Vic Morrow
From The TV IV
| Vic Morrow | |
| Notable Roles | |
| Notable Episodes | |
| Awards | |
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[edit] Biography
Born Victor Morrow, 14 Feb 1929 - Bronx New York Died Vic Morrow, 23 Jul 1982 - Indian Dunes California Cause of death: Accident - Helicopter Remains: Buried, Hillside Memorial Park, Culver City, CA
Executive summary: Sgt. Chip Saunders on Combat Wife: Barbara Turner (m. 1957, div. 1964) Daughter: Carrie Morrow (b. 1958) Daughter: Jennifer Jason Leigh (b. 1962) Wife: Gale Lester (m. 1975, div. 1976)
Mini Biography for Vic Morrow Height 5' 9" (1.75 m)
Born in the Bronx, Vic Morrow dropped out of high school at 17 to join the U.S. Navy. When he left the Navy, he used the G.I. Bill to study pre-law at Florida State. While Morrow was working on his degree in Law, he also took part in a school play and found that he preferred stage acting to courtroom acting. When he went to New York, Morrow enrolled in the Actors' Workshop to improve his skills. After graduating, he was cast in the summer stock production of "A Streetcar Named Desire". His screen debut came when he was signed by MGM to play a tough-talking, surly street punk in Blackboard Jungle (1955). The good news was that he was now in the movies, but the bad news was that he became typecast as a heavy. Disappointed with this situation, Morrow left MGM after a few years and headed back to school to study directing at USC. He made some appearances on television and in 1962 found a role that brought him fame and made him the "hero": the TV series "Combat!" (1962), in which he played Sgt. Chip Saunders, veteran squad leader. Due to his demands, the show quickly went from an alternating showcase between platoon leader Lt. Hanley (Rick Jason) and Sgt. Saunders to one featuring mainly Saunders. With the success of the show, Morrow put to use what he had learned at USC and directed some episodes. In 1965 he and his wife divorced, and two years later the series ended. These two events put him into a personal and professional slide. By 1969 he began almost a decade of making made-for-TV movies, with an occasional foray into features. Most of his roles, though, put him back as a "heavy", although he did have a good part as a tough L.A. cop going up against out-of-town mobsters in a two-part episode of "Police Story" (1973) that was later released as a telefeature. While he worked in the theater and looked forward to the big screen, most of his roles were in "B" pictures such as Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974) and Treasure of Matecumbe (1976). He got good reviews playing Walter Matthau's nemesis in the hit comedy The Bad News Bears (1976), but was not involved in any of the following sequels, and he seemed to be stuck in a rut of "B" features and average made-for-TV films. With the failure of his second marriage, the death of his mother and the scarcity of good parts, Morrow hit the bottle, which did his career even less good. In 1982, however, he refocused his drive and made a comeback in Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), but was unfortunately killed in a tragic accident on the set while filming a scene involving a helicopter chasing his character Bill Conner running across the river with two young children under each arm. Vic and one kid were decapitated while the other child was crushed by the fallen helicopter.
[edit] Roles
[edit] Starring Roles
Most notable starring role was the portrayal of WWII Infantry 2nd Platoon K Company First Squad Leader Sgt 'Chip' Saunders (ABC's Combat 1962-1967). Here Vic Morrow plays a no-nonsense non-com who is actually a 'softie' at heart. He can chew the guys out one minute, the next minute, he can be so caring when one of them gets seriously hurt. He usually goes by the book to protect his men and to prevent himself from being too caring. If there's danger, he'd be the first to volunteer and only sends his men when he felt its safe to do so.
[edit] Guest Starring Roles
1. The Millionaire: The Joey Diamond Story (1956) 2. Restless Gun: Duel at Lockwood (1957) 3. Trackdown: Man and Money (1957) 4. Alfred Hitchcock Presents: A Little Sleep (1957) 5. Richard Diamond, Private Detective: The Ed Church Case (1958) 6. The Brothers Brannigan: Tune in For Murder (1958) 7. The Rifleman: The Angry Gun (1958) 8. The Rifleman: Letter of the Law (1959) 9. Johnny Ringo: Kid With A Gun (1959) 10. Lineup: My Son Is A Stranger (1959) 11. Lineup: Vengeful Knife (1959) 12. Naked City: The Shield (1959) 13. Wichita Town: They Won't Hang Jimmy Nelson 14. Barbara Stanwyck Theater: The Key To The Killer (1960) 15. Bonanza: The Avenger (1960) 16. Outlaws: Beat The Drum Slowly (1960) 17. The Untouchables: The