Frank Morgan

He is best-known for his multiple roles, including Professor Marvel and the title role of The Wizard, in the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer classic The Wizard of Oz.

• Name — Frank Morgan • Birth Name — Francis Phillip Wuppermann • Born — 1 June 1890 • Birthplace — New York City, U.S. • Died — 18 September 1949 • Place of death — Beverly Hills, California, U.S. • Resting Place — Green-Wood Cemetery • Other Names — * Frank Wupperman • Francis Morgan • Education — Cornell University • Occupation — * Actor • stage performer • Years Active — 1914–1949 • Known for — The Wizard and others in MGM's The Wizard of Oz (1939) • Children — One • Family — Ralph Morgan (elder brother) Claudia Morgan (niece)

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. 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 living distributing Angostura bitters, allowing Wuppermann to attend Cornell University, where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and the Glee Club.

Morgan began his acting career in theater. An aspiring vaudevillian following in his brother's footsteps, he changed his name from Wuppermann to Morgan. He made his acting debut in the show Mr. Wu on October 14, 1914. After many years of starring in theater productions, he finally caught the attention of critics with his role as Count Carlo Boretti in The Lullaby alongside Florence Reed. In 1927, he played Henry Spoffard in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Three years later, Morgan played what he considered to be one of his best roles in Topaze. Morgan's theatrical career ended shortly after he began his contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His last two shows were The Band Wagon and Hey Nonny Nonny!.

Morgan also had a career in radio. 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. 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.

