Howard "Howie" Morris (September 4, 1919 – May 21, 2005) was a Jewish
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comicA comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain members of 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...
actorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and
directorA television director directs the activities involved in making a television episode.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or filmed/taped .In both types of productions, the director is responsible for supervising the placement of cameras ,...
.
Morris was born in Bronx, New York. He came to prominence in appearances on
Sid CaesarIsaac Sidney "Sid" Caesar is an American comic actor and writer known as the leading man on the 1950s television series Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour, and to younger generations as Coach Calhoun in Grease and Grease 2.-Early life:Caesar was born in Yonkers, New York, the son of Jewish...
's
Your Show of ShowsYour Show of Shows was a live 90-minute sketch comedy television series appearing weekly in the United States on NBC , from February 25, 1950 until June 5, 1954, featuring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca...
(a live
sketch comedySketch 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, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
television series appearing weekly in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, from 1950 until June 5, 1954). Although Morris was a classically trained Shakespearean actor, he is best remembered for playing the wily and over the top "
mountain manMountain men were trappers and explorers who roamed the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 to the early 1840s. Although primarily of Canadian or American origin, mountain men were ethnically, socially, and religiously diverse...
"
characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
Ernest T. BassErnest T. Bass was a fictional character on the American TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show. He was played by Howard Morris.Ernest T. was an ignorant and obstreperous mountain man with a penchant for rock throwing, who was known to wreak havoc on the otherwise quiet town of Mayberry...
on
The Andy Griffith ShowThe Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960 and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in a fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
.
Howard "Howie" Morris (September 4, 1919 – May 21, 2005) was a Jewish
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comicA comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain members of 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...
actorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and
directorA television director directs the activities involved in making a television episode.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or filmed/taped .In both types of productions, the director is responsible for supervising the placement of cameras ,...
.
Television and film
Morris was born in Bronx, New York. He came to prominence in appearances on
Sid CaesarIsaac Sidney "Sid" Caesar is an American comic actor and writer known as the leading man on the 1950s television series Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour, and to younger generations as Coach Calhoun in Grease and Grease 2.-Early life:Caesar was born in Yonkers, New York, the son of Jewish...
's
Your Show of ShowsYour Show of Shows was a live 90-minute sketch comedy television series appearing weekly in the United States on NBC , from February 25, 1950 until June 5, 1954, featuring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca...
(a live
sketch comedySketch 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, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
television series appearing weekly in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, from 1950 until June 5, 1954). Although Morris was a classically trained Shakespearean actor, he is best remembered for playing the wily and over the top "
mountain manMountain men were trappers and explorers who roamed the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 to the early 1840s. Although primarily of Canadian or American origin, mountain men were ethnically, socially, and religiously diverse...
"
characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
Ernest T. BassErnest T. Bass was a fictional character on the American TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show. He was played by Howard Morris.Ernest T. was an ignorant and obstreperous mountain man with a penchant for rock throwing, who was known to wreak havoc on the otherwise quiet town of Mayberry...
on
The Andy Griffith ShowThe Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960 and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in a fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
. He had lampooned southern accents while in the army at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He starred in one of the more comical early hour-long
Twilight ZoneThe Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964 and remains syndicated to this day. The show consisted of unrelated vignettes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events, usually...
episodes, "
I Dream of Genie"I Dream of Genie" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Opening narration:-Synopsis:George Hanley is offered one wish by a genie summonfed from a lamp . Rather than make a rash wish, he carefully considers the three most popular options...
". Other roles included that of Elmer Kelp in
The Nutty ProfessorThe Nutty Professor is a Paramount Pictures feature film produced, directed, co-written and starring Jerry Lewis...
, a movie studio clerk in the short film
Star Spangled SalesmanStar Spangled Salesman is a 1968 short film produced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to promote the sale of Savings Bonds.The film, directed by Norman Maurer, stars Howard Morris as a movie studio clerk who is assigned to get his colleagues interested in enrolling a payroll plan that is tied...
, and an art appraiser in an episode of
The Dick Van Dyke ShowThe Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom which initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961 and ran until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. A three-camera/studio audience format was used during production...
.
