M*A*S*H* star Harry Morgan, who played Colonel Sherman T. Potter, dead at 96 | Arts | National Post
*A*S*H star Harry Morgan died at his home in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning. The character actor was 96.
He was best known for playing Colonel Sherman T. Potter on the long-running army comedy.
In a 2004 interview with the The Television Academy Foundation’s Archive of American Television, Morgan acknowledged the profound effect that the iconoclastic sitcom had on his career.
“He was firm,” Morgan said. “He was a good officer and he had a good sense of humour. I think it’s the best part I ever had. I loved playing Colonel Potter.”
Although M*A*S*H made him a television icon, Morgan first came to attention for his role as Officer Bill Gannon, Joe Friday’s partner on the revived version of Dragnet, which aired on NBC from 1967-70.
Morgan’s ironically gruff demeanor made him an in-demand character actor for nearly five decades.
He appeared in supporting roles in over 100 films, many of them classics such as The Ox-Bow Incident, High Noon, and Inherit the Wind.
