WAYNE MORRIS BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:
Wayne Morris was born on February 17th, 1914 in Los Angeles, California with the birth name Bery DeWayne Morris. He graduated from Los Angeles High School and then attended college at Los Angeles Junior College and played college football. He also studied at the Pasadena Playhouse on a scholarship, where during a performance a Warner Brothers scout spotted him and signed him directly to a contract in 1936.
He was cast in the film "Kid Galahad" (1937) followed by the film, "Flight Angels" (1940) and "Bad Men of Missouri" (1941). It was working on the film "Flight Angels" that he developed an interest in flying airplanes as so he took a brief break from acting to get his pilots license and joined the Navel Reserve fighting during World War II. During his military service he earned four Flying Crosses and two Air Medals.
When he returned back to acting, he was not getting the quality of films he was used to as his popularity had dropped and he was mostly cast in low budget western films. Warner Brothers loaned him to 20th Century Fox for the film "Deep Valley" (1947) followed by some roles in "The Voice of the Turtle" (1947), "The Young Brothers" (1949) and "Sierra passage" (1950).
He did continue to make a decent living as an actor in such western films as, "Two Guns and a Badge" (1954), "The Desperado" (1954), "The Green Buddha" (1955) and "Cross Channel" (1955).
All of the films he was being cast in were just supporting roles and not earning him much attention from critics. He did however get great reviews for his role in the film "Paths of Glory" (1957) which many felt was his ticket to bringing back his stardom status. He was given a great television opportunity to appear on the Western television series "New Comedy Showcase: They Went Thataway" (1960), but his career take off was cut short when he died suddenly of a heart attack on September 14th, 1959 in Oakland, California at the young age of forty five.
He was survived by his second wife, Patricia O'Rourke whom he had wed in 1942 and had three children with. His remains are buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.
Filmography
1961 Buffalo Gun
1960 New Comedy Showcase
1959 Bourbon Street Beat
1959 The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
1959 Bronco
1959 The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen
1959 Bat Masterson
1959 Wanted: Dead or Alive
1959 Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1959 Adventures in Paradise
1958 Lawman
1958 Wagon Train
1958 Maverick
1958 Gunsmoke
1958 Official Detective
1957 Plunder Road
1957 Colt .45
1957 Paths of Glory
1957 The Crooked Sky
1956 The Adventures of the Big Man
1956 Science Fiction Theatre
1956 The Ford Television Theatre
1956 The Dynamiters
1955 Cross Channel
1955 The Green Buddha
1955 Damon Runyon Theater
1955 The Lonesome Trail
1955 Lord of the Jungle
1955 The Master Plan
1954 Port of Hell
1954 Two Guns and a Badge
1954 The Desperado
1954 Riding Shotgun
1953 Texas Bad Man
1953 The Fighting Lawman
1953 The Marksman
1953 Star of Texas
1952 Arctic Flight
1952 Desert Pursuit
1951 The Bushwhackers
1951 Yellow Fin
1951 The Big Gusher
1950 Sierra Passage
1950 Stage to Tucson
1950 The Tougher They Come
1950 Johnny One-Eye
1949 The House Across the Street
1949 Task Force
1949 The Younger Brothers
1949 A Kiss in the Dark
1949 John Loves Mary
1948 The Big Punch
1948 The Time of Your Life
1947 The Voice of the Turtle
1947 Deep Valley
1941 The Smiling Ghost'
1941 Three Sons o' Guns
1941 Bad Men of Missouri
1941 I Wanted Wings
1940 The Quarterback
1940 Ladies Must Live
1940 Gambling on the High Seas
1940 Flight Angels
1940 An Angel from Texas
1940 Double Alibi
1940 Brother Rat and a Baby
1939 The Return of Doctor X
1939 The Kid from Kokomo
1938 Brother Rat
1938 Valley of the Giants
1938 Men Are Such Fools
1938 Love, Honor and Behave
1938 The Kid Comes Back
1937 Submarine D-1
1937 Kid Galahad
1937 Land Beyond the Law
1937 Under Southern Stars
1937 Once a Doctor
1937 Smart Blonde
1936 King of Hockey
1936 Polo Joe
1936 Here Comes Carter
1936 China Clipper
