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Born:14 February 1929 The Bronx, New York, USA. (some sources say 1931, 1932)
Died:Indian Dunes, California, USA. (helicopter accident)
Spouse:Barbara Turner (1957 - 1964)

Vic Morrow starred with Elvis in King Creole as steet gang member Shark who works for Mob leader Maxie Fields (Walter Matthau)

Born in the Bronx, Morrow dropped out of high school at 17 to join the U.S. Navy. When he left the Navy, he used the G.I. Bill to study pre-law at Florida State. While Morrow was working on his degree in Law, he also took part in the school play and found that he preferred stage acting to courtroom acting. When he went to New York, Morrow enrolled in the Actors' Workshop to improve his acting skills. After graduating, he was cast in the summer stock production of "A Streetcar Named Desire". His screen debut came when he was signed by MGM as a tough talking, surly, street punk in Blackboard Jungle (1955). The good news was that he was now in the movies, but the bad news was that he became typecast as the heavy. Disappointed with this casting, Morrow eventually left MGM after a few years and headed back to school to study directing at USC. He made some appearances on television and in 1962 found a role that brought him fame and made him the "hero". That TV series was "Combat!" (1962) and he played Sergeant Chip Saunders, veteran leader of his squad. Due to his demands, the show quickly went from an alternating series between Lt. Hanley and Sgt. Saunders to one showcasing Saunders. With the success of the series, Morrow tried his hand at directing some of the episodes. In 1965, Barbara and Vic were divorced and two years later the Television Series ended. These two events put him into a personal and professional slide. By 1969 he returned to the screen in TV movies, which occupied most of the next decade. His roles led back to supporting actor status and also back to those of the 'heavy'. While he worked in the theater and looked forward to the big screen, most of his roles were be in 'B' movies such as Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974) and Treasure of Matecumbe (1976). While he gained notice as a coach in a film called Bad News Bears, The (1976), he was not involved in any of the sequels. So, television sustained him in some average movies and some not even that good. With the failure of his second marriage, the death of his mother and the dearth of good parts, Morrow hit the bottle. In 1982, he refocused his drive and made a comeback in the movie Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), but a tragic accident on the set ended his life.

Trivia

Daughters, Carrie Morrow (b.1958) and Jennifer Leigh Morrow, (aka Jennifer Jason Leigh) (b.1962).

Attented school in the bronx with producer Brandon Chase

Father of Jennifer Jason Leigh.

Killed on the set of TWILIGHT ZONE - THE MOVIE in a helicopter accident.

Interred at Hillside Memorial Park, Culver City, California, USA.

Filmography

  • "Vietnam: A Television History" (1983) (mini) TV Series (archive footage) (uncredited) .... Sergeant Saunders
• Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) .... Bill Connor (Segment #1)
• 1990: I guerrieri del Bronx (1982) .... Hammer ... aka 1990: The Bronx Warriors (1983) (USA) ... aka Bronx Warriors (1982)
• Humanoids from the Deep (1980) .... Hank Slattery ... aka Humanoids of the Deep (1980) ... aka Monster (1980) ... aka Monsters (1980)
• Ultimo squalo, L' (1980) .... Ron Hamer ... aka Great White, The (1980) ... aka Last Shark, The (1980) ... aka Shark (1980)
• "B.A.D. Cats" (1980) TV Series .... Captain 'Skip' Nathan
• Evictors, The (1979) .... Jake Rudd
• Stone (1979) (TV) .... Morgan Teckington
• "Seekers, The" (1979) (mini) TV Series .... Leland Pell
• "Last Convertible, The" (1979) (mini) TV Series .... Chief Lonborg
• Uchu kara no messeji (1978) .... General Garuda ... aka Message From Space: Galactic Wars (1978) ... aka Message from Space (1978)
• Wild and Wooly (1978) (TV) .... Warden Willis
• Funeral for an Assassin (1977) .... Michael Cardiff
• Curse of the Black Widow (1977) (TV) .... Lt. Gully Conti ... aka Love Trap (1977/II) (TV) (USA: reissue title)
• Hostage Heart, The (1977) (TV) .... Steve Rockewicz
• Man with the Power, The (1977) (TV) .... Paul
• Ghost of Cypress Swamp, The (1977) (TV) (uncredited) .... Toni Stone
• "Roots" (1977) (mini) TV Series .... Ames
• "Captains and the Kings" (1976) (mini) TV Series .... Tom Hennessey
• Treasure of Matecumbe (1976) .... Spangler
• Bad News Bears, The (1976) .... Coach Roy Turner
• Jeune fille libre le soir (1975) .... Vic, the kidnapper ... aka Babysitter - Un maledetto pasticcio (1975) (Italy) ... aka Babysitter, The (1975) ... aka Ganz große Ding, Das (1975) (West Germany) ... aka L.A. Babysitter (1975) ... aka Raw Edge, The (1975) ... aka Wanted: Babysitter (1975)
• Night That Panicked America, The (1975) (TV) .... Hank Muldoon
• Death Stalk (1975) (TV) .... Leo Brunner
• California Kid, The (1974) (TV) .... Sheriff Roy Childress
• Take, The (1974) .... Manso
• Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974) .... Everett Franklin
• Nightmare (1974) (TV) .... Detective Rausch
• Tom Sawyer (1973/II) (TV) .... Injun Joe ... aka Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1973) (TV) (USA: video title)
• Police Story, The (1973) (TV) .... Sgt. Joe LaFreida
• Weekend Nun, The (1972) (TV) .... Chuck Jardine ... aka Matter of the Heart (1972) (TV)
• Glass House, The (1972) (TV) .... Hugo Slocum ... aka Truman Capote's the Glass House (1972) (TV)
• River of Mystery (1971) (TV) .... Phil Munger
• Travis Logan, D.A. (1971) (TV) .... Travis Logan
• Step Out of Line, A (1971) (TV) .... Joe Rawlins
• Target: Harry (1969) .... Harry Black ... aka How to Make It (1969) ... aka What's in It for Harry? (1979) (USA: alternative title)
• "Combat!" (1962) TV Series .... Sgt. Chip Saunders
• Posse from Hell (1961) .... Crip
• Portrait of a Mobster (1961) .... Dutch Schultz
• Cimarron (1961) .... Wes Jennings, Cherokee Kid Gang
• God's Little Acre (1958) .... Shaw Walden
• King Creole (1958) .... Shark
• Hell's Five Hours (1958) .... Nash
• Men in War (1957) .... Cpl. James Zwickley
• Tribute to a Bad Man (1956) .... Lars Peterson
• It's a Dog's Life (1955) (voice) .... Voice of Wildfire ... aka Bar Sinister (1955) (USA: reissue title)
• Blackboard Jungle (1955) .... Artie West ... aka Blackboard Jungle, The (1955) (USA: review title)

Director - filmography

• "Quincy" (1976) TV Series (season 1, episode 19 "Deadman's Truth, A (9/3/1977)") ... aka "Quincy, M.E." (1976)
• Man Called Sledge, A (1970) ... aka Sledge (1970)
• Deathwatch (1967)
• "Combat!" (1962) TV Series

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