Garrett Morris
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Garrett Morris | |
---|---|
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | |
Education | Juilliard School Dillard University (BM) |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1960–present |
Known for |
|
Spouse |
Freda Morris (m. 1996–2018) |
Garrett Isaac Morris (born February 1, 1937) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and singer.[1] 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, and played Jimmy on The Jeffersons (1983–1984). Morris had one of the starring roles, as Junior "Uncle Junior" King, on the sitcom The Jamie Foxx Show, which aired from 1996 to 2001. Morris also had a starring role as Earl Washington on the CBS sitcom 2 Broke Girls, from 2011 to 2017. He is also known for his role in the sitcom Martin as Stan Winters, from 1992 to 1995, until he suffered an injury. Also, 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).
Early life and career
Morris was born on February 1, 1937, in
Morris also lived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Saturday Night Live
Morris had written a play that
One of Morris' best known characters on SNL was the
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
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.
Later life and career
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.[9][10]
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. That year he also guested on Murder, She Wrote as "Lafayette Duquesne". 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 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". Garrett Morris continually appeared as "Sporty" on Hunter through 1989. He also appeared in the 1992 horror comedy Severed Ties starring Oliver Reed.
In 1994, he was "shot by a would-be mugger", whom he "attempted to fight off", but recovered as he discussed on the January 14, 2016, episode of
Morris also had regular roles on
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". He continued to perform regularly in films. 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. 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: 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.[12] The commercial takes a light-hearted look at a family relationship with Morris playing the grandfather, PopPop, and Weaver as his grandson. Since summer 2010[update], Morris has appeared in an ad for Orbit gum in the United States.[citation needed] 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,[13] 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.[14]
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.[15] 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.[16] 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?".
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 | |
2011 | Valley of the Sun | Joe | |
Let Go | Donuts | ||
2012 | 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 | Saturday Night Live | Himself / cast member | Main cast (season 1–5) |
1978 | ABC Weekend Special | Frank | Episode: "The Seven Wishes of Joanna Peabody" |
1980 | Easter Fever | Jack | Voice, television film[17] |
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[17] | |
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"[17] | |
Little Richard | Carl Rainey | Television film | |
2001 | Justice League | Al McGee | Voice, episode: "In Blackest Night" Pt. 1[17] |
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" |
References
- ^ "Garrett Morris". Discogs. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
- ^ "'Saturday Night Live' pioneer and NOLA native Garrett Morris to appear on 'Oprah'". April 11, 2011.
- ^ Pete Seeger: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection, 2019, p. 138
- ^ Patches, Matt (August 21, 2014). "My 'SNL': Testimonials From Cast Members Who Lived It". Grantland.com. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
- ^ "Black Arts Repertory Theatre/School · F.B. Eyes Digital Archive: FBI Files on African American Authors and Literary Institutions Obtained Through the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)". WUSTL Digital Gateway Image Collections & Exhibitions. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
- ^ https://www.chicagomag.com/arts-culture/so-hard-to-say-goodbye-the-oral-history-of-cooley-high/
- ^ "Garrett Morris on Saturday Night Live". NBC. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
- ^ ISBN 0-688-05099-9.
- ^ "The Census Taker (1984)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2011. Archived from the original on December 7, 2011. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
- ^ Michals, Bob (January 3, 1985). "Things Are Beginning To Look 'Berry Good' For Garrett Morris". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
- ^ "Comedian Garrett Morris shot in Los Angeles holdup attempt". The Baltimore Sun. February 25, 1994. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
- ^ "New Miller Lite Beer Commercial Starring Garrett Morris, Jason Weaver...and Stacey Dash!". WPGC. March 31, 2010. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 16, 2011). "Scott Porter To Star in CW's 'Hart Of Dixie', More Actors Board Pilots". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (June 29, 2011). "CBS Announces Fall 2011 Premiere Dates". TV By the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 1, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
- ^ Burlingame, Russ. "Ant-Man's Most Overlooked Cameo: Ant-Man Himself". Comicbook.com.
- ^ ABC (September 10, 2016). "Alfonso Ribeiro versus Garrett Morris! - Celebrity Family Feud". Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ^ a b c d "Garrett Morris (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved March 7, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
External links
- Garrett Morris at IMDb
- Garrett Morris at the Internet Broadway Database
- Garrett Morris at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Garrett Morris at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television
- Video: Colfax roasting Garrett Morris on YouTube
- Garrett Morris as Chico on Weekend Update
- The Downtown Comedy Club