Chester Morris

John Chester Brooks Morris (February 16, 1901 – September 11, 1970) was an American stage, film, television, and radio actor. He had some prestigious film roles early in his career, and received an Academy Award nomination for Alibi (1929). Morris is remembered for portraying Boston Blackie, a criminal-turned-detective, in the Boston Blackie film series of the 1940s.

Chester Morris
Morris in 1934
Born	John Chester Brooks Morris (1901-02-16)February 16, 1901 New York City U.S.
Died	September 11, 1970(1970-09-11) (aged 69) New Hope, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1917–1970
Spouses	Suzanne Kilbourne ​ ​ (m. 1926; div. 1940)​ Lillian Kenton Barker ​ ​ (m. 1940⁠–⁠1970)​
Children	3
Parent(s)	William Morris Etta Hawkins
Relatives	Adrian Morris (brother)

Early years

Morris and Mae Marsh in The Beloved Traitor (1918)

Chester Morris was born John Chester Brooks Morris in New York City, and was one of five children of Broadway stage actor William Morris and stage comedienne Etta Hawkins.^[1] His siblings who lived to adulthood were screenwriter-actor Gordon Morris,^[2] actor Adrian Morris, and actress Wilhelmina Morris.^{[3]: 7, 263} Another brother, Lloyd Morris, had died young.^[3]: 7

Morris dropped out of school and began his Broadway career at 15 years old opposite Lionel Barrymore in The Copperhead.^[4] He made his film debut in the silent comedy-drama film An Amateur Orphan (1917).^[5]

After appearing in several more Broadway productions in the early 1920s, Morris joined his parents, sister, and two brothers, Gordon and Adrian, on the vaudeville circuit.^[6] From 1923, they performed William Morris' original sketch called All the Horrors of Home, which premiered at the Palace Theatre, New York, then on the Keith-Orpheum circuit for two years, including Proctor's Theatre, Mount Vernon, New York, and culminating in Los Angeles in 1925.^{[3]: 12, 304 [7]: 150} Morris returned to Broadway with roles in The Home Towners (1926) and Yellow (1927). While appearing in the 1927 play Crime, he was spotted by a talent agent and was signed to a film contract.^[1]

Career

Morris (second from right) received an Oscar nomination for his performance as a gangster in Alibi (1929)

Morris and Wallace Beery in The Big House (1930)

Public Hero No. 1 trailer (1935)

Morris made his sound film debut in the 1929 film Alibi, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.^[8] He followed with roles in Woman Trap (1929), The Case of Sergeant Grischa (1930) and The Divorcee, starring Norma Shearer in 1930. Later that year, Morris was cast as one of the leads (with Wallace Beery and Robert Montgomery) in the MGM prison drama The Big House. For the next two years, he worked steadily in films for United Artists and MGM and was cast opposite Jean Harlow in the 1932 comedy-drama Red-Headed Woman.^[9]

By the mid- to late 1930s, Morris' popularity had begun to wane and he was cast as the lead actor in such B-movies as Smashing the Rackets (1938) and Five Came Back (1939).^[5] In 1941, Morris' career was revived when he was cast as criminal-turned-detective Boston Blackie. Morris appeared in a total of 14 Boston Blackie films for Columbia Pictures, beginning with Meet Boston Blackie. He reprised the role of Boston Blackie for the radio series in 1944.^[10] During World War II, Morris performed magic tricks in over 350 USO shows. He had been practicing magic since the age of 12 and was considered a top amateur magician.^[11]

