William Morris (actor)

William Morris
William Morris
	Morris in 1904
Born	William Henry Morris; January 1, 1861; Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	January 11, 1936 (aged 75); Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1875–1935
Spouse	Etta Hawkins
Children	5, including Chester Morris

William Henry Morris (January 1, 1861 – January 11, 1936) was an American stage and film actor.^[1]

Career

He began his career as a teenager in the theater, first appearing at the Boston Museum in 1875. He became a star on the Broadway stage, where he spent most of his career. He appeared in popular plays such as 1909's Is Matrimony a Failure? He was a character actor in silent films, usually playing gruff fathers or bad guys.^[2]

His appearance in Alice Guy's 1917 silent film The Ocean Waif, from Kino DVD, is an example of Morris's surviving screen work.

Personal life

He was married to actress Etta Hawkins,^[3] with whom he had five children: screenwriter-actor Gordon Morris (1898–1940), actors Chester Morris (1901–1970) and Adrian Morris (1907–1941), and actress Wilhelmina Morris (1902–1971).^[4]^: 7, 263 Their first child, Lloyd Morris, died young (1892–1902).^[4]^: 7

Selected filmography

Year	Title	Role
1916	Romeo and Juliet	Abraham
1930	Brothers	Dr. Moore
1931	The Woman Between	Frederick Weston
1931	The Gang Buster	Andrew Martine

Selected stage appearances

Men and Women (1890)
Is Matrimony a Failure? (1909)
The Concert (1910)
The Family Cupboard (1913)
Cheating Cheaters (1916)

References

^ "William Morris, 75, Veteran Actor, Dies; Father of Chester of the Movies Well Known on Broadway Stage". The New York Times. January 12, 1936. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
^ The Chester Morris Web the only Chester Morris website on the internet
^ "Obituary: Etta Hawkins Morris". The New York Times. July 15, 1945. p. 15. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
^ ^a ^b Nollen, Scott Allen; Nollen, Yuyun Yuningsih (2019). Chester Morris : His Life and Career (softcover) (First ed.). Jefferson, NC, and London: McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-7729-3.

External links

William Morris at IMDb
William Morris at the Internet Broadway Database
William Morris at Find a Grave
William Morris(NY Public Library)

[1] "William Morris, 75, Veteran Actor, Dies; Father of Chester of the Movies Well Known on Broadway Stage". The New York Times. January 12, 1936. Retrieved June 25, 2017.

[2] The Chester Morris Web the only Chester Morris website on the internet

[3] "Obituary: Etta Hawkins Morris". The New York Times. July 15, 1945. p. 15. Retrieved June 25, 2017.

[SAN2019-4] Nollen, Scott Allen; Nollen, Yuyun Yuningsih (2019). Chester Morris : His Life and Career (softcover) (First ed.). Jefferson, NC, and London: McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-7729-3.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

Authority control databases
International	ISNI VIAF WorldCat
National	United States France BnF data
Other	SNAC

William Morris
Morris in 1904
Born	William Henry Morris (1861-01-01)January 1, 1861 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	January 11, 1936(1936-01-11) (aged 75) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1875–1935
Spouse	Etta Hawkins
Children	5, including Chester Morris