Greg Morris

This article is about the American actor. For the English organist, see Greg Morris (organist).

Greg Morris
Greg Morris as Barney Collier with Abbey Lincoln in Mission: Impossible, 1970.
Born	Francis Gregory Alan Morris (1933-09-27)September 27, 1933 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Died	August 27, 1996(1996-08-27) (aged 62) Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Iowa
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1963–1995
Known for	Barney Collier (Mission: Impossible) David Nelson (Vega$)
Spouse	Leona Keyes (1956–1995)
Children	Phil Morris Iona Morris Linda R. Morris

Francis Gregory Alan "Greg" Morris (September 27, 1933 – August 27, 1996) was an American television and movie actor. He was best known for portraying Barney Collier in Mission: Impossible.

Early life and career

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Morris served in the United States Army during the Korean War. Morris began his acting career in the 1960s making guest appearances on many TV shows such as The Twilight Zone, Branded and Ben Casey. In 1966, he was cast in his most recognizable role as the electronics expert Barney Collier in the TV series Mission: Impossible. Morris, Peter Lupus, and Bob Johnson were the only actors to remain with the series throughout its entire run.

While in college, Morris was active in theater and hosted the late afternoon Jazz radio show, "Tea-Time", on the University of Iowa station, WSUI. He co-produced concerts at the university with a student friend.

After Iowa, Greg's first professional stage role was in The Death of Bessie Smith. One of his earliest television roles was a cameo appearance on The Dick Van Dyke Show in the episode "That's My Boy?", where Rob becomes convinced that they've taken home the wrong baby from the hospital. The revelation of Morris' character as the other child's father prompted a record setting bout of laughter from the studio audience. In the 1963–1964 season, he appeared on ABC's drama about college life, Channing, starring Jason Evers and Henry Jones.

After Mission: Impossible was cancelled, Morris appeared in movies and made guest TV appearances (1974 -The Six Million Dollar Man - Episode 1-05 "Little Orphan Airplane") before he was cast as Lt. David Nelson during the second season of the TV series Vega$. After the cancellation of that series in 1981, Morris continued to make guest TV appearances in the next decade, including a few episodes in the short-lived 1980s remake of the Mission: Impossible TV series, which starred his son Phil Morris, who was cast as Grant Collier, the son of Barney. He also appeared in two episodes of the TV series What's Happening!! as Lawrence Nelson (father of Dwayne) and in three episodes of The Jeffersons, in which he reprised his role of an electronics expert (although not as Barney Collier) in a comparison sequel of the Mission: Impossible series. Morris was also a frequent guest star on Password and Password Plus in the 1960s and 1970s.

Death

Morris died on August 27, 1996 of brain cancer in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was 62 years old. Shortly before his death, he went to see the film version of Mission: Impossible that starred Tom Cruise. The reports were that he disliked the movie so much (an opinion that was shared by most of his former co-stars) that he left the theater early. According to the Associated Press, he said of the movie: "It's an abomination."

Partial filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1963	Sam Benedict	Victim	Episode: "Of Rusted Cannons and Fallen Sparrows"
1963	Dr. Kildare	Lincoln Ball	Episode: "The Gift of the Koodjanuk"
1963	The Twilight Zone	Lt. Woodard	Episode: "The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms"
1964	The New Interns	Dr. Pete Clarke
1965	The Fugitive	Mickey Deming	Episode: "Wings of an Angel"
1965	The Sword of Ali Baba	Yusef
1966	The Doomsday Flight	FBI Agent Balaban
1966–1973	Mission: Impossible	Barney Collier	Main cast
1975	The Streets of San Francisco	Eddie Griffin	Episode: "Merchants of Death"
1976	Sanford and Son	Willis	Episodes: "The Hawaiian Connection", parts 1 & 2
1977	What's Happening!!	Lawrence Nelson	Episode: "If I'm Elected"
1978	Wonder Woman	Caribe	Episode: "Light-Fingered Lady"
1978	Quincy, M.E.	Cliff Collier	Episode: "A Night to Raise the Dead"
1978	Fantasy Island	Ted Harmon	Episode: "War Games / Queen of the Boston Bruisers"
1978	The Eddie Capra Mysteries	Shelby	Episode: "The Intimate Friends of Janet Wilde"
1978–1981	Vega$	Lt. Dave Nelson	Recurring
1978	The Love Boat	Guest star	Episode: "Till Death Do Us Part - Maybe/Chubs/Locked Away"
1979	Roots: The Next Generations	Beeman Jones	Miniseries, part 1
1979	What's Happening!!	Lawrence Nelson	Episode: "Dwayne's Debate"
1983	The Fall Guy	Gary Jordan	Episode: "P.S., I Love You"
1983	The Jeffersons	Jimmy's Cousin	Episodes: "Mission:Incurable" parts 1, 2,& 3
1983	Fantasy Island	Chief of Surgery	Episode: "The Wedding Picture / Castaways"
1984	T.J. Hooker	Dave Reemer	Episode: "Exercise in Murder"
1984	Murder, She Wrote	Lt. Andrews	Episode: "Lovers and Other Killers"
1988	War of the Worlds	General Masters	Episode: "The Second Seal"
1988–1990	Mission: Impossible	Barney Collier	Recurring
1989	The Adventures of Superboy	Damon	Episode: "The Invisible People"
1995	TekWar	Hacker	'Episode: "Killer Instinct"

External links

• Greg Morris at IMDb
• Greg Morris at TV Guide
• Gregg Morris at TV.com
• 'Mission: Impossible' actor dies
• Greg Morris at Find a Grave