Garrett Morris
Encyclopedia
Garrett Gonzalez Morris (born February 1, 1937) is an American
comedian
and actor
from New Orleans. He was part of the original cast of the sketch comedy
program Saturday Night Live
, appearing from 1975 to 1980.
in 1958. Early in his career, he soloed with the Harry Belafonte
singers. He performed in a number of Broadway
musicals, including Hallelujah, Baby!
and Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death
. He also appeared as a high school teacher in the film Cooley High
. He had a small role as a police sergeant in The Anderson Tapes
(1970).
Morris also lived in Fort Lauderdale,FL and did postal carrier work.
's Saturday Night Live. Periodically on SNL he sang classical music: once a Mozart
aria
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 purported to express his colleagues' 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's best known characters on SNL was the Dominican baseball player Chico Escuela. Chico spoke only limited and halting English, so the joke centered on him 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 "President 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 1975–1980, and expressed the opinion that he was usually typecast
in stereotypical roles.
African-American performers who have followed Morris on Saturday Night Live
have at times been publicly concerned with not 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."
, 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 appeared in Larry Cohen
's science fiction
horror film
The Stuff
, playing cookie magnate "Chocolate Chip Charlie", a parody of Famous Amos
.
In 1986, Morris began playing a regular occasional character, "Arnold 'Sporty' James," on the NBC cop drama Hunter, starring Fred Dryer
and Stepfanie Kramer
. Morris continually appeared as "Sporty" on "Hunter" through 1989.
In 1994, he was shot in an apparent robbery attempt but went on to make a full recovery. In a radio interview, he mentioned that the robber who shot him was eventually incarcerated, and in prison some fans of Morris who happened to be inmates there teamed up and beat up the robber in revenge.
Morris starred on Martin as Martin's first boss Stan. Morris's shooting had caused him to be unable to continue in the role, and 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 later reprised the role one last time in a guest appearance during the show's third season. In that particular episode, he is seen walking on a cane (due to his shooting) but the incident was comically parodied by saying Stan was in a police chase and had a car crash.
Among later television performances, he had regular roles on Diff'rent Strokes
, The Jeffersons
, Hill Street Blues
, Martin, Roc
and The Jamie Foxx Show
.
He was a regular and fan favorite on The Jamie Foxx Show
. He played hotel owner, and uncle of Jamie Foxx, Junior King for the entire run of the show.
In 1999, Morris appeared as himself in the fifth 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
".
As of 2006, he continues to perform regularly in films. He also operates and is 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.
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 2009, Morris appeared in two TV commercials for the Nintendo DS
--one featuring Mario Kart DS
, and the other featuring Brain Age.
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.
In 2011, Morris had a cameo role as a Catholic priest on the episode "Three Boys" on the Showtime series Shameless.
He is currently cast in the CBS
comedy 2 Broke Girls
, which premiered on September 19, 2011.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
from New Orleans. He was part of the original cast of the sketch comedy
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
program Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, appearing from 1975 to 1980.
Early life and career
Morris was a church-choir singer from his youth, trained at the Juilliard School of Music, and graduated from Dillard UniversityDillard University
Dillard University is a private, historically black liberal arts college in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 incorporating earlier institutions that went back to 1869, it is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church....
in 1958. Early in his career, he soloed with the Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte
Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
singers. He performed in a number of Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musicals, including Hallelujah, Baby!
Hallelujah, Baby!
Hallelujah, Baby! is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Adolph Green and Betty Comden, and a book by Arthur Laurents. The show is "a musical chronicle of the African American struggle for equality during the [first half of the] 20th century."...
and Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death
Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death
Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death is a musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Melvin Van Peebles. The musical contains some material also on three of Van Peebles' albums, Br'er Soul, Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death and As Serious as a Heart-Attack, some of which were yet to come...
. He also appeared as a high school teacher in the film Cooley High
Cooley High
Cooley High is a 1975 American film based upon the real high school located on the near north side of Chicago produced and released by American International Pictures and written by Eric Monte...
. He had a small role as a police sergeant in The Anderson Tapes
The Anderson Tapes
The Anderson Tapes is a 1971 crime film. It was directed by Sidney Lumet and stars Sean Connery, Dyan Cannon, Martin Balsam, and comedian Alan King. The screenplay was written by Frank Pierson, based upon a best-selling 1970 novel of the same name by Lawrence Sanders...
(1970).
Morris also lived in Fort Lauderdale,FL and did postal carrier work.
