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 brother 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 in Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory (1957). Morris suffered a massive heart attack while visiting aboard the aircraft carrier USS Bon Homme Richard in San Francisco Bay and was pronounced dead after being transported to Oakland Naval Hospital in Oakland, California. He was 45. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Description above from the Wikipedia article Wayne Morris (American actor), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

Filmography

• 1961Buffalo Gun — Roche
• Adventures in Paradise — Sam Agnew
• Bourbon Street Beat
• Bat Masterson — Mace Pomeroy
• Bronco
• Wanted: Dead or Alive — Mayor Barney Pax
• Maverick
• Official Detective
• 1957Paths of Glory — Lt. Roget/Singing man
• 1957Plunder Road — Commando Munson
• 1957The Crooked Sky — Mike Conlin
• The Adventures of the Big Man — Bill Pierce
• 1956The Gelignite Gang — Jimmy Baxter
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents — Bret Johnson
• 1955Cross Channel — Tex Parker
• Gunsmoke — Nat
• 1955Lord of the Jungle — Jeff Wood
• 1955The Lonesome Trail — Dandy Dayton
• 1954Port of Hell — Stanley Povich
• 1954Riding Shotgun — Deputy Sheriff Tub Murphy
• 1954The Desperado — Sam Garrett
• 1954The Green Buddha — Gary Holden
• 1954The Master Plan — Major Thomas Brent
• 1954Two Guns and a Badge — Deputy Jim Blake
• 1953Fighting Lawman — Deputy Marshal Jim Burke
• 1953Star of Texas — Texas Ranger Ed Ryan / Robert Larkin
• 1953Texas Bad Man — Walt
• 1953The Marksman — Deputy Marshal Mike Martin
• 1952Arctic Flight — Mike Wien
• 1952Desert Pursuit — Ford Smith
• 1951The Big Gusher — Kenny Blake
• 1951The Bushwhackers — Marshal John Harding
• 1951Yellow Fin — Mike Donovan
• 1950Johnny One-Eye — Dane Cory
• 1950Sierra Passage — Johnny Yorke, Associate Producer
• 1950Stage to Tucson — Barney Broderick
• 1950The Tougher They Come — Bill Shaw
• 1949A Kiss in the Dark — Bruce Arnold
• 1949John Loves Mary — Lt. Victor O'Leary
• 1949Task Force — McKinney
• 1949The House Across the Street — Dave Joslin
• 1949The Younger Brothers — Cole Younger
• 1948The Big Punch — Chris Thorgenson
• 1948The Time of Your Life — Tom
• 1947Deep Valley — Jeff Barker
• 1947The Voice of the Turtle — Comm. Ned Burling
• 1941Bad Men of Missouri — Bob Younger
• 1941I Wanted Wings — Tom Cassidy
• 1941The Smiling Ghost — Alexander "Lucky" Downing
• 1941Three Sons o' Guns — Charley Patterson
• 1940An Angel from Texas — Mac McClure
• 1940Brother Rat and a Baby — Billy Randolph
• 1940Double Alibi — Stephen Wayne
• 1940Flight Angels — Artie Dixon
• 1940Gambling on the High Seas — Jim Carter
• 1940Ladies Must Live — Corey Lake
• 1940The Quarterback — Jimmy Jones and Billy Jones
• 1939The Kid from Kokomo — Homer Baston
• 1939The Return of Doctor X — Walter Wichita Garrett
• 1938Brother Rat — Billy Randolph
• 1938Love, Honor and Behave — Ted Painter
• 1938Men Are Such Fools — Jimmy Hall
• 1938Out Where the Stars Begin — Wayne Morris
• 1938The Kid Comes Back — Rush Conway
• 1938Valley of the Giants — Bill Cardigan
• 1937Kid Galahad — Ward 'Kid Galahad' Guisenberry
• 1937Land Beyond the Law — Dave Seymour
• 1937Once a Doctor — Sailor on Nirvana
• 1937Smart Blonde — Railroad Information Clerk (uncredited)
• 1937Submarine D-1 — "Sock" McGillis
• 1937Under Southern Stars — Dallas
• 1936China Clipper — Navigator on Clipper
• 1936Here Comes Carter — Bill
• 1936King of Hockey — Bill "Jumbo" Mullins
• 1936Polo Joe — Spectator (uncredited)

Appearances as themselves (5)

• 1949Breakdowns of 1949 — Self
• The Ed Sullivan Show — Self
• 1947Blow-Ups of 1947 — Self
• 1947So You Want to Be in Pictures — Self (uncredited)
• 1936Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1) — Self