as Junior "Uncle Junior" King on the sitcom The Jamie Foxx Show, which aired from 1996 to 2001. He later portrayed Earl Washington on the CBS sitcom 2 Broke Girls, from 2011 to 2017.

Morris is also known for his role in the sitcom Martin as Stan Winters, from 1992 to 1995, until he suffered an injury. He made two guest appearances on The Wayans Bros. in season one, episode one as himself and again on episode ten as the brothers' uncle Leon (1995). He played a concerned teacher in the film Cooley High (1975), Slide in Car Wash (1976), and Carl in The Census Taker (1984). In 2024, Morris was honored with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Early life and education Morris was born on February 1, 1937, in New Orleans, Louisiana, and grew up in the poverty-stricken Gert Town neighborhood. A church-choir singer from his youth, he trained at the Juilliard School of Music and graduated from Dillard University in 1958. Early in his career, he performed with The Belafonte Folk Singers. In 1960, Morris recorded South African Freedom Songs (EPC-601) with Pete Seeger and Guy Carawan for Folkways Records.

Saturday Night Live Morris had written a play that Lorne Michaels read and liked, which got Morris hired on as a writer for a program he was developing for Saturday night. Morris was asked about bringing in black actors to potentially serve as cast members, such as asking Bill Duke. Duke wasn't cast, but a suggestion by those who were cast led Michaels to view a film that had Morris in it, Cooley High, which Morris later stated "played a hand" in getting him cast on Saturday Night Live, as produced by Michaels.

Periodically on SNL he sang classical music: once a Mozart aria "Dalla Sua Pace", Don Ottavio's aria from Don Giovanni when guest-host Walter Matthau designated him as a "musical guest...in place of the usual crap", and once a Schubert lied while the titles on the screen expressed his colleagues' purported displeasure at having to accommodate a misguided request by him. In February 1977, he sang Tchaikovsky's Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt barefoot in colorful Caribbean dress while subtitles explained he had just returned from Jamaica where he had picked up a girl by claiming to be Harry Belafonte.

One of Morris' best known characters on SNL was the Dominican baseball player Chico Escuela. Chico spoke only limited and halting English, so the joke centered on his responding to almost any question with his catch phrase: "Baseball... been berra berra good... to me". Another recurring bit, used in the newscast segment Weekend Update, involved Morris being presented as "Headmaster of the New York School for the hard of hearing" and assisting the newscaster by shouting the main headlines, in a parody of the then-common practice of providing sign language interpretation in an inset on the screen as an aid to the deaf viewer.

According to the book Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live, Morris was frequently unhappy during his tenure on SNL from 1975 to 1980, and expressed the opinion that he was usually typecast in stereotypical roles.

Black performers who have followed Morris on SNL have at times been publicly concerned with experiencing the same fate Morris did. Eddie Murphy, for example, told TV Guide in the early 1980s that SNL producer Jean Doumanian "had tried to Garrett Morris me".

Morris, then at 38, was the eldest of the original cast members when SNL debuted in 1975. He is also the eldest surviving cast member.

Recurring characters Chico Escuela, a Dominican baseball player for the New York Mets Cliff, the streetwise friend to the Festrunk Brothers (Dan Aykroyd and Steve Martin) Grant Robinson Jr., one of The Nerds Hodo, one of Miles Cowperthwaite's cronies Merkon, the leader of the Coneheads Weekend Update 's "News for the Hard of Hearing" translator, who simply repeated each line while shouting with his hands cupped around his mouth.

Career

Theater

He performed in a number of Broadway musicals, including Hallelujah, Baby! and Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death. In 1965, he worked alongside Amiri Baraka, Sun Ra, Albert Ayler and Sonia Sanchez at the Black Arts Repertory Theatre/School in Harlem; during this period, the theater was frequently raided and surveilled by the New York City Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Television

In 1971, he had a small role as a police sergeant in The Anderson Tapes and was a cast member in the short-lived CBS sitcom, Roll Out. He also appeared as a high school teacher in the 1975 film Cooley High. In 1976, Morris appeared in the film Car Wash, playing the role of Slide the bookmaker. In 1983 and 1984, Morris appeared in five episodes of The Jeffersons, playing a character named Jimmy. He starred in the 1984 film The Census Taker, a 1984 black comedy directed by Bruce R. Cook.

In 1985, he guested on Murder, She Wrote as Lafayette Duquesne. In 1986, Morris began playing Arnold "Sporty" James, on the NBC cop drama Hunter, starring Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer through 1989. Morris appeared in Married... with Children as Russ, one of Al's poker buddies, in "The Poker Game", in a 1987 season 1 episode and again in the season 3 episode "Requiem for a Dead Barber". He also appeared in the 1992 horror comedy Severed Ties starring Oliver Reed.

Morris also had regular roles on Diff'rent Strokes, The Jeffersons, Hill Street Blues, 227, and Roc. He was a regular cast member on The Jamie Foxx Show, playing Jamie's uncle, Junior King.