Saturday Night Live
Morris has appeared in numerous television shows and movies since the early 1970s, but is best known as one of the original cast members of NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Saturday Night Live. Periodically on SNL he sang classical music: once a Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
aria
Aria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
when guest-host Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
designated him as a "musical guest...in place of the usual crap", and once a Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
lied
Lied
is a German word literally meaning "song", usually used to describe romantic songs setting German poems of reasonably high literary aspirations, especially during the nineteenth century, beginning with Carl Loewe, Heinrich Marschner, and Franz Schubert and culminating with Hugo Wolf...
while the titles on the screen purported to express his colleagues' displeasure at having to accommodate a misguided request by him. In February 1977, he sang Tchaikovsky's Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt
Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt
Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The poem appeared in Goethe's novel Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship...
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's best known characters on SNL was the Dominican baseball player Chico Escuela. Chico spoke only limited and halting English, so the joke centered on him 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
Weekend Update
Weekend Update is a Saturday Night Live sketch that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typically presented in the middle of the show immediately after the first musical performance...
", involved Morris being presented as "President 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
Sign language
A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
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 1975–1980, and expressed the opinion that he was usually typecast
Typecasting (acting)
In TV, film, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character; one or more particular roles; or, characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ethnic groups...
in stereotypical roles.
African-American performers who have followed Morris on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
have at times been publicly concerned with not experiencing the same fate Morris did. Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
, for example, told TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
in the early 1980s that SNL producer Jean Doumanian
Jean Doumanian
Jean Doumanian is an American producer.Doumanian is probably most well known for her short reign as producer of Saturday Night Live between November 1980 and March 1981...
"had tried to Garrett Morris me."
Recurring characters on Saturday Night Live
- Chico Escuela, a Dominican baseball player for the New York MetsNew York MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
- Cliff, the streetwise friend to the Festrunk Brothers (Dan AykroydDan AykroydDaniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
and Steve MartinSteve MartinStephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
) - Grant Robinson, Jr., one of The Nerds
- Hodo, one of Miles Cowperthwaite's cronies
- Merkon, the leader of the ConeheadsConeheadsThe Coneheads is a sketch on Saturday Night Live which originated on the January 15, 1977 episode, and starred Dan Aykroyd as father Beldar, Jane Curtin as mother Prymaat, and Laraine Newman as daughter Connie.-Summary:...
- Weekend Update's "News For the Hard of Hearing" translator, who simply repeated each line while speaking very loud. This was referenced in the Family GuyFamily GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
episode Barely LegalBarely Legal (Family Guy)"Barely Legal" is the eighth episode of season five of Family Guy. The episode originally broadcast on December 17, 2006. The plot sees Meg developing an obsession with Brian after he accompanies her as her date for the Junior Prom, eventually leading to her kidnapping Brian in order to engage in...
.
Celebrity impersonations on Saturday Night Live
- Alex HaleyAlex HaleyAlexander Murray Palmer Haley was an African-American writer. He is best known as the author of Roots: The Saga of an American Family and the coauthor of The Autobiography of Malcolm X.-Early life:...
- Andrew YoungAndrew YoungAndrew Jackson Young is an American politician, diplomat, activist and pastor from Georgia. He has served as Mayor of Atlanta, a Congressman from the 5th district, and United States Ambassador to the United Nations...
- Anwar SadatAnwar SadatMuhammad Anwar al-Sadat was the third President of Egypt, serving from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981...
- Bob MarleyBob MarleyRobert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
- Chubby CheckerChubby CheckerChubby Checker is an American singer-songwriter. He is widely known for popularizing the twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist"...
- Diana RossDiana RossDiana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
- Ella FitzgeraldElla FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
- Hank Aaron
- Idi AminIdi AminIdi Amin Dada was a military leader and President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military...
- James BrownJames BrownJames Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
- James MeredithJames MeredithJames H. Meredith is an American civil rights movement figure, a writer, and a political adviser. In 1962, he was the first African American student admitted to the segregated University of Mississippi, an event that was a flashpoint in the American civil rights movement. Motivated by President...
- Jesse OwensJesse OwensJames Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was an American track and field athlete who specialized in the sprints and the long jump. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals: one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the...
- Joshua NkomoJoshua NkomoJoshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo was the leader and founder of the Zimbabwe African People's Union and a member of the Kalanga tribe...
- Ken NortonKen NortonKenneth Howard Norton Sr. is a former heavyweight boxer. He is best known for his 12-round victory over a peak Muhammad Ali where he famously broke Ali's jaw, on March 31, 1973, becoming only the second man to defeat Ali as a professional .He and Ali...
