American actor Howard Morris was born in New York City, NY, on September 4, 1919. His performances as Ernest T. Bass and George on The Andy Griffith Show made him most famous.
He also had a successful voice acting career, featuring in 50 episodes of the animated series Beetle Bailey in the 1960s.
Howard Morris Profile Summary
- Name: Howard Morris
- Date of Birth: September 4, 1919
- Place of Birth: New York
- Profession: Acting
- Wife: Married
- Net Worth: $1-12 million
Howard Morris Early Life
The Bronx, New York, welcomed Howard Jerome Morris into the world on September 4, 1919. His ancestors were Jewish. Hugo Morris, his father, was an executive for a rubber manufacturer. Elsie, his mother, was a cinema organist.
‘The Depression’ caused Morris’ father to lose his work, and a short time later he passed away from heart failure.
Morris was born with the ability to find comedy in even the most hopeless situations. Howard made a remark regarding his father’s passing and claimed that he had passed away from unemployment.
Morris received a scholarship to attend “New York University,” but he was summoned to active duty during World War II and had to give up his studies.
He served in the ‘United States Army Special Services unit during the conflict as a first sergeant. His leader was the well-known British actor Maurice Evans.
He worked with renowned comic Carl Reiner as well. A company of entertainers was formed specifically to amuse the troops, and Morris and Reiner were a part of it. This made it possible for him to break into comedy and acting.
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Career
Morris started performing in army productions of Shakespeare tragedies during World War II, where he first met Carl Reiner.
Following the war, Morris and Reiner both worked as staff writers and actors for Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows and Caesar’s Hour.
Morris had prominent appearances as a member of the rock group The Haircuts and as the hilarious Uncle Goopy, who appeared in a famous sketch and tenderly grabbed Caesar’s leg and wouldn’t let go.
He continued acting after that, making appearances on shows like Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, Make Room for Daddy, and even the 1967 Tarzan TV series. Along with The Dick Van Dyke Show, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Hogan’s Heroes, and the Get Smart pilot, Morris also directed episodes of The Andy Griffith Show.
He directed the movies Who’s Minding the Mint, With Six You Get Egg Roll, and The Cocoanuts, starring Milton Berle, Donny Osmond, and Marie Osmond. He also created the brief TV series The Corner Bar in 1972.
Morris acted in comedies from the 1960s such as Boys’ Night Out (starring Tony Randall) and Forty-Pounds of Trouble, as Jerry Lewis’ depressed father in The Nutty Professor.
A few years later, Morris had on-screen appearances in movies made by former coworkers, including Splash, which was directed by Andy Griffith Show alum Ron Howard (in which he played a professor), and High Anxiety, History of the World, Part I, and Life Stinks, which was written by Your Show of Shows creator Mel Brooks.
In the 1960s King Features cartoon series, Morris voiced Beetle Bailey, and you can hear him in the Oscar-winning short Munro.
He created the character of Gopher for the Disney Winnie the Pooh featurettes, and he was a favourite of Hanna-Barbera. He also played Mr Peebles on Magilla Gorilla, the original voice of Atom Ant, and rock star Jet Screamer on The Jetsons before the actor told Joseph Barbera to perform an “anatomically impossible” task and Don Messick took over.
Howard Morris frequently directed the McDonald’s commercials for which he provided the voices of Wade Duck on Garfield and Friends and Hamburglar. His most recent projects include guest appearances on Baywatch and the 2004 TV Land Awards.
Personal Life
Five marriages and divorces were experienced by Howard Morris. He has three daughters and one son.
Morris passed away on May 21, 2005, as a result of persistent heart failure. At 85 years old, he was. His remains were interred at California’s “Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery.
Howard Morris Net Worth
At the age of 100 years, 8 months, and 3 days, according to IMDb, Wikipedia, Forbes, and numerous other online document resources and reports, well-known actor Howard Morris has a net worth of $1 million to $12 million. He made the greatest money as an actor in the business. He is a native of the USA.