While appearing in the Boston Blackie series, Morris continued to appear in roles in other films mostly for Pine-Thomas films for Paramount Pictures.^[5] After appearing in 1949's Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture, the final Boston Blackie film, Morris largely retired from films.^[4] During the 1950s, he focused mainly on television and theatre, returning to Broadway in 1954 in the comedy The Fifth Season.^[12] During this time, Morris also appeared in guest spots for the anthology series Cameo Theatre, Lights Out, Tales of Tomorrow, Alcoa Premiere, Suspense, Danger, Robert Montgomery Presents, The Web, Phillip Morris Playhouse, Studio One, and Kraft Television Theatre. He briefly returned to films in 1955 with a role in the prison drama Unchained, followed by a role in the 1956 science-fiction horror film The She-Creature. In 1960, he had recurring role as Detective Lieutenant Max Ritter in the CBS summer replacement series, Diagnosis: Unknown. The series lasted a year, after which Morris appeared in the NBC television film A String of Beads. In November 1960, he returned to Broadway as Senator Bob Munson in the stage adaptation of the 1959 novel Advise and Consent. Morris remained with the production until it closed in May 1961. In October, he reprised his role for the touring production.^[9]

In the early to mid-1960s, Morris appeared in guest spots for the dramas Route 66, The Defenders, and Dr. Kildare. In 1965, he replaced Jack Albertson in the Broadway production of The Subject Was Roses.^[5] He reprised his role in the play for the touring production in 1966.^[13]

Illness and death

In mid-1968, Morris starred opposite Barbara Britton in the touring production of Where Did We Go Wrong?.^[14] After the production wrapped, he returned to his home in Manhattan, where his health began to decline. Morris was later diagnosed with stomach cancer.^[15]

Despite his declining health, Morris began work on what was his last film role, as Pop Weaver in the biographical drama The Great White Hope (1970). The film was released after his death.^[16][17] After filming wrapped, Morris joined the stage production of The Caine Mutiny Court Martial at the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, Pennsylvania.^[11]

On September 11, 1970, Lee R. Yopp, the producer and director of Caine, was scheduled to have lunch with Morris. After Yopp could not reach Morris by phone at his motel room, he went to Morris's room, where he found the actor's body lying on the floor.^[14] The county coroner attributed Morris's death to an overdose of barbiturates.^[14][18] His remains were cremated and scattered over a German river.^[19]

Personal life

Morris and his wife Lillian in 1943

Morris was married twice. He first married Suzanne Kilbourne on November 8, 1926. They had two children, John Brooks and Cynthia.^[1] Kilbourne was granted an interlocutory divorce in November 1939 which was finalized on November 26, 1940.^[20][21]

On November 30, 1940, Morris married socialite Lillian Kenton Barker at the home of actor Frank Morgan.^[22] They had a son, Kenton, born in 1944. The couple remained married until Morris's death in 1970.^[4]

Select theatre credits

Date	Title	Role	Notes
February 18 – June 1918	The Copperhead	Sam Carter	Shubert Theatre, New York City[23]
September 22 – October 1918	Thunder	Sam Disbrow	Criterion Theatre, New York City[23]
December 12, 1921 – April 1922	The Mountain Man	Carey	Maxine Elliott Theatre, New York City[23]
September 22 – October 1922	The Exciters	Lexington Dalrymple	Times Square Theater, New York City[23]
January 23 – February 1923	Extra	Wallace King	Longacre Theatre, New York City[23]
August 23 – October 1926	The Home Towners	Waly Calhoon	Hudson Theatre, New York City[23]
September 21, 1926 – January 1927	Yellow	Val Parker	National Theatre, New York City[23]
February 22 – August 1927	Crime	Rocky Morse	Eltinge 42nd Street Theatre, New York City[23]
February 20 – May 1928	Whispering Friends	Al Sheeler	Hudson Theatre, New York City[23]
September 26 – October 1928	Fast Life	Chester Palmer	Ambassador Theatre, New York City[23]
June 4 – July 1951	Detective Story	Principal Detective	Ivar Theater, Los Angeles, California[23]
September 5 – October 23, 1954	The Fifth Season	Detective {{{last}}}	Cort Theatre, New York City Touring to Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Chicago[12][24]
February 27 – July 19, 1958	Blue Denim	Major Bartley	Playhouse Theatre, New York City[23]
November 17, 1960 – May 20, 1961	Advise and Consent	Bob Munson	Cort Theatre, New York City[23]
September 7, 1965 – May 21, 1966	The Subject Was Roses	John Cleary	Helen Hayes Theatre, Henry Miller's Theatre and Belasco Theatre, New York City[23]

