Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily Entertainment GuideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsCannes Film FestivalStar WarsAsian Pacific American Heritage MonthSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Biography
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Ernest Morrison(1912-1989)

  • Actor
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Ernest Morrison in Boys of the City (1940)
"Sunshine Sammy" Morrison was most famous as one of the Dead End Kids/East Side Kids, but he was probably the most experienced actor of that group. Morrison made his film debut while still an infant; his father worked for a wealthy Los Angeles family that had connections in the film industry, and one day a producer who was an acquaintance of his father's needed a baby for a scene and asked him to bring Sammy as a replacement for a child who wasn't working out. Morrison pulled off the job like a trouper, and his career was born. He appeared in films with such comedians as Harold Lloyd and, in fact, was paired with 'Snub' Pollard in a series of one-reel comedies in 1920. Producer Hal Roach gave Morrison his own comedy series in 1921, but only one was made. He was eventually cast by Roach as one of the original Our Gang kids. He left the series in 1924 for a turn in vaudeville, where he spent the next 16 years. When the East Side Kids films were being cast, producer Sam Katzman remembered Morrison from the days when Katzman was a theatrical producer and Morrison had worked for him, and hired him as a member of the gang. Morrison left the series when he was drafted into the army during World War II, and after he got out he was offered his old job back, but declined it. After a few more film roles, Morrison left show business entirely, took a job in an aircraft assembly plant and spent the next 30 years in the aircraft industry.
BornDecember 20, 1912
DiedJuly 24, 1989(76)
BornDecember 20, 1912
DiedJuly 24, 1989(76)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos52

View Poster
View Poster
View Poster
View Poster
View Poster
View Poster
+ 46
View Poster

Known for

Bela Lugosi, Ava Gardner, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, and Bobby Jordan in Ghosts on the Loose (1943)
Ghosts on the Loose
5.0
  • Scruno(as Sammy Morrison)
  • 1943
Bela Lugosi, David Gorcey, Leo Gorcey, Donald Haines, Huntz Hall, Ernest Morrison, Bobby Jordan, and Dorothy Short in Spooks Run Wild (1941)
Spooks Run Wild
5.3
  • Scruno(as Sunshine Sammy Morrison)
  • 1941
Anna Mae Bilson in Our Gang (1922)
Our Gang
7.6
Short
  • Sunshine Sammy(as Hal Roach's Rascals)
  • 1922
Leo Gorcey and Bobby Jordan in Boys of the City (1940)
Boys of the City
5.5
  • Scruno(as Sunshine Sammy)
  • 1940

