Actor-Director Howard Morris Dies at 85 in Los Angeles

Howard Morris, who appeared on Broadway as Rosencrantz in producer Mike Todd’s 1945 revival of Hamlet, as Louis Lemanteur in the original production of Gentleman Prefer Blondes (1949), and as Og the Leprechaun in the 1960 revival of Finian’s Rainbow, died on May 21 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 85.

Born on September 4, 1919 in the Bronx, Morris was best known for his television work; he was an original cast member of Your Show of Shows and played hillbilly poet Ernest T. Bass on The Andy Griffith Show. He also played Feste in a 1957 TV version of Twelfth Night, alongside Maurice Evans (who played Hamlet in the 1945 production noted above), Rosemary Harris, and Denholm Elliott.

Morris directed episodes of numerous television shows, including The Dick Van Dyke Show, Get Smart, and Trapper John M.D.. He also directed the movie With Six You Get Eggroll (1968), starring Doris Day, and the film version of Woody Allen’s Don’t Drink the Water (1969), starring Jackie Gleason and Estelle Parsons.

In the 1960 production of Finian’s Rainbow, which transferred to the 46th Street Theater (now the Richard Rodgers) from City Center, Morris’s co-stars included Jeannie Carson, William Biff McGuire, Anita Alvarez, and Carol Brice. Among the members of the ensemble were future stars Robert Guillaume and Tiger Haynes.

According to The Los Angeles Times, Morris was married and divorced five times. He is survived by his children, David, Gabrielle, Kim and Devra.