Filmography

Poster for Alibi (1929)

Poster for Corsair (1931)

Poster for The Gay Bride (1934)

Poster for Public Hero ﹟1 (1935)

Chester Morris, Lucille Ball, Casey Johnson and Kent Taylor in Five Came Back (1939)

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1917	An Amateur Orphan	Dick	Lost film [25]
1918	The Beloved Traitor	Dan	Lost film [25]
1923	Loyal Lives	O'Hara	Lost film [25]
1925	The Road to Yesterday	Party Guest (uncredited)	[25]
1929	Alibi	Chick Williams	Nominee for the Academy Award for Best Actor[25][26]
1929	Fast Life	Paul Palmer	[25]
1929	Woman Trap	Ray Malone	[25]
1929	The Show of Shows	Cast member	[25]
1930	Second Choice	Don Warren	Lost film[25]
1930	Playing Around	Nickey Solomon	[25]
1930	She Couldn't Say No	Jerry Casey	Lost film[25]
1930	The Case of Sergeant Grischa	Sgt. Grischa Paprotkin	[25]
1930	The Divorcee	Ted	[25]
1930	The Big House	John Morgan	[25]
1930	The Bat Whispers	Detective Anderson	[25]
1931	Corsair	John Hawkes	[25]
1932	Cock of the Air	Lieutenant Roger Craig	[25]
1932	The Miracle Man	John Madison, also known as Doc	[25]
1932	Sinners in the Sun	Jimmie Martin	[25]
1932	Red-Headed Woman	Bill Legendre Jr.	[25]
1932	Breach of Promise	James Pomeroy
1933	Blondie Johnson	Danny Jones	[25]
1933	Infernal Machine	Robert Holden	[25]
1933	Tomorrow at Seven	Neil Broderick	[25]
1933	Golden Harvest	Chris Martin	[25]
1933	King for a Night	Bud Williams
1934	Let's Talk It Over	Mike McGann
1934	Gift of Gab	Doyle	[25]
1934	Embarrassing Moments	Jerry Randolph
1934	The Gay Bride	Office Boy, also known as Jimmie Burnham	[25]
1934	Society Doctor	Dr. Bill Morgan	[25]
1935	I've Been Around	Eric Foster
1935	Princess O'Hara	Vic Toledo
1935	Public Hero ﹟1	Jeff Crane	[25]
1935	Pursuit	Mitchell	[25]
1935	Pirate Party on Catalina Isle	Pirate Captain (uncredited)
1936	Three Godfathers	Bob	[25]
1936	Moonlight Murder	Steve Farrell	[25]
1936	Frankie and Johnnie	Johnnie Drew	[25]
1936	Counterfeit	John Joseph Madden	[25]
1936	They Met in a Taxi	Jimmy Donlin
1937	The Devil's Playground	Robert Mason
1937	I Promise to Pay	Eddie Lang	[25]
1937	Flight from Glory	Smith	[25]
1937	Sunday Night at the Trocadero	Himself	Short subject
1938	Law of the Underworld	Gene Fillmore	[25]
1938	Sky Giant	Ken Stockton	[25]
1938	Smashing the Rackets	Jim Conway	[25]
1939	Pacific Liner	Doc Craig	[25]
1939	Blind Alley	Hal Wilson	[25]
1939	Five Came Back	Bill Brooks	[25]
1939	Thunder Afloat	"Rocky" Blake	[25]
1940	The Marines Fly High	Lt. Jim Malone	[25]
1940	Wagons Westward	David Cook/Tim Cook	[25]
1940	Girl from God's Country	Jim Holden, also known as Dr. Gary Currier
1941	Meet Boston Blackie	Boston Blackie	[25]
1941	No Hands on the Clock	Humphrey Campbell	[25]
1941	Confessions of Boston Blackie	Boston Blackie	[25]
1942	Canal Zone	"Hardtack" Hamilton
1942	Alias Boston Blackie	Boston Blackie	[25]
1942	I Live on Danger	Jeff Morrell	[25]
1942	Boston Blackie Goes Hollywood	Boston Blackie	[25]
1942	Wrecking Crew	Duke Mason	[25]
1943	After Midnight with Boston Blackie	Boston Blackie	[25]
1943	Aerial Gunner	Sgt. "Foxy" Pattis	[25]
1943	High Explosive	Buzz Mitchell
1943	The Chance of a Lifetime	Boston Blackie	[25]
1943	Tornado	Pete Ramsey	[25]
1944	Gambler's Choice	Ross Hadley	[25]
1944	Secret Command	Jeff Gallagher	[25]
1944	One Mysterious Night	Boston Blackie	[25]
1944	Double Exposure	Larry Burke	[25]
1945	Rough, Tough and Ready	Brad Crowder
1945	Boston Blackie Booked on Suspicion	Boston Blackie	[25]
1945	Boston Blackie's Rendezvous	Boston Blackie	[25]
1946	One Way to Love	Barry Cole
1946	A Close Call for Boston Blackie	Boston Blackie	[25]
1946	The Phantom Thief	Boston Blackie	[25]
1946	Boston Blackie and the Law	Boston Blackie	[25]
1947	Blind Spot	Jeffrey Andrews	[25]
1948	Trapped by Boston Blackie	Boston Blackie	[25]
1949	Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture	Boston Blackie	[25]
1955	Unchained	Warden Kenyon J. Scudder	[25]
1956	The She-Creature	Dr. Carlo Lombardi	[25]
1961	A String of Beads	Walter Harmon	TV movie
1970	The Great White Hope	Pop Weaver	[25]

