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Wayne Morris is a Actor and Producer American born on 17 february 1914 at Los Angeles (USA)

Wayne Morris

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Birth name Bert DeWayne Morris
Nationality USA
Birth 17 february 1914 at Los Angeles (USA)
Death 14 september 1959 (at 45 years) at California (USA)
Awards Distinguished Flying Cross

Wayne Morris (February 17, 1914 – September 14, 1959), born Bert DeWayne Morris in Los Angeles, was an American film and television actor, as well as a decorated World War II fighter ace. He appeared in many notable films, including Paths of Glory (1957), The Bushwackers (1952) and the title role of Kid Galahad in 1937.

While filming Flight Angels (1940), Morris became interested in flying and became a pilot. With war in the wind, he joined the Naval Reserve and became a Navy flier in 1942, leaving his film career behind for the duration of the war. Flying the F6F Hellcat off the aircraft carrier USS Essex, Morris shot down seven Japanese planes and contributed to the sinking of five ships. He was awarded four Distinguished Flying Crosses and two Air Medals.

Morris was considered by the Navy as physically 'too big' to fly fighters. After being turned down several times as a fighter pilot, he went to his uncle-in-law, Cdr. David McCampbell, imploring him for the chance to fly fighters. Cdr. McCampbell said "Give me a letter." He flew with the VF-15, the famed "McCampbell Heroes." He married Patricia O'Rourke, an Olympic swimmer, and sister to B-movie actress Peggy Stewart.

Following the war, Morris returned to films, but his nearly four-year absence had cost him his burgeoning stardom. He continued to act in movies, but the pictures, for the most part, sank in quality. Losing his boyish looks but not demeanor, Morris spent most of the fifties in low-budget westerns. He made an unusual career move in 1957, making his Broadway debut as a washed-up boxing champ in William Saroyan's The Cave Dwellers. He also appeared as a weakling Lieutenant Roget, one of the main characters, in Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory (1957).

Biography

Au cinéma, Wayne Morris débute en 1936 et contribue en tout à soixante-et-un films américains (produits principalement par la Warner Bros.), ainsi qu'à trois films britanniques. Un de ses premiers films notables est Le Dernier Combat de Michael Curtiz, sorti en 1937, où il tient le rôle-titre (original) de Kid Galahad, aux côtés d'Edward G. Robinson, Bette Davis et Humphrey Bogart. Il retrouve ce dernier dans Le Retour du docteur X de Vincent Sherman (1939).

Après la Seconde Guerre mondiale (durant laquelle il est pilote de chasse dans l'US Navy — sur l'USS Essex — et dont il ressort décoré), il collabore notamment à Horizons en flammes de Delmer Daves (1949, avec Gary Cooper et Jane Wyatt) et au western — il en tourne seize au total — The Bushwhackers de Rodney Amateau (1952, avec John Ireland et Dorothy Malone).

Son antépénultième film est Les Sentiers de la gloire de Stanley Kubrick (1957, avec Kirk Douglas et Adolphe Menjou). Le dernier est le western Buffalo Gun, sorti le 1er juillet 1961, près de deux ans après sa mort brutale, d'une crise cardiaque.

Pour la télévision, Wayne Morris participe à dix-neuf séries à partir de 1955, dont les séries-westerns Gunsmoke (un épisode, 1958) et Au nom de la loi (un épisode, 1959). Sa dernière prestation au petit écran est diffusée en 1960, près d'un an après sa mort.

Au théâtre, il joue une fois à Broadway (New York), dans la pièce The Cave Dwellers de William Saroyan, représentée d'octobre 1957 à janvier 1958.