In 1998, Morris appeared as himself in the fourth episode of the fifth season of the TV series, Space Ghost Coast to Coast. In 2002, Morris made a cameo appearance on an episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Brittany Murphy. In 2006, Morris reprised his role as "Headmaster of the New York School for the Hard of Hearing" in a cameo on the TV series Family Guy, in the episode "Barely Legal."

In August 2008, Morris played the role of Reverend Pratt in the family comedy drama film, The Longshots, starring Ice Cube and Keke Palmer.

In 2011, Morris had a cameo role as a Catholic priest on the episode "Three Boys" on the Showtime series Shameless. He was cast as Earl in the CBS comedy 2 Broke Girls, which premiered on September 19, 2011. During the second season he faced a lawsuit from the Global Agency accusing him of not paying 10% of his income from the show as agreed. However, a rep from the show stated that he had not actually failed to do so.

He also appears in an episode of USA Network "Psych" on March 27th 2013

In 2018, Morris appeared in the NBC show This Is Us. In 2019, Morris appeared in the fifth episode of A Black Lady Sketch Show, titled "Why Are Her Pies Wet, Lord?" On Howard Stern's radio show on July 20, 1995, Morris said the culprit was imprisoned not for the shooting, but for parole violations for other crimes. In another radio interview, he mentioned that the robber who shot him was eventually convicted and incarcerated. In prison, inmates who happened to be fans of Morris teamed up and beat up the robber in revenge.

At the time of the shooting, Morris was starring on Martin as Martin's first boss, Stan Winters. Morris' shooting rendered him temporarily unable to continue in the role; he was written out of the show by having the character become a national fugitive. The scene where he is about to undergo plastic surgery was shot on the hospital bed Morris occupied while recuperating from the 1994 assault. He made a final appearance as Stan during the show's third season, walking with a cane due to Morris' real injuries, but the reason given for Stan was that he had crashed his car during a police chase.

Film

1980 Garrett appeared in “How to Beat the High Cost of Living” a comedy caper starting Susan Saint James, Jane Curtin, and Jessica Lange. Garrett played the Power and Light Man. In 1985, he appeared in Larry Cohen's science fiction horror film The Stuff, playing cookie magnate Chocolate Chip Charlie, a parody of Famous Amos. In 2015, Morris appeared as a cameo in Ant-Man, referencing an old SNL sketch in which he played the first live-action incarnation of the character. Morris played the town drunk and eventual savior in Children of the Night. (1991)

Commercials

In 2009, Morris appeared in two TV commercials for the Nintendo DS—one featuring Mario Kart DS, and the other featuring Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!. In 2010, Morris appeared in a television commercial for Miller Lite. The national commercial, titled "PopPop", features Morris alongside actors Stacey Dash and Jason Weaver. The commercial takes a light-hearted look at a family relationship with Morris playing the grandfather, PopPop, and Weaver as his grandson. , Morris has appeared in an ad for Orbit gum in the United States.

He also operated and was the host of his own comedy club, The Downtown Comedy Club, in downtown Los Angeles. On February 9, 2007, Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa honored Garrett Morris for his work and contributions to the black community. He declared February 9, 2007, Garrett Morris Day and named The Downtown Comedy Club the official club of Los Angeles.

Other career endeavors

On September 9, 2016, Morris and his family appeared on the ABC's game show Celebrity Family Feud, playing against Alfonso Ribeiro and Ribeiro's friends.

In 2024, Morris was honored with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1970 Where's Poppa? Garrett 1971 The Anderson Tapes Sgt. Everson 1975 Cooley High Mr. Mason 1976 Car Wash Slide 1980 How to Beat the High Cost of Living Power & Light Man 1984 The Census Taker Harvey 1985 The Stuff "Chocolate Chip Charlie" W. Hobbs 1987 Critical Condition Helicopter Junkie The Underachievers Dummont 1989 Dance to Win - 1991 Children of the Night Matty Motorama Andy Blackbird Fly - Short film 1992 Severed Ties Stripes 1993 Coneheads Capt. Orecruiser 1995 Black Scorpion Argyle 1996 Black Rose of Harlem Wisdom Santa with Muscles Clayton Almost Blue Charles 1997 Black Scorpion II Argyle 1999 Twin Falls Idaho Jesus Palmer's Pick-Up Tom Bolza Graham's Diner — 2001 Jackpot Lester Irving How High PCC Agent 2003 Connecting Dots Henry 2005 The Salon Percy 2007 Implanted Kadar Short film Who's Your Caddy? The Reverend Frank Billy Hamilton Amenic Amenic Short film 2008 Dog Gone Police Chief The Longshots Reverend Pratt 2009 Bed Ridden Billings Short film Just Like Family Leroy Sonny Dreamweaver God 2010 Pickin' & Grinnin''' Richard A. Trophey