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor



  • John Amos, Ralph Carter, Ja'net DuBois, Esther Rolle, BernNadette Stanis, and Jimmie 'JJ' Walker in Good Times (1974)
    Good Times
    7.4
    TV Series
    • The Messenger
    • 1974
  • Carmen Miranda, Don Ameche, William Bendix, and Vivian Blaine in Greenwich Village (1944)
    Greenwich Village
    6.2
    • One of the Four Step Brothers (uncredited)
    • 1944
  • William 'Billy' Benedict, Gabriel Dell, David Durand, Leo Gorcey, Buddy Gorman, Huntz Hall, Bobby Stone, and Jimmy Strand in Follow the Leader (1944)
    Follow the Leader
    6.1
    • Scruno in Dream (uncredited)
    • 1944
  • Ann Sheridan in Shine on Harvest Moon (1944)
    Shine on Harvest Moon
    6.3
    • One of the Step Brothers (uncredited)
    • 1944
  • Bela Lugosi, Ava Gardner, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, and Bobby Jordan in Ghosts on the Loose (1943)
    Ghosts on the Loose
    5.0
    • Scruno (as Sammy Morrison)
    • 1943
  • Noah Beery, Dick Chandlee, Huntz Hall, Ernest Morrison, Bobby Jordan, and Amelita Ward in Clancy Street Boys (1943)
    Clancy Street Boys
    6.0
    • Scruno (as Sammy Morrison)
    • 1943
  • Susan Hayward and John Carroll in Hit Parade of 1943 (1943)
    Hit Parade of 1943
    5.6
    • Heaven Air Pilot (uncredited)
    • 1943
  • Bela Lugosi, Henry Hall, and Emil Van Horn in The Ape Man (1943)
    The Ape Man
    4.4
    • Copyboy (as Sunshine Sammy Morrison)
    • 1943
  • Benny Bartlett, Pamela Blake, Kay Marvis, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Wheeler Oakman, and Bobby Stone in Kid Dynamite (1943)
    Kid Dynamite
    5.8
    • Scruno Jackson (as Sunshine Sammy)
    • 1943
  • Noah Beery Jr., Gabriel Dell, Ann Gillis, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, and Dave O'Brien in 'Neath Brooklyn Bridge (1942)
    'Neath Brooklyn Bridge
    5.9
    • Scruno (as Sunshine Sammy Morrison)
    • 1942
  • Stanley Clements, Gabriel Dell, David Gorcey, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Ernest Morrison, Bobby Jordan, Roger Pryor, Maxie Rosenbloom, Bobby Stone, and Gale Storm in Smart Alecks (1942)
    Smart Alecks
    5.6
    • Scruno (as Sunshine Sammy)
    • 1942
  • Tom Brown, Gabriel Dell, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, and Florence Rice in Let's Get Tough! (1942)
    Let's Get Tough!
    5.2
    • Scruno (as Sunshine Sammy Morrisson)
    • 1942
  • Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, George Brent, and Dennis Morgan in In This Our Life (1942)
    In This Our Life
    7.3
    • Black Man in Jail (uncredited)
    • 1942
  • Joan Barclay, Gabriel Dell, Billy Gilbert, David Gorcey, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Ernest Morrison, Bobby Jordan, Bill Lawrence, Sidney Miller, Bobby Stone, and Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams in Mr. Wise Guy (1942)
    Mr. Wise Guy
    5.7
    • Scruno (uncredited)
    • 1942
  • Bela Lugosi, David Gorcey, Leo Gorcey, Donald Haines, Huntz Hall, Ernest Morrison, Bobby Jordan, and Dorothy Short in Spooks Run Wild (1941)
    Spooks Run Wild
    5.3
    • Scruno (as Sunshine Sammy Morrison)
    • 1941

Soundtrack



  • Stanley Clements, Gabriel Dell, David Gorcey, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Ernest Morrison, Bobby Jordan, Roger Pryor, Maxie Rosenbloom, Bobby Stone, and Gale Storm in Smart Alecks (1942)
    Smart Alecks
    5.6
    • performer: "When You and I Were Young, Maggie" (1866) (uncredited)
    • 1942
  • Leo Gorcey, Bobby Jordan, and Clarence Muse in That Gang of Mine (1940)
    That Gang of Mine
    5.8
    • performer: "All God's Chillun Got Wings" (uncredited)
    • 1940

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative names
    • Sammy Morrison
  • Born
    • December 20, 1912
    • New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
  • Died
    • July 24, 1989
    • Lynwood, California, USA(cancer)
  • Parents
    • Ernie Morrison Sr.
  • Relatives
      Florence Morrison(Sibling)
  • Publicity listings
    • 4 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    The first black child movie star.
  • Quotes
    I was the first black movie personality to be featured in fan magazines and the first black to be a millionaire because of the movies. My family is close and very loving with each other. I have good health and I drive a Continental Mark IV. I fall asleep every night of my life counting my many, many blessings.
  • Nicknames
    • Sunshine Sammy
    • L'Afrique
    • Sunshine Sammy Morrison
    • Little Sambo

Related news

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More to explore

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
Get the IMDb app
Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
Follow IMDb on social
Get the IMDb app
For Android and iOS
Get the IMDb app
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • License IMDb Data
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.