- Leon SpinksLeon SpinksLeon Spinks is a former American boxer. He had an overall record of 26 wins, 17 losses and 3 draws as a professional, with 14 knockout wins, and was the former World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association heavyweight champion of the world...
- Louis ArmstrongLouis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
- Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
- Mary Fitzpatrick (Amy Carter's ex-con nanny)
- Mickey RiversMickey RiversJohn Milton "Mickey" Rivers is a former Major League Baseball player from 1970-1984 for the California Angels, New York Yankees, and Texas Rangers...
- Morarji DesaiMorarji DesaiMorarji Ranchhodji Desai was an Indian independence activist and the fourth Prime Minister of India from 1977–79. He was the first Indian Prime Minister who did not belong to the Indian National Congress...
- Muhammed Ali
- Pearl BaileyPearl BaileyPearl Mae Bailey was an American actress and singer. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in St. Louis Woman in 1946. She won a Tony Award for the title role in the all-black production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968...
- Richard PryorRichard PryorRichard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...
- Rubin CarterRubin CarterRubin "Hurricane" Carter fought professionally as a middleweight boxer from 1961 to 1966. In 1966, he was arrested for a triple homicide in the Lafayette Bar and Grill in Paterson, New Jersey...
- Sammy Davis, Jr.Sammy Davis, Jr.Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
- Sherman HemsleySherman HemsleySherman Alexander Hemsley is an American actor, most famous for his role as George Jefferson on the CBS television series All in the Family and The Jeffersons, and as Deacon Ernest Frye on the NBC series Amen. He also played Earl Sinclair's horrifying boss, a Triceratops named B.P...
- Tina TurnerTina TurnerTina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
- Thomas 'Hitman' HearnsThomas HearnsThomas "Hitman" Hearns is a retired American boxer. Nicknamed the "Motor City Cobra" and more famously "The Hitman", Hearns became the first boxer in history to win world titles in four divisions. He would also become the first fighter in history to win five world titles in five different divisions...
Later life and career
In 1983 and 1984, Morris appeared in five episodes of The JeffersonsThe Jeffersons
The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982-1985...
, playing a character named Jimmy.
He starred in the 1984
1984 in film
-Events:* The Walt Disney Company founds Touchstone Pictures to release movies with subject matter deemed inappropriate for the Disney name.* Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS, releases its first film....
film The Census Taker
The Census Taker
The Census Taker is a 1984 black comedy directed by Bruce R. Cook. It stars Greg Mullavey, Meredith MacRae, Timothy Bottoms, and Garrett Morris. The film was The Residents' first film soundtrack commission when their participation suggested by Penn Jillette to Cook...
, a 1984
1984 in film
-Events:* The Walt Disney Company founds Touchstone Pictures to release movies with subject matter deemed inappropriate for the Disney name.* Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS, releases its first film....
black comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
directed by Bruce R. Cook.
In 1985, he appeared in Larry Cohen
Larry Cohen
Lawrence G. "Larry" Cohen is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He is best known as a B-Movie auteur of horror and science fiction films - often containing a police procedural element - during 1970s and 1980s...
's science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
The Stuff
The Stuff
The Stuff is a 1985 American horror film written, produced, and directed by Larry Cohen and starring Michael Moriarty, Garrett Morris, Andrea Marcovicci, and Paul Sorvino. It was also the last film of noted actor Alexander Scourby.-Plot:...
, playing cookie magnate "Chocolate Chip Charlie", a parody of Famous Amos
Famous Amos
-History:Wally Amos, an Air Force veteran who worked as a talent agent with the William Morris Agency, would send home-baked chocolate chip cookies to celebrities to entice them to meet with him and maybe sign a deal to be represented by the William Morris Agency...
.
In 1986, Morris began playing a regular occasional character, "Arnold 'Sporty' James," on the NBC cop drama Hunter, starring Fred Dryer
Fred Dryer
John Frederick "Fred" Dryer is an American actor and former football defensive end in the National Football League . Dryer played 13 years in the NFL, playing 176 games, starting 166, and recording 104 career sacks with the New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams...
and Stepfanie Kramer
Stepfanie Kramer
Stepfanie Kramer is an American actress, writer, and singer/songwriter. She is probably best known for her role as the tough-minded detective, "Sgt...
. Morris continually appeared as "Sporty" on "Hunter" through 1989.
In 1994, he was shot in an apparent robbery attempt but went on to make a full recovery. In a radio interview, he mentioned that the robber who shot him was eventually incarcerated, and in prison some fans of Morris who happened to be inmates there teamed up and beat up the robber in revenge.
