Greg Morris
- Born
- 1933-09-27 (age 62)
- Died
- 1996-08-27 (aged 62) · 29 years ago
- Birthplace
- Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
- Occupation
- Actor
- Active
- 1996 - 1996
- Spouse
- Leona Keyes
- Alma Mater
- University of Iowa
- AKA
- Francis Gregory Alan Morris
Biography
EARLY LIFE
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, to jazz trumpeter Francis Williams, Greg 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, Branded, and Ben Casey.
CAREER
In 1966, Greg Morris was cast in his most recognizable role as the team electronics expert Barney Collier in the TV series Mission: Impossible. Morris and Bob Johnson were the only actors to remain with Mission: Impossible throughout its entire run. After Mission: Impossible was cancelled, Morris appeared in several movies and made guest TV appearances, including The Six Million Dollar Man. Morris was then cast as Lieutenant David Nelson of the Las Vegas Metro Police in the ABC TV detective series Vega$ (1978–1981). 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." He also appeared in first major Black American-Nigerian film collaboration, Cool Red (1976).
PERSONAL LIFE
Greg 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.
Filmography
No filmography available for this person yet.
Box Office
Weekly Top Grossing3 Cold Dishes
₦5,331,351.00
Gingerrr
₦12,727,775.00
Gingerrr
₦21,139,500.00
The Herd
₦16,977,673.00
3 Cold Dishes
₦15,261,240.00
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Popularity Score
Top 100% of African actors