Voice artist
Morris also played a variety of voices in many
Hanna-BarberaHanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. , was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
series (including
The JetsonsThe Jetsons is a prime-time animated sitcom that was produced by Hanna-Barbera. The original incarnation of the series aired Sunday nights on ABC from September 23, 1962 to March 3, 1963.It was Hanna-Barbera’s space age counterpart to The Flintstones...
as "Jet Screamer" who sang the "Eep opp ork ah ah!" song, and
The FlintstonesThe Flintstones is an animated American television sitcom that ran from 1960 to 1966 on ABC. The series was the first prime-time animated series aimed at adults. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions , The Flintstones is about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next door...
). He also voiced the characters Professor Icenstein and Luigi La Bounci in the animated series
Galaxy HighGalaxy High is an American animated series that premiered on September 13 1986 on CBS and ran for 13 episodes until December 6 1986. The series was created by movie director Chris Columbus and featured music and a theme song composed by Eagles member Don Felder.- Synposis :Galaxy High was about two...
. He played a fine art dealer once on the
Dick Van Dyke Show. Morris provided the original vocalizations for the Hamburglar ("Robble, robble, robble") in
McDonald'sMcDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving nearly 47 million customers daily. At one time it was the largest global restaurant chain, but it has since been surpassed by multi-brand operator Yum! and sandwich chain Subway.In addition to its...
1971 ad campaign. He is also remembered by
FilmationFilmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live action programming for television during the latter half of the 20th century. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1963...
and
Archie ShowThe Archie Show was the first in a long line of Saturday morning cartoon animated series produced by Filmation. Based on the Archie comic books, created by Bob Montana in 1941, The Archie Show debuted on CBS in September 1968 and lasted for one season. A total of 17 half-hour shows, each containing...
fans as the voice of
Jughead JonesForsythe Pendleton "Jughead" Jones III is a fictional character in Archie Comics, first appearing in December 1941. He is the son of Forsythe II. He has a white sheepdog named Hot Dog, and has a younger sister, Forsythia "Jellybean" Jones....
throughout the life of the franchise. Morris also played "Wade Duck" in the
U.S. AcresU.S. Acres is a comic strip that ran from 1986 to 1989 created by Jim Davis, author of the popular comic strip Garfield. The comic was launched on March 3, 1986 in a then-unprecedented 505 newspapers by United Feature Syndicate...
segment of
Garfield and FriendsGarfield and Friends is an American animated television series based on the comic strip Garfield by Jim Davis. The show was produced by Film Roman, in association with United Feature Syndicate and Paws, Inc., and ran on CBS Saturday mornings from 1988 to 1994, and on Nickelodeon from 1997 to 2000...
. He even played Flem in the Cartoon Network Series, Cow & Chicken. Morris supplied the voice of the koala bear in TV commercials for Quantas Airlines in the 1970's (saying the tagline, "I hate Quantas").
The move to directing
While Morris continued to make himself available for voice and sound effect roles, he also began a new career in voice directing. Among the projects he directed are
Police AcademyPolice Academy, also known as Police Academy: The Animated Series, is a 1988 American animated television series based on the Police Academy series of films. It aired on Saturday mornings and lasted two seasons for a total of 64 episodes....
,
Richie RichRichie Rich is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that aired on ABC from 1980 to 1984. Based upon Harvey Comics' popular Richie Rich comic book characters, shared time slots with Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, The Little Rascals, and Pac-Man over its original broadcast...
,
Bionic SixBionic Six was an American/Japanese animated television series from the 1980s produced by TMS Entertainment and distributed by Studios USA and MCA Television ....
,
Hogans Heroes,
Galaxy HighGalaxy High is an American animated series that premiered on September 13 1986 on CBS and ran for 13 episodes until December 6 1986. The series was created by movie director Chris Columbus and featured music and a theme song composed by Eagles member Don Felder.- Synposis :Galaxy High was about two...
,
The SnorksSnorks is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which ran on NBC from September 15, 1984 to January 14, 1989, and in syndication from 1987 to 1988. Freddy Monnickendam of Belgian character licensing firm SEPP originally developed the "Snorks" concept in 1982. Belgian...
,
The Mighty OrbotsMighty Orbots is an American/Japanese animated series that aired in 1984 on Saturday mornings in the United States.-Series plot:The 23rd Century, the future is a time of robots and aliens. The people of Earth have banded together along with several other peaceful alien races to promote peace...
