British-Canadian actor (1918?2008)
Herbert Morse
(10 June 1918 – 2 February 2008), known professionally as
Barry Morse
, was a British-Canadian actor of stage, screen, and radio, best known for his roles in the
television series
The Fugitive
and the
British
sci-fi
drama
Space: 1999
. His performing career spanned seven decades and he had thousands of roles to his credit, including work for the
BBC
and the
CBC
.
Beginnings
[
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]
Herbert Morse (he later changed his personal name to Barry) was born on 10 June 1918, in the
Hammersmith
area of west London (Morse later claimed to have been born in
Shoreditch
in London's East End but publicly-accessible birth records confirm Hammersmith), a son of Charles Hayward Morse and Mary Florence Hollis Morse. His parents owned a tobacco shop.
[1]
[2]
Morse was a 15-year-old errand boy when he won a scholarship to the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
. He performed the role of the Lion in
Androcles and the Lion
, and as a result, came to know
George Bernard Shaw
, a patron of the academy. His first paid job as an actor while still a student was in
If I Were King
. At graduation, he featured in the title role of
William Shakespeare
's play
Henry V
, presented as a
Royal Command Performance
for
King George VI
and
Queen Elizabeth
.
Career
[
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]
Radio
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Upon graduation, Morse won the BBC's Radio Prize which resulted in several parts and a main role in the drama
The Fall of the City
. Later, among dozens of other roles, he played the lead in Shakespeare's
Hamlet
and featured as Paul Temple for the radio series
Send for Paul Temple Again
. He later performed on
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
radio beginning in 1951 and continuing to the 1980s, including the long-running series
A Touch of Greasepaint
, the
Joe McCarthy
?inspired
The Investigator
, and
1984
. He also featured in a number of U.S. productions during the 1970s and 1980s for producer
Yuri Rasovsky
, including
The Odyssey of Homer
, which won a
Peabody Award
.
Morse's final radio performance,
Rogues and Vagabonds ? A Theatrical Scrapbook
, was distributed by internet radio KSAV on 7 August and 9 August 2007, prior to being released on compact disc format. The hour-long special audio drama comprised a half-dozen vignettes and performances culled from theatrical history, including Shakespeare and Shaw.
British stage
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Morse was a member of repertory theatre companies in
Peterborough
,
Nottingham
, and other cities, where he gained experience as an actor while playing more than 200 roles. In 1941, he joined the national tour of
The First Mrs. Fraser
featuring Dame
Marie Tempest
and
A.E. Matthews
. He debuted on the
London West End
stage in
The School for Slavery
. Other West End productions included
Escort
,
The Assassin
, and
A Bullet in the Ballet
. He was directed by
John Gielgud
in
Crisis in Heaven
. Morse developed a theatrical partnership with actress
Nova Pilbeam
, and they worked together both in movies and on stage, most notably in the successful stage productions of
The Voice of the Turtle
and
Flowers for the Living
.
Movies
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Morse made his movie debut in the 1942 comedy
The Goose Steps Out
featuring
Will Hay
and continued with roles in
Thunder Rock
,
When We Are Married
, and
This Man Is Mine
(released as
A Soldier for Christmas
in North America) with
Glynis Johns
and Nova Pilbeam. Other notable movies include
Kings of the Sun
with
Yul Brynner
,
Justine
, and
Puzzle of a Downfall Child
with
Faye Dunaway
. He also appeared in the thrillers
Asylum
(1972) with
Peter Cushing
,
Funeral Home
with
Kay Hawtrey
and
Lesleh Donaldson
(1980), and
The Changeling
with
George C. Scott
(1980). He worked on several Lacewood animated productions, notably as the voice of Dragon in
The Railway Dragon
, alongside
Tracey Moore
, who played Emily. In 1999, he featured in the dramatic comedy
Taxman
with
Billy Zane
, released as
Promise Her Anything
and on DVD as
Nothing to Declare
. His final movie appearance was in
I Really Hate My Job
, released in 2007. Morse was offered a cameo in the
1993 film version of The Fugitive
, but declined.
Later stage work
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Morse performed on
Broadway
in
Hide and Seek
,
Salad Days
, and the lead of
Frederick Rolfe
in
Hadrian the Seventh
, which he also played in
Australia
, co-featuring with
Frank Thring
. He directed the Broadway debut of
Staircase
featuring
Eli Wallach
and
Milo O'Shea
, a depiction of gay male life.
[3]
He also featured in the U.S. national tour of
Harold Pinter
's
The Caretaker
as Davies.
He first presented a version of his one-man show
Merely Players
in 1959, which explored the experiences of actors through history, with the definitive version of the show debuting in 1984 for a Canadian national tour.
