Goodbye Colonel Potter: Harry Morgan Dies Age 96

by Ben Steinmeier | December 7, 2011 at 05:36 pm

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It was today on December 7, 2011 that Harry Morgan, more better known for his role Colonel Potter in the hit T.V. series M*A*S*H, passed away. The Hollywood actor died at the age of 96 in his Los Angeles due to pneumonia.

The Harry Morgan Story

Morgan was a veteran of the show business and, while most well known for playing Colonel Potter in M*A*S*H in the 1970's, he had been a part of the film industry since the 1940's. He appeared in more than 100 films and dozens of T.V. series since the 1950's. Some of his films include The Ox-Tail Incident (1943), High Noon (1952), The Glenn Miller Story (1954) and Inherit the Wind (1960).

The Colonel Potter Story

His real gain-to-fame, however, was his role as Colonel Sherman Potter on the hit T.V. series M*A*S*H (1972), based off the 1970 film about the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War. Morgan didn't appear on the show until a guest-appearance in the third season before he signed onto the show full-time until 1975 when he replaced McLean Stevenson who left the show. Outside of M*A*S*H, he also played Officer Bill Gannon alongside Jack Webb on the crime drama Dragnet (1967).

Harry Morgan's Legacy

With his passing, Morgan left behind a legacy. He had been married to his first wife Eileen for 45 years before she died and had four sons with her. One of his sons, Daniel, died in 1989 while his other three would give him eight grandchildren. He also married a second time to Barbara Bushman before his death. While he contributed to the next generations however, it is his acting which will keep his memory alive even after death.