Select television credits

Year	Title	Role	Episode(s)
1951	Starlight Theatre	Ed Kennedy	"Act of God Nonwithstanding"
1952	Schlitz Playhouse of Stars	The Dansker	"Billy Budd"
1952	Lux Video Theatre	Lefty	"Welcome Home, Lefty"
1953	Omnibus	The Battler	"The Battler"
1955	Appointment with Adventure	Lt. Kizer	"Time Bomb"
1956	Studio One	Jack Feeney	"The Arena"
1957	The Red Skelton Hour	Tony	"Clem's Fish Market"
1957	Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre	Frank Simmons	"Black Is for Grief"
1957	Playhouse 90	Warden	"Child of Trouble"
1958	Pursuit	Mood	"Tiger on a Bicycle"
1959	The United States Steel Hour	Henry Vining	"Whisper of Evil"
1960	The Play of the Week	Swanson	"Morning's at Seven"
1960	Diagnosis: Unknown	Detective Lieutenant Ritter	Three episodes
1960	Rawhide	Hugh Clements	"Incident on the Road to Yesterday"
1961	Naked City	Frank Manfred	"Make-Believe Man"
1961	Checkmate	Albert Dewitt	"Portrait of a Man Running"
1961	Ben Casey	Walter Tyson	"An Expensive Glass of Water"
1962	Eleventh Hour	Frankie Morrison	"Along About Late in the Afternoon"
1964	Espionage	Harry Kemp	"Castles in Spain"
1964	East Side/West Side	Walt McGill	"The Name of the Game"
1964	Mr. Broadway	Orin Kelsey	"Don't Mention My Name in Sheboygan"
1965	Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre	Major Whitman	"The Fliers"
1967	Coronet Blue	Dr. Michael Wilson	"A Time to Be Born"
1968	Cimarron Strip	George Deeker	"Without Honor"
1969	Gentle Ben	Elsmore	"Busman's Holiday"

Select radio credits

Year	Program	Notes
1944	Boston Blackie	Star of NBC series broadcast June 23 – September 15[27]
1945	Old Gold Comedy Theatre	"Boy Meets Girl"[28]
1946	Suspense	"The Strange Death of Gordon Fitzroy"[29]
1952	Philip Morris Playhouse	"Each Dawn I Die"[30]