Morse served as artistic director of the
Shaw Festival
of Canada for the 1966 season and as an adjunct professor at
Yale Drama School
in 1968.
In 1995, he premiered the
Elizabeth Sharland
play
The Private Life of George Bernard Shaw
in
Toronto
, also featuring
Shirley Knight
. The play featured Morse in the role of Shaw, with 10 actresses portraying the various women in Shaw's life. Morse later performed the play in 1997 at the British Theatre Museum in London.
With his son
Hayward Morse
, he featured in the 2004 North American debut of
Bernard and Bosie: A Most Unlikely Friendship
by
Anthony Wynn
, performed at the
University of Florida
,
Sarasota
. This two-act stage drama is based on the correspondence between playwright George Bernard Shaw, played by Morse, and
Lord Alfred 'Bosie' Douglas
(
Oscar Wilde
's boyfriend), played by Hayward.
The next year, Morse appeared in the world premiere performance of the science-fiction play
Contact
by Doug Grissom, co-featuring Ryan Case and presented in
Tampa, Florida
.
[
citation needed
]
Television
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1975-77
Space: 1999
(Dr. Victor Bergman)
Guest roles
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Morse guest-featured in more than a thousand drama, comedy, and talk-show presentations in the U.S., Canada, and
Britain
. Early American appearances include the
U.S. Steel Hour
,
Encounter
,
and
Playhouse 90
. He also guest-geatured on such
TV series
as
Naked City
,
The Untouchables
,
The Twilight Zone
,
Wagon Train
,
The Defenders
,
The Invaders
,
The Starlost
, and
The Saint
, episode: The Reluctant Revolution (season 5, episode 4). In
The Outer Limits
episode "
Controlled Experiment
", he featured with
Carroll O'Connor
and
Grace Lee Whitney
. In
The Starlost
episode "The Goddess Calabra", he guest-featued with
John Colicos
. In The Alfred Hitchcock Hour ‘A Tangled Web’ with Robert Redford & Zohra Lampert.
In his later years, Morse guest-featured in a number of Canadian-produced series, including
La Femme Nikita
and
Kung Fu: The Legend Continues
, as well as such British series as
Doctors
,
Waking the Dead
, and
Space Island One
.
Series
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Morse's first television series was
Presenting Barry Morse
, which was broadcast for 13 weeks during the summer of 1960 on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Some of his best-known television roles included:
Lt Philip Gerard
for the 1960s series
The Fugitive
with
David Janssen
; Victor Bergman in the 1975?76 season of
Space: 1999
with
Martin Landau
,
Barbara Bain
, and
Zienia Merton
; Mr Parminter in
The Adventurer
with
Gene Barry
; and Alec "the Tiger" Marlowe in
The Zoo Gang
with
Sir John Mills
,
Lilli Palmer
, and
Brian Keith
. In 1982, he played the
Reaganesque
U.S. President Johnny Cyclops in the satirical sitcom
Whoops Apocalypse
in the
UK
and hosted the series
Strange But True
for the Global and the BBC.
Miniseries
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Morse appeared in a number of television miniseries, including
The Winds of War
and
War and Remembrance
(both with
Robert Mitchum
),
The Martian Chronicles
,
Sadat
,
JFK: Reckless Youth
, and
Frederick Forsyth
's
Icon
. Other notable miniseries appearances include
A Woman of Substance
,
Master of the Game
, and
Race for the Bomb
.
Books
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The book based on his long-running stage play
Merely Players ? The Scripts
was published in 2003. His first autobiography
Pulling Faces, Making Noises
was released in 2004.
Stories of the Theatre
was published in 2006 and features material from his CBC radio series
A Touch of Greasepaint
, which was broadcast from 1954 to 1967.
His theatrical memoir,
Remember With Advantages ? Chasing 'The Fugitive' and Other Stories from an Actor's Life
(
ISBN
9780786427710
), (written with
Robert E. Wood
and
Anthony Wynn
), details his life and career. The book features a foreword written by Academy Award-winning actor Martin Landau, and was released in 2007.
He wrote the afterword to
Destination: Moonbase Alpha ? The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to SPACE: 1999
(
ISBN
9781845830342
), published in 2010 by Telos Publishing, and written by Robert E. Wood. It featured a colour photo section of models created for the
Space: 1999
television series by
Martin Bower
, and a foreword by
Zienia Merton
. Morse is quoted extensively throughout the book, as are numerous other series cast and crew.
Before his death, Morse wrote the foreword to
Conversations At Warp Speed
(
ISBN
9781593932893
), published in 2012 by BearManor Media, and written by Anthony Wynn. The book is a compilation of interviews with actors and other professionals associated with the various incarnations of
Star Trek
. It also contains a bonus chapter featuring an interview with Barry Morse, who worked with numerous actors who appeared in
Star Trek
.
