Jovial, somewhat flamboyant Frank Morgan (born Francis Wuppermann) will forever be remembered as the title character in The Wizard of Oz (1939), but he was a veteran and respected actor long before he played that part, and turned in outstanding performances both before and after that film. One of 11 children of a wealthy manufacturer, Morgan ...
Academy Award for Best Actor, Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Movies
The Wizard of Oz, The Shop Around the Corner, The Great Ziegfeld, The Three Musketeers, The Mortal Storm, Courage of Lassie, Tortilla Flat, The Human Comedy, Boom Town, Broadway Melody of 1940, The Stratton Story, Bombshell, Naughty Marietta, Rosalie, Green Dolphin Street, Saratoga, The Affairs of C...
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Fact
1
Was considered a heavy drinker but kept his imbibing in the dressing room and seldom let it interfere with his professionalism and jovial manner on the set.
2
His father was born in Venezuela and was of Spanish and German descent. His mother was born in the United States and was of English descent.
3
He did not live to see The Wizard of Oz (1939) become one of the most famous films ever made through its annual network telecasts.
4
Morgan was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Tortilla Flat (1942).
5
He was awarded 2 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 1708 Vine Street and for Radio at 6700 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
6
Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz (1939) said that whenever she saw the scene in the film where Frank Morgan as the Wizard is giving Dorothy's friends gifts from his "black bag" (a diploma for the Scarecrow, a ticking heart for the Tin Man, and a medal for the Cowardly Lion), she got teary eyed, because "Frank Morgan was just like that in real life - very generous".
7
Of his ten brothers and sisters, he was closest to brother Carlos Domaso Siegert Wuppermann (aka Carlyle Morgan) (1887-1919) whose death while serving in the United States Army's Corps of Intelligence Police in Germany was initially deemed a suicide. It was later learned he was murdered by a fellow soldier. Carlyle was a writer, poet, playwright and actor. Frank appeared in his deceased brother's play "The Triumph of X" in 1921 on Broadway.
8
Wife Alma Muller (1895-1970) was the daughter of a New York real estate magnate and a woman suffragette. They eloped in 1914.
9
Was a lifelong member of the Lambs Club, the theater's oldest professional club.
10
Was a deeply conservative Republican.
11
Was involved in a serious car accident in New Mexico in December, 1939. Frank and his son George Morgan were not hurt, his wife Alma re-injured an already bad knee that often left her incapacitated, but their chauffeur/house servant was killed.
12
Morgan owned a 550-acre ranch in Hemet Valley, California, and raised cattle. He also owned yachts, one of them winning a race from Los Angeles to Honolulu in 1947.
13
Was cast in the role of Buffalo Bill Cody in the MGM film Annie Get Your Gun (1950) but died in his sleep of a heart attack after shooting only the opening scene. He was replaced by MGM contract player Louis Calhern.
W.C. Fields was originally considered for Morgan's role in The Wizard of Oz (1939). However, Fields haggled endlessly over salary, and the role was given to Morgan.
A boy soprano in church, some of his early pre-acting jobs included selling toothbrushes, soliciting advertisements, and bronco busting
20
Hobby -- boat enthusiast who participated in yacht races.
21
Youngest of eleven children (six boys and five girls) of the co-founder of the Angostura-Wuppermann Corporation which marketed bitters used in drinks and cocktails.
Interred at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, USA, in section #168, plot #14447.
25
Character actor best remembered as Professor Marvel/The Wizard in The Wizard of Oz (1939).
26
Born, with his elder brother, the actor Ralph Morgan, into a well-to-do family that formerly distributed in the United States the universally-known condiment "Angostura Aromatic Bitters.".
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Human Comedy
1943
Willie Grogan
White Cargo
1942
The Doctor
Tortilla Flat
1942
The Pirate
The Vanishing Virginian
1942
Robert Yancey
Honky Tonk
1941
Judge Cotton
Washington Melodrama
1941
Calvin Claymore
The Wild Man of Borneo
1941
J. Daniel Thompson
Keeping Company
1940
Harry C. Thomas
Hullabaloo
1940
Frankie Merriweather
Boom Town
1940
Luther Aldrich
The Mortal Storm
1940
Professor Viktor Roth
The Ghost Comes Home
1940
Vern Adams
Broadway Melody of 1940
1940
Bob Casey
The Shop Around the Corner
1940
Hugo Matuschek
Balalaika
1939
Ivan Danchenoff
Henry Goes Arizona
1939
Henry Conroy
The Wizard of Oz
1939
Professor Marvel
The Wizard of Oz
The Gatekeeper
...