References

1. "Veteran Actor Chester Morris, 69". The Palm Beach Post. September 12, 1970. p. 6.
2. Ellenberger, Allan R. (2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory (softcover) (First ed.). Jefferson, NC: McFarland. p. 141. ISBN 978-0-7864-0983-9.
3. Nollen, Scott Allen; Nollen, Yuyun Yuningsih (2019). Chester Morris: His Life and Career (softcover) (First ed.). Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-7729-3.
4. "Movies' 'Boston Blackie,' Chester Morris, Dies". Reading Eagle. September 12, 1970. p. 13.
5. Blottner 2011, p. 51
6. Parish & Leonard 1976, p. 410 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFParishLeonard1976 (help)
7. Jones, Ken D.; McClure, Arthur F.; Twomey, Alfred E (1980) [First published 1976]. Character People: The Stalwarts of the Cinema (softcover) (Third softcover printing ed.). Secaucus, NJ: Citadel Press. ISBN 978-0-8065-0701-9.
8. Morton & Adamson 2009, p. 86
9. Parish & Leonard 1976, p. 413 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFParishLeonard1976 (help)
10. Young & Young 2010, p. 241
11. "Veteran Actor Chester Morris Found Dead". The Times-News. Hendersonville, North Carolina. September 12, 1970. p. 9. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
12. Francis, Bob (August 21, 1954). "Speaking of Legit". Billboard. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
13. "No Book---Says Chester Morris". Spokane Daily Chronicle. November 8, 1966. p. 17. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
14. Parish & Leonard 1976, p. 414 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFParishLeonard1976 (help)
15. Frasier 2015, p. 233
16. "Chester Morris Back On Screen". The Pittsburgh Press. October 1, 1969. p. 93. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
17. Canby, Vincent (June 20, 1971). "'Hope' Tackles Issues Of Today's World". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. New York Times News Service. p. 7B. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
18. "'Boston Blackie' Dies". St. Petersburg Times. September 12, 1970. p. 4A. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
19. (Rosen 2004, p. 188)
20. "Divorce Decree Given Wife Of Chester Morris". Telegraph Herald. Dubuque, Iowa. November 12, 1939. p. 7.
21. "Marriage Not To Be Blocked". Warsaw Union. November 26, 1940. p. 8.
22. "Honeymoon Precedes Work of New Movie". The Miami News. December 1, 1940. p. 5-A.
23. "Chester Morris". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
24. Calta, Louis (September 29, 1954). "Tour is Planned by 'Fifth Season'". The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
25. "Chester Morris". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
26. "The Official Academy Awards Database". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on February 8, 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
27. Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 110. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
28. "Those Were The Days". Nostalgia Digest. Vol. 40, no. 1. Winter 2014. pp. 32–39.
29. "Suspense - the Strange Death of Gordon Fitzroy". Escape and Suspense!.
30. Kirby, Walter (April 20, 1952). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 46. Retrieved May 9, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.

Sources

• Blottner, Gene (2011). Columbia Pictures Movie Series, 1926-1955: The Harry Cohn Years. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-48672-4.
• Frasier, David K. (2015). Suicide in the Entertainment Industry: An Encyclopedia of 840 Twentieth Century Cases. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-0807-5.
• Morton, Lisa; Adamson, Kent (2009). Savage Detours: The Life and Work of Ann Savage. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-45706-9.
• Rosen, Fred (2004). Cremation in America. Prometheus Books. ISBN 978-1-5910-2136-0.
• Young, William H.; Young, Nancy K. (2010). World War II and the Postwar Years in America: A Historical and Cultural Encyclopedia, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-35652-0.

External links

• Biography portal

• Chester Morris at the Internet Broadway Database
• Chester Morris at AllMovie
• Chester Morris at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Chester Morris at IMDb