Dennis Morgan

For other people of the same name, see: Dennis Morgan (disambiguation) Dennis Morgan , in the trailer for the film, The Hard Way (1943) Born Earl Stanley Morner, (1908-12-20)December 20, 1908, Prentice, Wisconsin, U.S. Died September 7, 1994(1994-09-07) (aged 85), Fresno, California, U.S. Years active 1936-1980 Spouse(s) Lillian Vedder (1933-1994, his death) Children Stanley Morner, Kristin Morgan, James Morner Parents Frank Edward, Grace J. Vandusen Morner Dennis Morgan (December 20, 1908 - September 7, 1994) was an American actor-singer. Born as Earl Stanley Morner, he used the acting pseudonym Richard Stanley before adopting the name he is famous under. Life and career edit: Morgan was born Earl Stanley Morner in the village of Prentice in Price County in northern Wisconsin, the son of Grace J. (née Vandusen) and Frank Edward Morner. He was of Swedish descent on his father's side. After relocating to Los Angeles, California, Morgan starred in the war-time dramas, God Is My Co-Pilot and Captains of the Clouds, opposite Ginger Rogers in Kitty Foyle and Perfect Strangers, the comedy Christmas in Connecticut, with Barbara Stanwyck and Sydney Greenstreet, and the musical adventure, The Desert Song. Morgan was a top leading man at Warner Brothers in the 1940s, starring with best friend Jack Carson in many movies, several of which were "two guys" buddy pictures. His peak years were 1943 to 1949. He appeared in sporadic television guest roles in the 1950s, including the ABC religion anthology series, Crossroads, in the 1955 episode "The Gambler". He was cast as Dennis O'Finn in the 1958 episode "Bull in a China Shop" on Alfred Hitchcock Presents. In 1959, Morgan appeared as a regular, Dennis Chase, in eleven episodes of the crime drama, 21 Beacon Street. By 1956, he had retired from films but still made occasional appearances on television, such as the role of Chad Hamilton in the 1962 episode "Source of Information" of the short-lived NBC newspaper drama series, Saints and Sinners. In 1963, he portrayed Dr. Clay Maitland in "The Old Man and the City" on NBC's The Dick Powell Theater. In 1968, was cast as Dennis Roberts in the episode "Bye, Bye, Doctor" of the CBS sitcom, Petticoat Junction. His final screen performance was on March 1, 1980, as Steve Brian in the episode "Another Time, Another Place/Doctor Who/Gopher's Engagement" of ABC's The Love Boat. Jane Wyman and Audrey Meadows appeared in the same episode. In 1958, Morgan spearheaded the drive to establish a new public park in La Crescenta in Los Angeles County. He dedicated Two Strike Park on July 4, 1959, named for Morgan's belief that "a kid with no place to play already has two strikes against him". Partial filmography edit: Suzy (1936), The Great Ziegfeld Singer in "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody" (uncredited, dubbed by Alan Jones) (1936), Mama Steps Out (1937), King of Alcatraz (1938), Men with Wings (1938), The Return of Doctor X (1939), Waterfront (1939), River's End (1939), The Fighting 69th (1940), Kitty Foyle (1940), Affectionately Yours (1941), Captains of the Clouds (1942), In This Our Life (1942), Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943), The Desert Song (1943), The Hard Way (1943), I Am an American (1944), Shine On, Harvest Moon (1944), The Very Thought of You (1944), God Is My Co-Pilot (1945), Christmas in Connecticut (1945), Two Guys from Milwaukee (1946), My Wild Irish Rose (1947), Cheyenne (1947), One Sunday Afternoon (1948), Two Guys from Texas (1948), It's a Great Feeling (1949), The Lady Takes a Sailor (1949), Perfect Strangers (1950), Pretty Baby (1950), Painting the Clouds with Sunshine (1951), This Woman Is Dangerous (1952), Uranium Boom (1956)

Source: Wikipedia

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