[Magdalen] R.I.P. Harry Morgan

[Jim Guthrie]

Morgan's first appearance on M*A*S*H was as a loony Major General Barton 
Hamilton Steele in 1974  -- he came back two years later to take over the role 
vacated by McLean Stevenson (Col Blake). Stevenson figured he might come back if 
his other ventures didn’t pan out. The MASH producers were so irritated that 
they had him killed in a plane crash on the way home from Korea -- and that was 
that, and led to Morgan's role as Sherman Potter.

>> 96. He also played Jack Webb's sidekick on Dragnet, but that didn't really
>> resonate with me. OTOH, I loved Col. Potter.
>>

That was the third  incarnation of Dragnet when Jack Webb decided to bring it 
back to fight left wing hippies and their admirers.

The first Dragnet was on radio, with a variety of actors playing a variety of 
partners, starting with Barton Yarborough, who was also Doc Long in I Love a 
Mystery and Clifford Barbour (for 19 years!) in One Man's Family. He was married 
for a time to Barbara Jo Allen -- who also played on One Man's family and ended 
her career doing animation voices -- including Sleeping Beauty and Sword in the 
stone.

She had one of the more interesting stage names, I think - "Vera Vague."

Other actors on the radio series were generally from the NBC radio crew of 
actors.

To listen to one or more episodes (or download nearly 300 of them):

https://archive.org/details/Dragnet_OTR

Television came along in 1951, with partner Frank Smith played by Ben Alexander.

One of the continuing themes of the earlier TV version was that Sgt. Friday was 
always studying for his Lieutenant's exam -- that he finally passed with the 
last year of two (1958-59) Badge 714 was assigned to Lieutenant Friday.

I suppose it was too much to ask between 1959 and 1967 (when the Harry Morgan 
episodes started) what Joe Friday did to be busted back to Sargent.

Cheers,
Jim