Howard Morris

Intro

Howard Morris was an actor and director whose career ranged from live television ensembles to animated voices and feature comedy. For many viewers, his face remains inseparable from Ernest T. Bass, the disruptive visitor to Mayberry on The Andy Griffith Show. Yet that part occupied only a small portion of his working life. Morris also directed episodes of the series, performed with Sid Caesar, and made films in which his principal contribution was behind the camera. The distinctions matter when following his credits: a familiar comic actor could also be responsible for shaping somebody else's performance.

Career snapshot

Morris was born in the Bronx on September 4, 1919. The Television Academy's remembrance traces his interest in performance to his youth in New York and his attendance at a National Youth Administration radio workshop, where he met Carl Reiner. They later served together in an Army entertainment unit based in Honolulu, performing Shakespeare as well as other material. After the war, work in Call Me Mister helped lead them toward television. The distance between that background and the rural character of Ernest T. Bass is a useful reminder that Morris was creating a role, not simply reproducing his own upbringing.

The entry point

His television work with Caesar included Admiral Broadway Revue, Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour. In his recorded Television Academy interview, Morris discussed the chemistry of an ensemble that included Imogene Coca and Carl Reiner, as well as the writers and sketches that supported it. He subsequently moved between guest acting and direction on other programs. The archive documents his work on the Get Smart pilot and on series including Bewitched and Hogan's Heroes. These were different production assignments, requiring attention to the continuing characters and comic conventions of each show rather than a single recurring Morris persona.

Screen identity and style

The Morris family's episode guide lists five appearances as Ernest T. Bass, beginning with Mountain Wedding in 1963 and ending with Malcolm At The Crossroads in 1965. My Fair Ernest T. Bass puts Andy's attempts at social refinement against Ernest T.'s habits; The Education of Ernest T. Bass moves the problem toward schooling. The gallery's 1964 publicity image shows Morris with Aneta Corsaut as Helen Crump in that educational setting. The family guide separately lists eight episodes Morris directed in 1964, including Barney's Bloodhound and Aunt Bee's Romance. Acting appearances and directing credits should therefore be counted separately.

Collaborations and patterns

Another gallery photograph comes from The Twilight Zone's I Dream of Genie in 1963. CBS's original publicity description identifies Morris and Patricia Barry and explains that his character imagines marriage to a glamorous actress after acquiring a modern Aladdin's lamp. The image belongs to that fantasy, not to Mayberry. It records a different setting for Morris's comic presence, formally dressed beside Barry rather than in Ernest T.'s work clothes. Together with the schoolroom photograph, it shows why production-specific captions are more useful than treating every image of a comedian as the same familiar character.

Era reflection

As a feature director, Morris made With Six You Get Eggroll, released in 1968. AFI identifies Doris Day as Abby McClure and Brian Keith as Jake Iverson, with Pat Carroll, Barbara Hershey and George Carlin among the supporting cast. The project developed from a television-series proposal, and the screenplay credits belong to Gwen Bagni, Paul Dubov, Harvey Bullock and R. S. Allen. Morris's portrait here was issued as publicity for that film; it represents its director rather than an invented on-screen role. His other feature directing work included Who's Minding the Mint? and Don't Drink the Water.

Legacy and rediscovery

Voice performance formed another substantial part of Morris's career, including Atom Ant, Jughead Jones and Gopher in Disney's Winnie the Pooh productions. His work also extended to commercials. On the family's official site, his son David recalls watching him direct McDonaldland spots and working closely with their cast and crew. Morris died on May 21, 2005, aged 85. His surviving screen appearances, directing credits and oral-history interview preserve different parts of that career: the recognizable face of Ernest T. Bass, the ensemble player trained in live comedy, and the working director helping other performers reach an audience.

Selected screen roles

• Your Show of Shows: Ensemble performer — 1950-1954
• The Andy Griffith Show: Ernest T. Bass; also episode director — 1963-1965
• The Twilight Zone: I Dream of Genie: Guest performer — 1963
• Get Smart: Pilot director — 1965
• With Six You Get Eggroll: Director — 1968

A career in pictures

Three separate photographs cover Morris as a feature director and in two distinct television productions.

With Six You Get Eggroll publicity portrait (1968)

Director Howard Morris

A publicity portrait of the director; no on-screen character is implied.

The Andy Griffith Show schoolroom publicity (1964)

Ernest T. Bass

Morris stands at left beside Aneta Corsaut as Helen Crump.

I Dream of Genie publicity (1963)

Howard Morris with Patricia Barry

Patricia Barry is at left, with Morris at right, in CBS publicity for The Twilight Zone.

Rewatch notes

• The family guide separates five Ernest T. Bass appearances from eight episodes Morris directed.
• Morris directed With Six You Get Eggroll; the gallery portrait is publicity for his directing work.