Advertisement |
Harry Morgan (born April 10, 1915) is an American television actor. Morgan is perhaps best-known as Colonel Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H, "Pete" on Pete and Gladys and December Bride, and Detective Bill Gannon on Dragnet.
Morgan was born Harry Bratsberg, in Detroit, Michigan of Norwegian heritage. He was raised in Muskegon, Michigan, and graduated from Muskegon High School in 1933, where he achieved distinction as a statewide debating champion. He originally aspired to a law degree, but began acting while a junior at the University of Chicago in 1935.
Morgan began acting on stage under his birth name, joining the Group Theatre in New York City in 1937 and appearing in the original production of the Clifford Odets play Golden Boy, followed by a host of successful Broadway roles alongside such other Group members as Lee J. Cobb, Elia Kazan, Sanford Meisner, and Karl Malden.