Greg Morris
American actor (1933–1996)
title: "Greg Morris" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1933-births", "1996-deaths", "american-male-television-actors", "deaths-from-brain-cancer-in-nevada", "american-male-film-actors", "male-actors-from-cleveland", "university-of-iowa-alumni", "deaths-from-lung-cancer-in-nevada", "20th-century-american-male-actors", "20th-century-african-american-male-actors"] description: "American actor (1933–1996)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Morris" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American actor (1933–1996) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Greg Morris |
| image | Greg Morris.JPG |
| caption | Morris in 1972 as Barney Collier in Mission Impossible |
| birth_name | Francis Gregory Alan Morris |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| occupation | Actor |
| years_active | 1963–1996 |
| spouse | |
| father | Francis Williams |
| children | 3, including Phil and Iona |
| alma_mater | University of Iowa |
| :: |
::callout[type=note] the American actor ::
| name = Greg Morris | image = Greg Morris.JPG | caption = Morris in 1972 as Barney Collier in Mission Impossible | birth_name = Francis Gregory Alan Morris | birth_date = | birth_place = Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | resting_place = | othername = | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1963–1996 | spouse = | father = Francis Williams | children = 3, including Phil and Iona | website = | alma_mater = University of Iowa
Francis Gregory Alan Morris (September 27, 1933 – August 27, 1996) was an American actor. He was best known for portraying Barney Collier on the television series Mission: Impossible and Lieutenant David Nelson on Vega$.
Early life and career
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, to jazz trumpeter Francis Williams, Morris served in the United States Army during the Korean War. While in college at Iowa on the G.I. Bill, Morris was active in college theater and hosted the late afternoon Jazz radio show, "Tea-Time", on the University of Iowa station, WSUI. He co-produced concerts at the university with a student friend.
Morris began his television acting career in the 1960s, making guest appearances on numerous TV shows such as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Twilight Zone ("The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms" from 1963), Branded, and Ben Casey. In 1966, Morris was cast in his most recognizable role as the team electronics expert Barney Collier in the TV series Mission: Impossible. Morris acquired a reputation as a practical joker, often playing pranks on the rest of the Mission: Impossible cast and crew. Morris and Bob Johnson were the only actors to remain with Mission: Impossible throughout its entire run.
After Iowa, his first professional stage role was in The Death of Bessie Smith. One of his earliest television roles was a cameo appearance on The Dick Van Dyke Show in the 1963 episode "That's My Boy?" in which Rob Petrie becomes convinced they have taken home the wrong baby from the hospital. The revelation of Morris's character as the other child's father prompted a record setting bout of laughter from the studio audience. He returned to the show in 1965 playing Frank "Sticks" Mandalay, a drummer, an army buddy of Rob. He also appeared in the 1963–64 season of ABC's drama about college life, Channing, starring Jason Evers and Henry Jones. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Mission_impossible_cast_1970.JPG" caption="Mission: Impossible]]'' cast in 1970"] ::
After Mission: Impossible was cancelled, Morris appeared in several movies and made guest TV appearances, including The Six Million Dollar Man (Episode 1-05, "Little Orphan Airplane", 1974). Morris was then cast as Lieutenant David Nelson of the Las Vegas Metro Police in the ABC TV detective series Vega$ (1978–1981), co-starring Robert Urich, Bart Braverman, and Phyllis Davis. On March 3, 1981, by which point most filming for the season had concluded, Morris was involved in a serious car accident on I-15 near Las Vegas.
After the cancellation of Vega$, Morris continued to make guest TV appearances, including several episodes in the short-lived 1988–1990 remake of the Mission: Impossible TV series, starring his son Phil Morris. Phil Morris was cast as Grant Collier, the son of Barney. Morris also appeared in two episodes of the TV series What's Happening!! as Lawrence Nelson (father of Dwayne) and in three episodes of The Jeffersons, in which he reprised his role as an electronics expert (although not as Barney Collier) in a comparison sequel of the Mission: Impossible series. Morris was also a frequent guest star on Password, Tattletales, and Password Plus in the 1960s and 1970s. Morris was a semi - regular on Match Game in the 1970s.
Shortly before his death in 1996, Morris saw the film version of Mission: Impossible starring Tom Cruise. He so disliked the movie that he left the theater early, calling it "an abomination."
Personal life
Morris married his wife Leona Keyes in 1956, and remained married for 40 years until his death in 1996. Together they had three children, including actor Phil Morris and actress Iona Morris. Leona Morris died on November 2, 2016, aged 81.
Death
Morris died on August 27, 1996, of lung and brain cancer in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the age of 62.
