Harry Morgan, Beyond Colonel Potter: 10 Notes on a Great Character Actor

We remember him as MASH’s Col. Sherman Potter, but Harry Morgan’s career stretched across six decades of film and TV.

Photo by Bruna Araujo on Unsplash

Over the years, most of us, when we watch TV or movies home in on the leading men or women, but some supporting actors have cut a wide swarth in the entertainment industry. Harry Morgan is a case in point.

Harry is probably best remembered for his role as Col. Sherman Potter of MASH fame. But his career was so much more than that. I even remember him in a couple of classic westerns, The Ox Bow Incident, and The Shootist. Of course, there are so many others.

Let’s take a look at some facts about Harry Morgan.

1: Surprisingly, he does not have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

That’s amazing to me considering his body of high-quality work. It seems like he should at least have a meteor on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2: Harry also played Bill Gannon to Jack Webb’s Joe Friday in the TV classic, Dragnet.

I believe Harry gave Webb lessons in modulation.

3: Harry attended high school at Muskegon High School, in Muskegon where he was a big man on campus. He was class president in his senior year and played varsity football.

Muskegon High School standout He attended Muskegon High School in Michigan, where he was class president and played varsity football. Different era, different game.

4: He got along well with all the cast of MASH. He said of Loretta Swit, “Loretta Swit called me from London, I think she’s probably my best friend. She didn’t even call collect.”

That is the mark of a true friend.

5: Among the dozens of westerns Harry appeared in were four appearances on Gunsmoke.

Western stalwart Among his many westerns were four appearances on Gunsmoke. For the record, I don’t think he was ever shot — Harry Morgan, survivor.

6: Harry died in his sleep on December 7,2011, at the age of 96.

And as Kenny Rodgers gambler would say, “That was the best you can hope for.”

7: One of Harry’s early TV roles of note was that of Pete Porter in ‘December Bride.”

The original name of the series was, “Let’s Get Married Before the New Year to Get a Tax Break.”

8: One of Morganas more interesting roles was Marshall Thibido in the John Wayne western, ‘The Shootist.”

Morgan’s character was less than enthralled with Wayne’s titular character and indicated he would place something besides flowers on his grave after Wayne’s character died. Fortunately, there was not a sequel.

9: Morgan’s birth name was Harry Bratsberg, but he took the stage name Harry Morgan so as not to be confused with another actor by the same name.

Ah yes, the big names in theater were Barrymore and Bratsberg.

10: Morgan continued to play Col. Sherman Potter in the MASH sequel, AfterMash.

Ironically this was a situation where war was funnier than peacetime.

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