Harry Morgan

Detroit native Harry Morgan was born April 10, 1915. He had his sights set on becoming a lawyer till he took some public speaking and debate courses at the University of Chicago -- and later changed his ambitions to acting.

In 1937, Morgan debuted on Broadway in "Golden Boy," but a subsequent string of flops stalled his stage career. Transitioning to films, Morgan began landing supporting parts in genres across the board, including Westerns (The Ox-Box Incident, 1943), war movies (A Bell for Adano, 1945) and crime dramas (Dark City, 1950). He notably went on to appear in the 1952 classic High Noon, Inherit the Wind (1960) and the comic gem Support Your Local Sheriff (1969).

But Morgan is best known for his portrayal of the paternal Col. Sherman Potter on the long-running TV series "MASH," a role that garnered him an Emmy in 1980. Morgan continued to find steady work on the big and small screens until retiring in 1999. He died Dec. 7, 2011.

Filmography