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Vale: Harry Morgan

Character actor Harry Morgan, best known as Col. Sherman T. Potter in MASH, has died, aged 96.

Character actor Harry Morgan, best known as Col. Sherman T. Potter in MASH has died, aged 96.

He died at his home after a bout with pneumonia, ending a long career in acting.

Morgan’s eight-year run on MASH began when he was 60 and had already appeared on the Broadway stage, in dozens of television shows and more than 50 films.

He joined the show in 1975 as commanding officer of the unorthodox 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.

Following Broadway plays he was offered a contract with 20th Century Fox starting with To the Shores of Tripoli. He went on to appear in such films as High Noon (1953), The Glenn Miller Story (1954), Inherit the Wind (1960), Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) and his personal favorite, 1943’s The Ox-Bow Incident.

Early TV credits include December Bride, Pete and Gladys, The Richard Boone Show, Kentucky Jones, four seasons as Officer Bill Gannon in Dragnet. He also appeared in about 20 more TV productions, including a few episodes of 3rd Rock from the Sun and a guest voice role in The Simpsons.

He received eight Emmy nominations as Col. Potter in MASH and won once, in 1980, the same year he was nominated for directing an episode.

When the MASH finale aired in 1983, 77% of the people watching television were tuned in, making it the most widely watched show in history.

Morgan once said, “There’ll never be another MASH. There’s nothing in the way of doing your best work on this set, absolutely nothing.”

Source: LA Times

4 Responses

  1. It was tough replacing an already well-loved character in MASH, but Harry made the role his own and brought veritas and dramatic dignity to the show.

  2. I might not have been around when MASH was originally aired (far from it), but I really like watching it and this guy was a great actor. May he rest in peace.

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