,
Rose Petal PlaceRose Petal Place was an American-produced animated film from 1984, with a corresponding line of toy dolls made by Kenner. The concept for Rose Petal Place was created by David Kirschner and the film was written by Mal Marmorstein....
,
The DogfatherThe Dogfather was created by Hawley Pratt and Friz Freleng. The shorts were produced by DFE films, released through theaters by United Artists and ran from 1974 to 1976. 17 shorts were produced.-Plot:...
and
Kidd VideoKidd Video was a Saturday morning cartoon created by DiC Entertainment in association with Saban Entertainment. Its original run was on NBC from 1984 to 1985, but continued in reruns on the network until 1987, when CBS picked the show up...
. In
The Many Adventures of Winnie The PoohThe Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is the 22nd full-length animated film produced by Walt Disney Productions and first released on March 11, 1977....
he did the voice of
GopherThe character of Samuel J. Gopher first appeared in the 1966 Disney animated film Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree. He has a habit of whistling out his sibilant consonants, and was fleshed out a bit further in the television series The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh...
and became one of his most famous roles.
In the 1980s he voiced a regular character on the cartoon series
Garfield and FriendsGarfield and Friends is an American animated television series based on the comic strip Garfield by Jim Davis. The show was produced by Film Roman, in association with United Feature Syndicate and Paws, Inc., and ran on CBS Saturday mornings from 1988 to 1994, and on Nickelodeon from 1997 to 2000...
. On the show, he voiced Wade Duck, a cowardly duck who was said to have had "almost every phobia known to man and some known to duck."
He also performed nearly all of the voices in the 1960 Oscar-winning cartoon MUNRO, directed by
Gene DeitchEugene Merril "Gene" Deitch is an American Academy-Award winning illustrator, animator and film director. He has been based in Prague, capital of Czechoslovakia and the present-day Czech Republic, since 1959....
.
Later career
Mel BrooksMelvin "Mel" Kaminsky , better known by his stage name Mel Brooks, is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer, best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. Brooks is a member of the short list of entertainers with the distinction...
occasionally cast Morris in his films. For example, he played Brooks' mentor
psychiatristA psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry and is certified in treating mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
Dr. Lilloman in the 1977 comedy
High AnxietyHigh Anxiety is a 1977 comedy film produced and directed by Mel Brooks, who is also the main actor. Veteran Brooks ensemble members Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman and Madeline Kahn are also featured....
, the emperor's court spokesman ("Here, wash this!") in
History of the World, Part IHistory of the World, Part I is a 1981 film written, produced and directed by Mel Brooks. As he does in many of his other films, Brooks also gives himself a great deal of time in front of the camera, this time playing five roles: Moses, Comicus the stand-up philosopher, Tomás de Torquemada, King...
, and played a bum named Sailor living in the streets in 1991's
Life StinksLife Stinks is a 1991 comedy film directed by Mel Brooks. It is known as one of the few Mel Brooks films that is not a parody. The film co-stars Lesley Ann Warren and Jeffrey Tambor...
. He did a brilliant turn with his old friend and trouping partner Sid Caesar as nervous Jewish tailors in the movie of
Ray BradburyRay Douglas Bradbury is an American mainstream, fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer.Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles, Bradbury is widely considered one of the greatest and most popular American writers of speculative fiction of the...
's
The Wonderful Ice Cream SuitThe Wonderful Ice Cream Suit is a 1998 film set in East Los Angeles directed by Stuart Gordon, written by Ray Bradbury and starring Edward James Olmos, Joe Mantegna, Esai Morales, Clifton Collins Jr. , Sid Caesar, Howard Morris and Gregory Sierra...
.
In 1986, he reprised his famous role as Ernest T. Bass in the high-rated TV movie
Return to MayberryReturn to Mayberry was a television movie made in 1986 on NBC, even though the original series aired on CBS. The show was a reunion movie for the 1960s American television sitcoms The Andy Griffith Show and, to an extent, Mayberry R.F.D. as well. The movie premiered on April 13, 1986, and was the...
.
Howard also directed some episodes on Hogan's Heroes
Death
Morris died of a heart ailment at age 85 in 2005. He is entombed in Laurel Gardens Wall crypt at
Hillside Memorial Park CemeteryThe Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary is located at 6001 W. Centinela Avenue, in Culver City, California, USA. A number of prominent individuals of the Jewish faith, including a number from the entertainment industry, are buried or entombed here, such as:...
.
External links