Strider Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 Farewell Colonel Potter and Officer Bill Gannon...RIP That's right, Harry Morgan, the beloved actor who was part of two of the 20th century's most iconic television shows, "Dragnet" and "M*A*S*H", died yesterday(Wednesday Dec. 7) from pneumonia. He was 96. You had to be living under a rock in the 70s not to be aware of "M*A*S*H, easily one of the most successful TV series ever...compared to MASH, "Friends" was a mere trifle. Harry Morgan's role of Col. Potter on the show(replacing Maclean Stevenson's Lt. Col. Henry Blake) was one of my favourite characters of the entire series. And if you are, say, 48 or older, there's a good chance you also remember Harry Morgan as LAPD Officer Bill Gannon from the TV show "Dragnet", where he was partner to Jack Webb's Sgt. Joe Friday. For you younger kids, he also appeared on "The Simsons". A real class act. Read his obituary here: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-harry-morgan-20111115,0,5809818.story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 I have lots of fond memories of both M*A*S*H* and Dragnet as well as Harry Morgan's roles in tons of other television shows and feature length films. He had some mighty big shoes to fill on M*A*S*H* as far as filling the void left by McLean Stevenson ("Henry Blake" on the program). In so doing, it took the show in more of a dramatic direction than a comedic one but it remained a top notch program full of outstanding writing and acting. That was no small task in and of itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slave to zep Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 loved mash. probably the best show ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2bitnogoodjive Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpIgQTeAD9c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deborah J Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 Jahfin & Strider, both of you stated it perfectly. This show made you laugh and cry. I was an avid watcher and own a few DVD's of the shows series. I remember the final show we had a MASH farewell party with about 50 people and there was not a dry eye in the room. RIP Harry Morgan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MINI_Zoso Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 96! He did well. Easily a favorite of mine on MASH. Even my 14 yr old daughter loved him. How many 14 yr old's call their underwear "skivies"?! Time to watch some MASH I think, bye Colonel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slave to zep Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 Jahfin & Strider, both of you stated it perfectly. This show made you laugh and cry. I was an avid watcher and own a few DVD's of the shows series. I remember the final show we had a MASH farewell party with about 50 people and there was not a dry eye in the room. RIP Harry Morgan oh yes, the final show was amazing. the other one i remember the most was when henry blake left and radar had to tell them all the news ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 oh yes, the final show was amazing. the other one i remember the most was when henry blake left and radar had to tell them all the news ..... Even though I've seen that episode hundreds of times by now, I still get choked up when Radar walks into the OR with the untimely news about Henry Blake. There's no finer testament to just how well that program was made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deborah J Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 oh yes, the final show was amazing. the other one i remember the most was when henry blake left and radar had to tell them all the news ..... Hi slave to zep!! I know...here it is...I actually met Radar at a gas station in Slidell, Louisiana one night and we talked for about 5 minutes. I'll never forget that. My friends and I could not believe we met him and he talked with us. Very kind man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slave to zep Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 jahfin : yes, you are right. sometimes it's what is NOT said ..... deborah : thankyou! it still makes me feel so sad when i watch that .... and how wonderful that you met radar, i just knew he would be like that in real life. i think he was an amazing actor, yet haven't seen him in anything else. i suppose he was in other things, but mash is all i have seen of him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhairedqueen22 Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 my condolences to his family Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrum Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 I liked him as Henry Fonda's sidekick in 'The Ox-Bow Incident' (1943). R.I.P. Colonel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planted Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Farewell Colonel Potter and Officer Bill Gannon...RIP That's right, Harry Morgan, the beloved actor who was part of two of the 20th century's most iconic television shows, "Dragnet" and "M*A*S*H", died yesterday(Wednesday Dec. 7) from pneumonia. He was 96. You had to be living under a rock in the 70s not to be aware of "M*A*S*H, easily one of the most successful TV series ever...compared to MASH, "Friends" was a mere trifle. Harry Morgan's role of Col. Potter on the show(replacing Maclean Stevenson's Lt. Col. Henry Blake) was one of my favourite characters of the entire series. And if you are, say, 48 or older, there's a good chance you also remember Harry Morgan as LAPD Officer Bill Gannon from the TV show "Dragnet", where he was partner to Jack Webb's Sgt. Joe Friday. For you younger kids, he also appeared on "The Simsons". A real class act. Read his obituary here: http://www.latimes.c...0,5809818.story They don't make 'em like that anymore. Thank you so much for posting this, Strider. Harry Morgan's death was discussed in my home this evening. To the 'Greatest Generation'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted December 9, 2011 Author Share Posted December 9, 2011 ^^^You're welcome planted. Got good news today...will message you the test results later. I'm going out to the movies tonight...I know, what are the odds, haha! I liked him as Henry Fonda's sidekick in 'The Ox-Bow Incident' (1943). R.I.P. Colonel. Yes