Morgan married Alma Muller in 1914; they had one son, George. They were married until his 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. Morgan's niece Claudia Morgan (née Wuppermann) was a stage and film actress, and his brother was playwright Carlos Wuppermann. Morgan had filmed a few scenes as Buffalo Bill in the musical Annie Get Your Gun (1950) when he died in his sleep of a heart attack on September 18, 1949, at the age of 59, at his home in Beverly Hills, California. Louis Calhern replaced him for that film. His funeral service was at All Saints Protestant Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills. Morgan is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. His tombstone carries his real name, Wuppermann, as well as his stage name.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1916 — The Suspect — Sir Richard — Film debut, as Frank Wupperman Lost film • The Daring of Diana — John Briscoe — As Francis Morgan Lost film • The Girl Philippa — Halkett • 1917 — A Modern Cinderella — Tom — Lost film • A Child of the Wild — Frank Trent • The Light in Darkness — Ramsey Latham • Baby Mine — Alfred • Who's Your Neighbor? — Dudley Carlton — Lost film • Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman — Bunny Manders • 1918 — The Knife — Dr. Robert Manning — Lost film • At the Mercy of Men — Count Nicho • The Gray Towers Mystery — Billy Durland • 1919 — The Golden Shower — Lester • 1924 — Manhandled — Arno Riccardi • Born Rich — Eugene Magnin • 1925 — The Crowded Hour — Bert Caswell — Lost film • The Man Who Found Himself — Lon Morris • Scarlet Saint — Baron Badeau • 1927 — Love's Greatest Mistake — William Ogden • 1930 — Belle of the Night — Short • Dangerous Nan McGrew — Muldoon • Queen High — Mr. Nettleton • Laughter — C. Mortimer Gibson • Fast and Loose — Bronson Lenox • 1932 — Secrets of the French Police — François St. Cyr • The Half-Naked Truth — Merle Farrell • 1933 — The Billion Dollar Scandal — John Dudley Masterson • Luxury Liner — Alex Stevenson • Hallelujah, I'm a Bum — Mayor John Hastings • Reunion in Vienna — Dr. Anton Krug • The Kiss Before the Mirror — Paul Held • The Nuisance — Dr. Buchanan Prescott • Best of Enemies — William Hartman • When Ladies Meet — Rogers Woodruf • Broadway to Hollywood — Ted Hackett • Bombshell — Pops Burns • 1934 — The Cat and the Fiddle — Daudet • Success at Any Price — Merritt • Sisters Under the Skin — John Hunter Yates • The Affairs of Cellini — Alessandro – Duke of Florence — Academy Award nomination - Best Actor • A Lost Lady — Forrester • There's Always Tomorrow — Joseph White • By Your Leave — Henry Smith • The Mighty Barnum — Joe — Uncredited • 1935 — The Good Fairy — Konrad • Enchanted April — Mellersh Wilkins • Naughty Marietta — Governor d'Annard • Escapade — Karl • I Live My Life — G.P. Bentley • The Perfect Gentleman — Major Horatio Chatteris • 1936 — The Great Ziegfeld — Jack Billings • Dancing Pirate — Mayor Don Emilio Perena • Trouble for Two — Colonel Geraldine • Piccadilly Jim — James Crocker – Sr./Count Olav Osric • Dimples — Prof. Eustace Appleby • 1937 — The Last of Mrs. Cheyney — Lord Kelton • The Emperor's Candlesticks — Col. Baron Suroff • Saratoga — Jesse Kiffmeyer • Sunday Night at the Trocadero — Himself — Short • Beg, Borrow or Steal — Ingraham Steward • Rosalie — King • 1938 — Paradise for Three — Rudolph Tobler • Port of Seven Seas — Panisse • The Crowd Roars — Brian McCoy • Sweethearts — Felix Lehman • 1939 — Broadway Serenade — Cornelius Collier, Jr. • The Wizard of Oz — The Wizard of Oz/Professor Marvel/The Gatekeeper/The Carriage Driver/The Guard • Henry Goes Arizona — Henry Conroy • Balalaika — Ivan Danchenoff • 1940 — The Shop Around the Corner — Hugo Matuschek • Broadway Melody of 1940 — Bob Casey • The Ghost Comes Home — Vern Adams • The Mortal Storm — Professor Viktor Roth • Boom Town — Luther Aldrich • Hullabaloo — Frankie Merriweather • Keeping Company — Harry C. Thomas • 1941 — The Wild Man of Borneo — J. Daniel Thompson • Washington Melodrama — Calvin Claymore • Honky Tonk — Judge Cotton • 1942 — The Vanishing Virginian — Robert Yancey • Tortilla Flat — The Pirate — Academy Award nomination - Best Supporting Actor • White Cargo — The Doctor • 1943 — The Human Comedy — Willie Grogan • A Stranger in Town — John Josephus Grant • Thousands Cheer — Dr. Frank Morgan • 1944 — The White Cliffs of Dover — Hiram Porter Dunn • Kismet — Narrator — Voice, Uncredited • Casanova Brown — Mr. Ferris • 1945 — Yolanda and the Thief — Victor Budlow Trout • 1946 — Courage of Lassie — Harry MacBain • The Cockeyed Miracle — Sam Griggs • Lady Luck — William Audrey • The Great Morgan — Himself • 1947 — Green Dolphin Street — Dr. Edmond Ozanne • 1948 — Summer Holiday — Uncle Sid • The Three Musketeers — King Louis XIII • 1949 — The Stratton Story — Barney Wile • The Great Sinner — Aristide Pitard • Any Number Can Play — Jim Kurstyn • 1950 — Key to the City — Fire Chief Duggan — Final film

• Year — Program — Episode/source • 1937 — Amos & Andy — Amos and Andy with Frank Morgan • 1940 — Screen Guild Players — The Shop Around the Corner • 1941 — Art Museum — January 9, 1941 • 1942 — Pat O'Brien — April 23, 1942 • Command Performances — October 27, 1942 • The Pied Piper — December 21, 1942 • 1943 — Nothing But The Truth — May 3, 1943 • The Human Comedy — July 12, 1943 • Holy Matrimoney — December 13, 1943 • 1944 — Wallpapering — September 23, 1944 • The Frank Morgan Show — NBC August 31, 1944 - May 31, 1945 • 1945 — The Devil and Miss Jones — March 12, 1945 • Birdseye Open House — September 13, 1945, host Dinah Shore • Huckleberry Finn — October 14, 1945 • Names On The Land — December 24, 1945 • 1946 — The Bickersons — 60 episodes • 1947 — The Fabulous Dr. Tweedy — 5 episodes • 1948 — The Jimmy Durante Show — January 14, 1948 • 1949 — Kraft Music Hall — 35 episodes