Film & TV
Harry Morgan
1915–2011 · actor
Colonel Potter of M*A*S*H and Officer Gannon of Dragnet, born Harry Bratsberg in Detroit to Norwegian immigrant parents.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
Los Angeles, California
aged 96- Birth name
- Harry Bratsberg
- Detroit years
- 1915
- Field
- Film & TV
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Harry Morgan was born Harry Bratsberg in Detroit, the son of Hannah and Henry Bratsberg, Norwegian immigrants. The family did not stay in the city: he was raised in Muskegon on Lake Michigan, where he graduated from Muskegon High School in 1933 as a statewide debating champion. He went on to a career of more than six decades, playing supporting roles in over 100 films, among them The Ox-Bow Incident and High Noon, before becoming a television fixture. He was the henpecked neighbor Pete Porter in December Bride and Pete and Gladys, Officer Bill Gannon opposite Jack Webb in Dragnet, and, most famously, Colonel Sherman T. Potter, the steady commanding officer of the 4077th in M*A*S*H from 1975 to 1983. His Detroit connection is his birthplace.
Highlights
- Colonel Sherman T. Potter in M*A*S*H (1975–1983) and AfterMASH
- Emmy Award for M*A*S*H (1980)
- Officer Bill Gannon in Dragnet (1967–1970)
- Supporting roles in more than 100 films