Broadway Serenade
1939
Cornelius Collier, Jr.
Sweethearts
1938
Felix Lehman
The Crowd Roars
1938
Brian McCoy
Port of Seven Seas
1938
Panisse
Paradise for Three
1938
Rudolph Tobler
Rosalie
1937
King
Beg, Borrow or Steal
1937
Ingraham Steward
Sunday Night at the Trocadero
1937
Short
Frank Morgan
Saratoga
1937
Jesse Kiffmeyer
The Emperor's Candlesticks
1937
Colonel Baron Suroff
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
1937
Lord Kelton
Dimples
1936
Prof. Eustace Appleby
Piccadilly Jim
1936
James Crocker - Sr. / Count Olav Osric
Dancing Pirate
1936
Mayor Don Emilio Perena
Trouble for Two
1936
Colonel Geraldine
The Great Ziegfeld
1936
Jack Billings
The Perfect Gentleman
1935
Major Horatio Chatteris
I Live My Life
1935
G.P. Bentley
Escapade
1935
Karl
Naughty Marietta
1935
Governor d'Annard
Enchanted April
1935
Mellersh Wilkins
The Good Fairy
1935
Konrad
The Mighty Barnum
1934
Joe (uncredited)
By Your Leave
1934
Henry Smith
There's Always Tomorrow
1934
Joseph White
A Lost Lady
1934
Forrester
The Affairs of Cellini
1934
Alessandro - Duke of Florence
Sisters Under the Skin
1934
John Hunter Yates
Success at Any Price
1934
Merritt
The Cat and the Fiddle
1934
Daudet
Bombshell
1933
Pops Burns
Broadway to Hollywood
1933
Ted Hackett
Best of Enemies
1933
William Hartman
When Ladies Meet
1933
Rogers
The Nuisance
1933
Dr. Buchanan Prescott
The Kiss Before the Mirror
1933
Paul Held
Reunion in Vienna
1933
Dr. Anton Krug
Hallelujah I'm a Bum
1933
Mayor John Hastings
Luxury Liner
1933
Alex Stevenson
Billion Dollar Scandal
1933
John Dudley Masterson
The Half Naked Truth
1932
Farrell
Secrets of the French Police
1932
François St. Cyr
Fast and Loose
1930
Bronson Lenox
Laughter
1930
C. Mortimer Gibson
Queen High
1930
Mr. Nettleton
Dangerous Nan McGrew
1930
Muldoon
Belle of the Night
1930
Short
Love's Greatest Mistake
1927
William Ogden
Scarlet Saint
1925
Baron Badeau
The Man Who Found Himself
1925
Lon Morris
The Crowded Hour
1925
Bert Caswell
Born Rich
1924
Eugene Magnin
Manhandled
1924
Arno Riccardi
The Golden Shower
1919
Lester
The Gray Towers Mystery
1919
Billy Durland
At the Mercy of Men
1918
Count Nicho
The Knife
1918
Dr. Robert Manning
Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman
1917
Bunny Manders
Who's Your Neighbor?