indeed, redrum, besides essaying his memorable television roles, Harry Morgan had an extensive filmography, which you can find on IMDB or Wikipedia. The Ox-Bow Incident, The Big Clock, High Noon, Dark City, How the West Was Won...and plenty more. I especially loved three he did in the 60s, and which would be aired often on TV throughout the 70s growing up: WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE WAR, DADDY?; SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHERIFF!; and SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL GUNFIGHTER! These movies always had me cracking up. Good times, man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledzepfvr Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 I had mentioned this in the favorite tv shows thread but I guess he really deserves a thread of his own to pay respect to Harry Morgan aka Colonel Potter aka Officer Bill Gannon. I am old enough to remember him in Dragnet. RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TypeO Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 M*A*S*H is comfort TV for me. I can watch it on TVLand (I think) late at night and remember the episodes, yet still laugh. RIP COL Potter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Only thing I don't like about M*A*S*H* reruns (or reruns in general) is how they've all been chopped up to make room for more commercials. I also have a tendency to tune into episodes I've seen hundreds of times before rather than the ones I haven't seen as much. Someday I hope to own the M*A*S*H* box set but from what I've read, it's very poorly packaging and it's easy to scratch the DVDs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetredwine Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Even though I've seen that episode hundreds of times by now, I still get choked up when Radar walks into the OR with the untimely news about Henry Blake. There's no finer testament to just how well that program was made. But that scene seems difficult to believe, would they actually have permitted somebody to enter an operating room with such a disturbing announcement? - imagine the poor folks on those operating tables! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 But that scene seems difficult to believe, would they actually have permitted somebody to enter an operating room with such a disturbing announcement? - imagine the poor folks on those operating tables! Considering Radar was usually the news bearer (both good and bad), I don't think there was anyone to stop him. Plus, I'm sure the scene was played out in that manner for the most dramatic effect possible. As for keeping it realistic in general, the writers went to great lengths to consult with surgeons in order to recreate the actual techniques used during "meatball" surgery. Even that wasn't always accurate but at least they went to the trouble of trying to make those scenes in the series as realistic as possible. I believe that aspect of M*A*S*H* was covered at length during one of the reunion shows, which was basically a roundtable discussion with the cast, crew and others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted December 9, 2011 Author Share Posted December 9, 2011 But that scene seems difficult to believe, would they actually have permitted somebody to enter an operating room with such a disturbing announcement? - imagine the poor folks on those operating tables! It was a friggin' war zone, not a tea party...normal regulations that you would get at a Stateside hospital didn't apply at MASH units. Plus, when you're writing for the stage or screen, there are times when you will sacrifice a little realism in favour of dramatic effect. But like Jahfin noted, the makers of MASH went to great lengths to keep it as realistic as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2bitnogoodjive Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 I only got into MASH during reruns but I thought that Maclain Stevenson was a much funnier actor. I liked Harry Morgan's charcter too, but after he was convicted of beating his wife I lost interest in him. There is never any excuse for hitting a woman or an animal. I didn't realize that he was almost 100 years old. Agreed, the show was not nearly as entertaining without Col. Blake, Trapper, and Frank Burns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted December 9, 2011 Author Share Posted December 9, 2011 MASH was a political statement against the Vietnam war and not much more when viewed in context. The writers injected way too much of their poltical views and sappy comedy schtick to make this TV show "realistic" in any imaginable way. There were great performances and even entertaining scripts, but the constantly over the top anti war theme appeared to be the only thing that the creaters of this show cared about. Such lack of balance could never make this a serious comment on what was going on in the world at the time. I know all about the context of MASH...I read the book, saw the Robert Altman movie and watched the show growing up. Leaving all questions of political and war issues aside, what Jahfin and I were referring to was the effort the tv show made to be as "medically" realistic as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted December 9, 2011 Author Share Posted December 9, 2011 Agreed, the show was not nearly as entertaining without Col. Blake, Trapper, and Frank Burns. Here here, I definitely preferred Trapper to BJ and Frank Burns to David Ogden Stiers. The show did tend to get sappier in the later years...Alan Alda almost became insufferable. The feminists LOVED him. And poor Hot Lips...after Burns was gone, they could never quite figure out what to do with Loretta Swit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slave to zep Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 the early days were def the best, but i still liked all of the rest too. frank and henry were great characters. i never liked the bj character much, and that other guy, what was his name? the stuck up rich guy? hated him! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out OnTheTiles Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Charles Winchester. He was played by David Ogden Stiers. I preferred him to Burns. R.I.P.Harry Morgan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.