Maggie Storm Story (1960) 18. The Untouchables: The Tommy Karpeles Story (1960) 19. The Law and Mr Jones: A Very Special Citizen (1961) 20. Bonanza: The Tin Badge (1961) 21. Lawless Years: Little Augie (1961) 22. Outlaws: The Avenger (1961) 23. Outlaws: No Luck on Friday (1961) 24. Tall Man: Time of Foreshadowing (1961) 25. Target: The Corrupters (1961) 26. Death Valley Days: A Matter of Honor (1963) 27. Suspense: I, Buck Larsen (1964) 28. Target: Harry (1969) 29. Dan August: The Union Forever (1970) 30. The Immortal: The Rainbow Butcher (1970) 31. FBI: Center of Peril (1971) 32. Hawaii Five-0: Two Doves and Mr. Heron (1971) 33. Mannix: Days Beyond Recall (1971) 34. Sarge: A Push Over the Edge (1971) 35. The Bold Ones: Five Days in the Death of Sgt Brown (1972) 36. McCloud: A Little Plot in Tranquil Valley (1972) 37. Mission Impossible: Two Thousand (1972) 38. Owen Marshall: Eight Cents Worth of Protection (1972) 39. Evil Touch: The Fans (1973) 40. FBI: Desperate Journey (1973) 41. Love Story: The Cardboard House (1973) 42. Streets of San Francisco: The 24-Carat Plague (1973) 43. Evil Touch: Murders For The Birds (1974) 44. Bronk: The Vigilante (1976) 45. Hunter: The K Group (1977) 46. World of Disney: The Ghost of Cypress Swamp (1977) 47. Charlie's Angels: Angels in Vegas (1978) 48. The Littlest Hobo: Silent Witness (1979) 49. Charlie's Angels: Angel in Hiding (1980) 50. Greatest Heroes of the Bible: Daniel and the Nebuchadnezzer (1981) 51. Magnum P.I: Wave Goodbye (1981) 52. Fantasy Island: The Challenge (1982) 53. G.E Theatre: The Iron Silence 54. Lawless Years: The Nick Joseph Story
[edit] Specials and Made-for-TV Movies
1. It's A Dog's Life (1955) - voice of 'Wildfire' the Dog 2. Blackboard Jungle (1955) - Artie West 3. Tribute To A Bad Man (1956) - Lars Peterson 4. Men In War (1957) - Cpl James Zwickley 5. Hell's Five Hours (1958) - Nash 6. King Creole (1958) - Shark 7. God's Little Acre (1958) - Shaw Walden 8. Cimarron (1960) - Wes Jennings 9. Portrait of a Mobster (1961) - Dutch Schultz 10. Posse from Hell (1961) - Crip 11. COMBAT! (1962-1967) - Sgt 'Chip' Saunders 12. Travis Logan, D.A (1970) - Travis Logan 13. A Step Out Line (1971) - Joe Rawlins 14. River of Mystery ((1971) - Phil Munger 15. The Weekend Nun (1972) - Chuck Jardine 16. The Glass House (1972) - Hugo Slocum 17. Police Story (1973) - Sgt Joe LaFreida 18. Tom Sawyer (1973) - Injun Joe 19. The Take (1974) - Victor Manso 20. Nightmare (1974) - Det. Rausch 21. Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974) - Cpt (Sheriff) Everett Franklin 22. The California Kid (1974) - Sheriff Roy Childress 23. Death Stalk (1974) - Leo Brunner 24. The Night That Panicked America (1975) - Hank Muldoon 25. Wanted: Babysitter (1975) 26. Treasure of Matecumbe (1976) - Spangler 27. Bad News Bears (1976) - Coach Roy Turner 28. Captains and the Kings (1976) - Tom Hennessey 29. The Man With The Power (1977) - Paul 30. The Hostage Heart (1977) - Steve Rockewicz 31. Funeral for an Assassin (1977) - Michael Cardiff 32. Curse of the Black Widow (1977) - Lt. Gully Conti 33. Roots (1977) - Ames 34. Message From Space (1978) - General Garuda 35. Wild and Wooly (1978) - Warden Willis 36. Stone (1979) - Morgan Teckington 37. The Seeker (1979) - Leland Pell 38. The Evictors (1979) - Jake Rudd 39. The Last Convertible (1979) - Chief Lonborg 40. The Last Shark aka L'Ultimo Squalo (1980) - Ron Hamer 41. Humanoids From The Deep (1980) - Hank Slattery 42. B.A.D Cats (1980) - Captain Eugene 'Skip' Nathan 43. 1990: The Bronx Warriors (1983) - Hammer 44. Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) - Bill Conner 45. Death In Hollywood (1990) - posthumously
[edit] Talk, News and Game Show Appearances
The Social Security Act; Recruitment Campaign - Fort Benning Georgia
[edit] Notable Film Roles
Many considered his role as Artie West being his greatest, but I personally prefer his supporting role as Shawn in "God's Little Acre". He was not the leading actor but managed to stand out in his supporting role. Of course, everyone knows Vic as Sgt Saunders. After the first two seasons, its apparent that the Saunders' character is a good reflection of Vic's natural self.
[edit] Memorable Moments
His death on the set while filming "Twilight Zone: The Movie" will forever be etched in my memory, but it was his portrayal of Sgt Saunders that was truly memorable.
[edit] Awards and Accolades
1. Honorary Doughboy Fort Benning Georgia (1963) 2. Nominated for Best Actor - Combat: Survival (1962)
[edit] Trivia
Vic had long slender fingers (except for right forefinger), a sign of artistic talent in the performing arts. His eyes said more than any words can express. His body language exudes confidence and purpose. His intensity was awe inspiring.