1917
Dudley Carlton
Baby Mine
1917
Alfred
The Light in Darkness
1917
Ramsey Latham
A Child of the Wild
1917
Frank Trent
A Modern Cinderella
1917
Tom
The Girl Philippa
1916
Halkett (as Francis Morgan)
The Daring of Diana
1916
John Briscoe (as Francis Morgan)
The Suspect
1916
Sir Richard (as Frank Wupperman)
Key to the City
1950
Fire Chief Duggan
Any Number Can Play
1949
Jim Kurstyn
The Great Sinner
1949
Aristide Pitard
The Stratton Story
1949
Barney Wile
The Three Musketeers
1948
King Louis XIII
Summer Holiday
1948
Uncle Sid
Green Dolphin Street
1947
Dr. Edmond Ozanne
The Great Morgan
1946
Frank Morgan
Lady Luck
1946
William Audrey
The Cockeyed Miracle
1946
Sam Griggs
Courage of Lassie
1946
Harry MacBain
Yolanda and the Thief
1945
Victor Budlow Trout
Casanova Brown
1944
Mr. Ferris
Kismet
1944
Narrator (voice, uncredited)
The White Cliffs of Dover
1944
Hiram Porter Dunn
Thousands Cheer
1943
Dr. Frank Morgan
A Stranger in Town
1943
John Josephus Grant
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
Prettier Than Ever: The Restoration of Oz
2005
Video documentary short performer: "The Merry Old Land of Oz" - uncredited
performer: "Never Again", "Our Home Town" - uncredited
The Human Comedy
1943
performer: "Rock of Ages" 1830, "The Church in the Wildwood" 1857 - uncredited
The Vanishing Virginian
1942
performer: "The British Grenadiers", "In the Evening by the Moonlight", "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home?" 1902 - uncredited
Keeping Company
1940
"When You Wore a Tulip and I Wore a Big Red Rose" 1914, uncredited
Hullabaloo
1940
"We've Come a Long Way Together" 1940, uncredited / performer: "You Were Meant For Me" 1929, "My Mammy" 1921 uncredited, "When My Baby Smiles at Me" 1920 uncredited
Boom Town
1940
"Bridal Chorus Here Comes the Bride" 1850, uncredited
The Ghost Comes Home
1940
performer: "Moonlight Bay" 1912 - uncredited
The Wizard of Oz
1939
performer: "The Merry Old Land of Oz" 1939 - uncredited
Rosalie
1937
performer: "Why Should I Care?" 1937 - uncredited
Beg, Borrow or Steal
1937
"Bridal Chorus Here Comes the Bride" 1850
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
1937
performer: "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" - uncredited
The Perfect Gentleman
1935
performer: "Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile!" 1915
I Live My Life
1935
performer: "Sailing, Sailing, Over the Bounding Main" - uncredited
Broadway to Hollywood
1933
performer: "We Are the Two Hacketts" 1933 - uncredited
Hallelujah I'm a Bum
1933
performer: "Laying the Corner Stone"
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Screen Snapshots: Hawaii in Hollywood
1948
Short
Himself
Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 8
1937
Documentary short
Himself
Screen Snapshots Series 14, No. 9
1935
Documentary short
Himself
A Trip Through the Paramount Studio
1927
Documentary short
Himself
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
Toys of Anti-Christ
2011
TV Mini-Series documentary
The Wizard of Oz
To Oz! The Making of a Classic
2009
Video documentary short
Himself
Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs and Blockbusters
2006
Documentary
The Wizard of Oz (uncredited)
Because of the Wonderful Things It Does: The Legacy of Oz
2005
Video documentary short
The Wizard of Oz
In the Good Old Summertime Intro
2004
Video documentary short
Himself
Annie Get Your Gun Intro with Susan Lucci
2000
Video documentary short
Buffalo Bill Cody
The Legend Floyd: The Dark Side of the Rainbow
2000
TV Movie
Professor Marvel / The Wizard of Oz / The Gatekeeper / ...
Tough Guise: Violence, Media & the Crisis in Masculinity
1999
Video documentary
Himself
Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home to
1991
TV Movie documentary
Himself
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic
1990
TV Movie documentary
Himself / Wizard of Oz
That's Entertainment!
1974
Himself - at Banquet (uncredited)
The Judy Garland Show
1964
TV Series
Himself
Hollywood Without Make-Up
1963
Documentary
Himself
Mel-O-Toons
1960
TV Series
Narrator
Ford Star Jubilee
1956
TV Series
Professor Marvel
The Gatekeeper
The Carriage Driver
...
Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Memories
1951
Documentary short
Himself
Some of the Best: Twenty-Five Years of Motion Picture Leadership
1949
Documentary short
Himself (uncredited)
Twenty Years After
1944
Short
Some of the Best
1943
Documentary
Governor d'Annard in Naughty Marietta (uncredited)
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
1940
Documentary short
Himself
Won Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
1960
Star on the Walk of Fame
Walk of Fame
Motion Picture
On 8 February 1960. At 1708 Vine Street.
1960
Star on the Walk of Fame
Walk of Fame
Radio
On 8 February 1960. At 6700 Hollywood Blvd.
Nominated Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
1943
Oscar
Academy Awards, USA
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Tortilla Flat (1942)
1935
Oscar
Academy Awards, USA
Best Actor in a Leading Role
The Affairs of Cellini (1934)
Known for movies
The Wizard of Oz (1939) as Professor Marvel / The Wizard of Oz / The Gatekeeper / The Carriage Driver / The Guard
The Shop Around the Corner (1940) as Hugo Matuschek
$100,000