Personal life
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Family life
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After a short courtship, Morse married actress
Sydney Sturgess
on 26 March 1939, during their work together in repertory theatre in
Peterborough
,
Cambridgeshire
. The couple had two children,
Melanie Morse
(1945?2005) and
Hayward Morse
(b. 1947).
In 1951, the Morse family relocated to Canada, where he worked in radio and theatre, and participated with the first television broadcasts of CBC Television from
Montreal
, and later
Toronto
. Morse became a Canadian citizen in 1953.
Charitable work
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Barry Morse long patronized a number of charitable organisations, including the Toronto-based Performing Arts Lodges of Canada, the Royal Theatrical Fund, the London Shakespeare Workout Prison Project, Actors' Fund of Canada, the Samaritans, BookPALS, and
Parkinson's disease
treatment and research.
The cause of Parkinson's disease was special for Morse, as his wife of more than 60 years, actress Sydney Sturgess, battled the illness for 14 years before her death in 1999. In later years, he also became an advocate for senior citizens in his adopted homeland of Canada.
Death
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Barry Morse died on 2 February 2008 at
University College Hospital
,
London
, aged 89, after a brief illness.
[4]
His body was donated to science, and on 3 April 2011 Morse's ashes were scattered in St. James's Square Garden, Pall Mall, London, England.
Selected filmography
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- The Goose Steps Out
(1942) (with
Will Hay
) ? Kurt
- Thunder Rock
(1942) ? Robert
- When We Are Married
(1943) ? Gerald Forbes
- Schweik's New Adventures
(1943) ? S.A. prisoner
- The Dummy Talks
(1943) (uncredited)
- Late at Night
(1946) ? Dave Jackson
- This Man Is Mine
(1946) ? Ronnie
- Mrs. Fitzherbert
(1947) ? Beau Brummell
- Daughter of Darkness
(1948) ? Robert Stanforth
- No Trace
(1950) ? John Harrison
- The Untouchables
(1961, episode: "The King of Champagne") - Michel Viton
- The Twilight Zone
(1962, episode: "
A Piano in the House
") ? Fitzgerald Fortune
- Kings of the Sun
(1963) ? Ah Zok
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
(1963) (Season 1 Episode 18: "A Tangled Web") ? Karl Gault
- The Untouchables
(1963, episode: "The Globe of Death") - Larry Bass
- The Fugitive
(1963-1967, TV series) ? Lieutenant Philip Gerard
- The Outer Limits
(1964, episode: "
Controlled Experiment
") - Phobos One
- The Invaders
(1968, TV Series) ? Keith
- Justine
(1969) ? Colonel Maskelyne
- Puzzle of a Downfall Child
(1970) ? Dr. Galba
- The Telephone Book
(1971) ? Har Poon
- The Golden Bowl
(1972, TV series) ? Adam Verver
- Running Scared
(1972) ? Mr. Case
- Asylum
(1972) ? Bruno (segment "The Weird Tailor")
- To Kill The King
(1974) ? Secretary
- The Zoo Gang
(1974, TV series) ? Alec 'The Tiger' Marlowe
- Space 1999
(1975-1976, TV series) ? Victor Bergman
- Love at First Sight
(1977) ? William
- Welcome to Blood City
(1977) ? Supervisor
- One Man
(1977) ? Colin Angus Campbell
- Power Play
(1978) ? Jean Rousseau
- The Shape of Things to Come
(1979) ? John Caball
- The Martian Chronicles
(1980, TV miniseries) ? Peter Hathaway
- Klondike Fever
(1980) ? John Thornton
- The Changeling
(1980) ? Parapsychologist
- Funeral Home
(1980) ? Mr. Davis
- The Hounds of Notre Dame
(1980) ? Bishop Williams
- A Tale of Two Cities
(1980, TV movie) ? Marquis St. Evremonde
- Murder by Phone
(1982) ? Fred Waites
- Strange But True
(1983) ? Host
- Reunion at Fairborough
(1985, TV movie) ? Nathan Barsky
- The Twilight Zone
(1988, episode: "Dream Me a Life") - Frank
- The Railway Dragon
(1988, TV movie) ? The Railway Dragon
- War and Remembrance
(1988?89, miniseries) - Colonel General Franz Halder
- Glory! Glory!
(1989, TV Movie) ? Dan Stuckey
- The Birthday Dragon
(1992, TV Movie) - The Railway Dragon
- Al lupo al lupo
(1992) ? Mario Sagona
- Sacred Trust
(1997) ? Mon Farare
- Promise Her Anything
(1999) ? Reverend Adam Putter
- I Really Hate My Job
(2007) ? Old Man #2 ? Georg
References
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External links
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