Filmography
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Dr. Foster | Season 1 Episode 17: "Forecast: Low Clouds and Coastal Fog" |
| 1963 | Sam Benedict | Victim | Episode: "Of Rusted Cannons and Fallen Sparrows" |
| 1963 | Dr. Kildare | Lincoln Ball | Episode: "The Gift of the Koodjanuk" |
| 1963 | The Twilight Zone | Lieutenant Woodard | Season 5 Episode 10: "The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms" |
| 1963 | The Lieutenant | Sergeant Perc Linden | Episode: "The Proud and the Angry" |
| 1963 | The Lieutenant | Crew Chief | Episode: "The Two Star Giant" |
| 1963 | The Dick Van Dyke Show | Mr. Peters | Episode: "That's My Boy??" |
| 1964 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Burial Detail Inmate (uncredited) | Season 2 Episode 18: "Final Escape" |
| 1964 | The Lieutenant | Crew Chief | Episode: "To Kill a Man" |
| 1964 | The New Interns | Dr. Pete Clarke | |
| 1964 | The Lively Set | Highway Patrol Officer | |
| 1965 | The Fugitive | Mickey Deming | Episode: "Wings of an Angel" |
| 1965 | I Spy | Jim Rogers | Episode: "Lori" |
| 1965 | The Sword of Ali Baba | Yusef | |
| 1965 | The Dick Van Dyke Show | Frank "Sticks" Mandalay | Episode: "Bupkis" |
| 1966 | The Doomsday Flight | FBI Agent Balaban | TV movie written by Rod Serling |
| 1966–1973 | Mission: Impossible | Barney Collier | Main cast |
| 1973 | Mannix | Escaped Convict | Episode: "Climb a Deadly Mountain" |
| 1974 | The Six Million Dollar Man | Josh | Episode: "Little Orphan Airplane" |
| 1974 | Match Game | Himself | Game Show Participant / Celebrity Guest Star |
| 1975 | The Streets of San Francisco | Eddie Griffin | Episode: "Merchants of Death" |
| 1976 | Countdown at Kusini | Red Salter | |
| 1976 | S.T.A.B. | Richard Hill | Thai film |
| 1976 | Sanford and Son | Willis | Episodes: "The Hawaiian Connection", parts 1 & 2 |
| 1977 | What's Happening!! | Lawrence Nelson | Episode: "If I'm Elected" |
| 1978 | Wonder Woman | Caribe | Episode: "Light-Fingered Lady" |
| 1978 | Quincy, M.E. | Cliff Collier | Episode: "A Night to Raise the Dead" |
| 1978 | Fantasy Island | Ted Harmon | Episode: "War Games / Queen of the Boston Bruisers" |
| 1978 | The Eddie Capra Mysteries | Shelby | Episode: "The Intimate Friends of Janet Wilde" |
| 1978–1981 | Vega$ | Lieutenant Dave Nelson | Recurring |
| 1978 | The Love Boat | Guest star | Episode: "Till Death Do Us Part – Maybe/Chubs/Locked Away" |
| 1979 | Password Plus | Himself | Game Show Participant / Celebrity Guest Star |
| 1979 | Roots: The Next Generations | Beeman Jones | Miniseries, part 1 |
| 1979 | What's Happening!! | Lawrence Nelson | Episode: "Dwayne's Debate" |
| 1983 | The Fall Guy | Gary Jordan | Episode: "P.S., I Love You" |
| 1983 | The Jeffersons | Jimmy's Cousin | Episodes: "Mission: Incredible" parts 1-3 |
| 1983 | Fantasy Island | Chief of Surgery | Episode: "The Wedding Picture / Castaways" |
| 1984 | T. J. Hooker | Dave Reemer | Episode: "Exercise in Murder" |
| 1984 | Murder, She Wrote | Lieutenant Andrews | Episode: "Lovers and Other Killers" |
| 1985 | Super Password | Himself | Game Show Participant / Celebrity Guest Star |
| 1988 | War of the Worlds | General Masters | Episode: "The Second Seal" |
| 1988–1990 | Mission: Impossible | Barney Collier | Recurring |
| 1989 | The Adventures of Superboy | Damon | Episode: "The Invisible People" |
| 1995 | TekWar | Hacker | Episode: "Killer Instinct" |
| :: |
References
References
- (October 4, 1983). "Francis Williams, Trumpeter; Played With Ellington Band". [[The New York Times]].
- Greenberger, Robert. (March 2023). "Lynda Day George: Her Missions Were Possible". [[TwoMorrows Publishing]].
- "Episode Description: The Dick Van Dyke Show – "That's My Boy??"".
- Tush, Bill. (May 26, 1996). "'Mission: Impossible' TV stars disgruntled". [[CNN]].
- Ravo, Nick. (August 29, 1996). "Greg Morris, 61, Debonair Star Of TV's 'Mission Impossible'". [[The New York Times]].
- (November 12, 2016). "Leona Alvadeen Keys Morris Obituary (1935 - 2016) Los Angeles Times".
- (August 28, 1996). "'Mission: Impossible' actor dies". [[CNN]].
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