Morris starred on Martin as Martin's first boss Stan. Morris's shooting had caused him to be unable to continue in the role, and he was written out of the show by having the character become a national fugitive
Fugitive
A fugitive is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from private slavery, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals...
. The scene where he is about to undergo plastic surgery
Plastic surgery
Plastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most plastic surgery is not cosmetic: plastic surgery includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand...
was shot on the hospital bed Morris occupied while recuperating from the 1994 assault. He later reprised the role one last time in a guest appearance during the show's third season. In that particular episode, he is seen walking on a cane (due to his shooting) but the incident was comically parodied by saying Stan was in a police chase and had a car crash.
Among later television performances, he had regular roles on Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986...
, The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982-1985...
, Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ...
, Martin, Roc
Roc (TV series)
Roc is an American comedy-drama television series which ran on Fox from August 1991 to May 1994. The series stars Charles S. Dutton as Baltimore garbage collector Roc Emerson and Ella Joyce as his wife Eleanor.-Early episodes:...
and The Jamie Foxx Show
The Jamie Foxx Show
The Jamie Foxx Show is an American television sitcom that aired on the WB Network from August 28, 1996 to January 14, 2001. The series starred Jamie Foxx, Garcelle Beauvais, Christopher B. Duncan, Ellia English, and Garrett Morris.-Synopsis:...
.
He was a regular and fan favorite on The Jamie Foxx Show
The Jamie Foxx Show
The Jamie Foxx Show is an American television sitcom that aired on the WB Network from August 28, 1996 to January 14, 2001. The series starred Jamie Foxx, Garcelle Beauvais, Christopher B. Duncan, Ellia English, and Garrett Morris.-Synopsis:...
. He played hotel owner, and uncle of Jamie Foxx, Junior King for the entire run of the show.
In 1999, Morris appeared as himself in the fifth episode of the fifth season of the TV series, Space Ghost Coast to Coast
Space Ghost Coast to Coast
Space Ghost Coast to Coast is an American animated parody talk show hosted by the 60s Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Space Ghost. The show premiered on April 15, 1994 on Cartoon Network...
.
In 2002, Morris made a cameo appearance on an episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Brittany Murphy
Brittany Murphy
Brittany Anne Murphy-Monjack , known professionally as Brittany Murphy, was an American actress and singer. She starred in films such as Clueless, Just Married, Girl Interrupted, Spun, 8 Mile, Uptown Girls, Sin City, Happy Feet, and Riding in Cars with Boys...
.
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
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, in the episode "Barely Legal
Barely Legal (Family Guy)
"Barely Legal" is the eighth episode of season five of Family Guy. The episode originally broadcast on December 17, 2006. The plot sees Meg developing an obsession with Brian after he accompanies her as her date for the Junior Prom, eventually leading to her kidnapping Brian in order to engage in...
".
As of 2006, he continues to perform regularly in films. He also operates and is the host of his own comedy club, The Downtown Comedy Club in downtown Los Angeles.
On February 9, 2007, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa , born Antonio Ramón Villar, Jr., is the 41st and current Mayor of Los Angeles, California, the third Mexican American to have ever held office in the city of Los Angeles and the first in over 130 years. He is also the current president of the United States Conference of...
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.
In August 2008, Morris played the role of Reverend Pratt in the family comedy drama film, The Longshots
The Longshots
The Longshots is a 2008 biopic family comedy-drama film sports movie based on the real life events of Jasmine Plummer, the first female to participate in the Pop Warner football tournament....
, starring Ice Cube
Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
and Keke Palmer
Keke Palmer
Lauren Keyana "Keke" Palmer is an American actress and singer who rose to fame for her performance in the 2006 film Akeelah and the Bee. She also starred as the title character in the Nickelodeon sitcom True Jackson, VP...
.
In 2009, Morris appeared in two TV commercials for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
--one featuring Mario Kart DS
Mario Kart DS
is a racing game developed and published by Nintendo. It was released for the Nintendo DS handheld game console in North America, Australia, and Europe on November 14, 2005, and in Japan on December 8, 2005. The game is the fifth installment in the Mario Kart series of video games, and the first to...
, and the other featuring Brain Age.
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.
In 2011, Morris had a cameo role as a Catholic priest on the episode "Three Boys" on the Showtime series Shameless.
He is currently cast in the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
comedy 2 Broke Girls
2 Broke Girls
2 Broke Girls is an North American television comedy series that debuted on CBS during the 2011–12 television season. The first episode aired at 9:30 pm after Two and a Half Men on September 19, 2011. Later episodes followed How I Met Your Mother on Monday nights at 8:30 pm . The series was...
, which premiered on September 19, 2011.