Valley of the Sun| Joe Let Go| Donuts

Pawn Shop| Rey Freeloaders| Mr. Abaeze 2015 Ant-Man| Cab Driver 2019 Grand-Daddy Day Care'' Arnold

Television Year Title Role Notes 1960 CBS Workshop — Episode: "The Bible Salesman" 1963 General Hospital Mouth Regular cast 1973 Roll Out Wheels− Main cast 1974 Change at 125th Street Janitor Television film 1975–80, 2002, 2015, 2025 Saturday Night Live Himself / cast member Main cast (season 1–5), Brittany Murphy/Nelly, 40th Anniversary Special, 50th Anniversary Special 1978 ABC Weekend Special Frank Episode: "The Seven Wishes of Joanna Peabody" 1980 Easter Fever Jack Voice, television film 1982 Diff'rent Strokes Santa Claus / Mr. Jones Episode: "Santa's Helper" 1983 The Invisible Woman Lt. Greg Larkin Television film 1983–84 The Jeffersons Jimmy Guest (season 9);Recurring cast (season 10) 1984 At Your Service Dwayne Television film Masquerade Froog Episode: "The French Correction" The New Scooby Doo Mysteries Additional voices Season 2 1984–85 It's Your Move Principal Dwight Ellis Recurring cast 1985 Murder, She Wrote Lafayette Duquesne Episode: "Murder to a Jazz Beat" Hill Street Blues Derelict Recurring cast (season 5) The Twilight Zone Jake Episode: "Dealer's Choice" Scarecrow and Mrs. King Asam Ali Shamba Episode: "The Wrong Way Home" Pound Puppies Chief Williams Voice, television film 1986 The Love Boat Gary Samuels Episode: "The Will / Déjà Vu/ The Prediction" New Love, American Style — Episode: "Love and the Teddy" 1986–89 Hunter Arnold "Sporty" James Guest (season 2);Recurring cast (season 3–5) 1987 227 Bob Winslow Episode: "The Working Game" 1987–89 Married... with Children Russ 2 episodes 1988 Who's the Boss? Officer Audette Episode: "Sam's Car" 1991 Earth Angel Joey Television film 1991–92 Roc Wiz Recurring cast (season 1) 1992 Maid for Each Other Harold Brown Television film 1992–95 Martin Stan Winters Main cast (season 1–2); Guest (season 3) 1993 Daddy Dearest Stan Episode: "American We" 1994 ER Edgar Luck Episode: "ER Confidential" 1995 The Wayans Bros. Uncle Leon / Himself 2 episodes Minor Adjustments Willie Episode: "The Ex-Files" Cleghorne! Sidney Carlson Main cast 1996–2001 The Jamie Foxx Show Uncle Junior King Main cast 1997 Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child Buzzard Voice, episode: "Pinocchio" Boston Common Sammy Sutherland Episode: "I.D. Endow" 1998 Space Ghost Coast to Coast Himself Episode: "Cahill" 1999 G vs E Kentucky McQuaid Episode: "Sunday Night Evil" 2000 City of Angels Dr. Frank Hollister Episode: "Prototype" Static Shock Preacher Voice, episode: "Child's Play" Little Richard Carl Rainey Television film 2001 Justice League Al McGee Voice, episode: "In Blackest Night" Pt. 1 According to Jim Lewis Episode: "The Turkey Bowl" The Hughleys Father Roberts Episode: "I'm Dreaming of a Slight Christmas" 2003 Maniac Magee Mr. Cobble Television film 2005 Noah's Arc Rev. Allen 2 episodes 2006 All of Us Uncle Cyrus Episode: "Neesee's Grave Plot" Family Guy Himself Episode: "Barely Legal" 2007 Halfway Home Jimmy the Mailman Episode: "Halfway Impotent" Frangela Dave Television film 2011 Shameless Old Priest Episode: "Three Boys" 2011–17 2 Broke Girls Earl Washington Main cast 2013 Psych Clizby Episode: "100 Clues" 2017 Rhett & Link's Buddy System Ignatius Recurring cast (season 2) 2018 MacGyver Willy Episode: "Mardi Gras Beads + Chair" Scandal Hector Episode: "Army of One" Knight Squad Old Fizzwick Episode: "Working on the Knight Moves" This Is Us Lloyd Recurring cast (season 2);Guest (season 3) 2019 A Black Lady Sketch Show Deacon Jones Episode: "Why Are Her Pies Wet, Lord?" 2020 Family Reunion Grand Sensei Shandu Episode: "Remember When Shaka Got Beat Up?" Station 19 Earl Davis Episode: "Poor Wandering One" Self Made Cleophus Walker Main cast 2021 Fairfax Albert Voice role;Episode: "Fairfolks" Grand Crew Narrator Episode: "Pilot" 2023 How I Met Your Father Julian Episode: "Midwife Crisis" 2025 The Neighborhood Jasper Episode: "Welcome to the Yippedy-Dip"