Frank Morgan

Frank Morgan
Born	Francis Phillip Wuppermann (1890-06-01)June 1, 1890 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	September 18, 1949(1949-09-18) (aged 59) Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Resting place	Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York
Alma mater	Cornell University
Occupation	Actor stage performer
Years active	1914–1949
Spouse(s)	Alma Muller ​ (m. 1914)​
Children	1

Francis Phillip Wuppermann (June 1, 1890 – September 18, 1949), known professionally as Frank Morgan, was an American character actor. He was best known for his appearances in films starting in the silent era in 1916, and then numerous sound films throughout the 1930s and 1940s, with a career spanning 35 years^[1] mostly as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, with his most celebrated performance playing the title role in The Wizard of Oz (1939). He was also briefly billed early in his career as Frank Wupperman and Francis Morgan.

Early life[]

Morgan was born on June 1, 1890 in New York City, to Josephine Wright (née Hancox) and George Diogracia Wuppermann. He was the youngest of 11 children, and had five brothers and five sisters. The elder Mr. Wuppermann was born in Venezuela, but was brought up in Hamburg, Germany, and was of German and Spanish ancestry.^[2][3][4] His mother was born in the United States, of English ancestry. His brother, Ralph Morgan, was also an actor of stage and screen. The family earned their wealth distributing Angostura bitters, allowing Wuppermann to attend Cornell University and join Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and the Glee Club.^[5][6]

Career[]

Morgan and Madge Kennedy in Baby Mine (1917)

Morgan starred with John Barrymore in Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman (1917), an independent film produced in and about New York City. His career expanded when talkies began. Although the befuddled but good-hearted middle-aged man became his stereotypical role, he played romantic leads in such films as When Ladies Meet and Enchanted April. By the mid-1930s, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was so impressed by Morgan that they signed him to a lifetime contract. Morgan is best remembered for his performance in The Wizard of Oz (1939), in which he played the Wizard and five other roles: the carnival huckster "Professor Marvel", the gatekeeper at the Emerald City, the coachman of the carriage drawn by "The Horse of a Different Color", the Emerald City guard (who initially refuses to let Dorothy and her friends in to see the Wizard), and the Wizard's scary face projection. Morgan was cast in the role on September 22, 1938. W. C. Fields was originally chosen for the part of the Wizard, but the studio ran out of patience after protracted haggling over his fee. An actor with a wide range, Morgan was equally effective playing comical, befuddled men such as Jesse Kiffmeyer in Saratoga (1937) and Mr. Ferris in Casanova Brown (1944), as he was with more serious, troubled characters like Hugo Matuschek in The Shop Around the Corner (1940), Professor Roth in The Mortal Storm (1940) and Willie Grogan in The Human Comedy (1943). MGM's musical comedy film The Great Morgan (1946), is a compilation film featuring Frank Morgan supposedly as himself, but playing the familiar bumbler.

In 1936 Morgan played alongside Shirley Temple as Professor Appleby in Dimples. In the 1940s, Morgan co-starred with Fanny Brice in one version (of several different series) of the radio program Maxwell House Coffee Time, aka The Frank Morgan-Fanny Brice Show. During the first half of the show Morgan would tell increasingly outlandish tall tales about his life adventures, much to the dismay of his fellow cast members. After the Morgan segment there was a song, followed by Brice as 'Baby Snooks' for the last half of the show. When Brice left to star in her own program in 1944, Morgan continued solo for a year with The Frank Morgan Show.^[7] In 1947, Morgan starred as the title character in the radio series The Fabulous Dr. Tweedy. He also recorded a number of children's records, including the popular Gossamer Wump, released in 1949 by Capitol Records. Like most popular character actors of the studio era, Morgan was sought after for numerous supporting roles. He played Barney Wile in The Stratton Story (1949), which follows a baseball player (James Stewart) who makes a comeback after losing his leg to a hunting accident. His final film, Key to the City (1950), was released posthumously.

Personal life and death[]

Morgan married Alma Muller in 1914; they had one son, George. They were married until Frank's death in 1949. Morgan was widely known to be an alcoholic, according to several people who worked with him, including Margaret Hamilton and Aljean Harmetz. Morgan sometimes carried a black briefcase to work, fully equipped with a small mini-bar.^[4]

Morgan's niece Claudia Morgan (née Wuppermann) was a stage and film actress, and his brother was playwright Carlos Wuppermann.^[8]

Morgan died of a heart attack on September 18, 1949, while filming Annie Get Your Gun. He was replaced in the part of Buffalo Bill by Louis Calhern.^[9] His death came before the 1956 premiere televised broadcast on CBS of The Wizard of Oz, which made him the only major cast member from the film who did not live to see the film's revived popularity and how it would become an annual American television institution.^[10] Morgan is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. His tombstone carries his real name, Wuppermann, as well as his stage name.

Awards and honors[]

Morgan was nominated for two Academy Awards, one for Best Actor in The Affairs of Cellini (1934) and one for Best Supporting Actor in Tortilla Flat (1942). He has two stars dedicated to him on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California: one for his films at 1708 Vine Street and one for his work in radio at 6700 Hollywood Boulevard. Both were dedicated on February 8, 1960.

Filmography[]

Radio appearances[]

See also[]

•  Biography portal
•  Film portal
•  Radio portal
• List of actors with Academy Award nominations

References[]

Further reading[]

• Alistair, Rupert (2018). "Frank Morgan". The Name Below the Title: 65 Classic Movie Character Actors from Hollywood's Golden Age (First ed.). Great Britain: Independently published. pp. 180–184. ISBN 978-1-7200-3837-5.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frank Morgan.

• Frank Morgan at IMDb
• Frank Morgan at the TCM Movie Database
• Frank Morgan at the Internet Broadway Database