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IMDbPro

Morgan Woodward(1925-2019)

  • Actor
  • Writer
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Morgan Woodward
Trailer for Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Play trailer1:26
Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985)
6 Videos
65 Photos
Craggy-faced, athletic veteran character actor who played hard-bitten or menacing types in numerous westerns and crime dramas. One of five brothers, Woodward grew up in Arlington, Texas. He had a keen interest in aviation early on and took flying lessons from 1941, getting his pilot's license and subsequently served in both World War II (Army Air Corps) and Korea (Military Air Transport Command). Woodward first acted at Arlington State College, majoring in music and drama. He appeared for a while with the Margo Jones Repertory Theatre '47 in Dallas and then went back to study for a degree in corporate finance at the University of Texas, graduating in 1948. At one time, he sang with a jazz band and as a member of a barber shop quartet as well as having a regular weekly gig as a talk show host on local radio. Possessed of a powerful bass-baritone voice, Woodward's ultimate ambition had been to sing for the Metropolitan Opera. That didn't pan out. Neither did his hope that moving to Hollywood in 1955 might open the door to a career in musicals. Instead, he successfully auditioned at Disney for The Great Locomotive Chase (1956), followed by a part in the western pioneer saga Westward Ho, the Wagons! (1956). His first big break was as co-star opposite Hugh O'Brian in The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955), playing the role of Earp's deputy Shotgun Gibbs for four seasons. This effectively typecast him as a western genre actor with a record number of guest spots on Gunsmoke (1955) and Wagon Train (1957). Nonetheless, his most famous role was that of ""the man with no eyes", a sinister chain gang overseer in Cool Hand Luke (1967), distinguished by perpetually wearing reflective sunglasses. He also made two appearances on Star Trek: The Original Series (1966) (most famously as Simon Van Gelder, the first human with whom Spock 'mind melds') and played the shrewd Armani-suited oil tycoon Punk Anderson in 55 episodes of Dallas (1978).

Thomas Morgan Woodward was awarded the Golden Boot Award from the Hollywood Motion Picture and Television Fund in August 1988. In 2009, he became an inductee into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Privately, he was a respected authority on Early American Aircraft. According to his website, his main hobby was "restoring, rebuilding and flying antique airplanes".
BornSeptember 16, 1925
DiedFebruary 22, 2019(93)
BornSeptember 16, 1925
DiedFebruary 22, 2019(93)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 1 win

Photos65

Andres Aybar and Morgan Woodward in Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983)
Kate Jackson and Morgan Woodward in Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983)
Henry Fonda, Jack Elam, Gary Lockwood, and Morgan Woodward in Firecreek (1968)
Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Jack Elam, Gary Lockwood, and Morgan Woodward in Firecreek (1968)
Jack Elam, James Best, Gary Lockwood, and Morgan Woodward in Firecreek (1968)
Jack Elam, Gary Lockwood, BarBara Luna, and Morgan Woodward in Firecreek (1968)
Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Jack Elam, Gary Lockwood, Robert Porter, and Morgan Woodward in Firecreek (1968)
Henry Fonda, Jack Elam, James Best, Gary Lockwood, and Morgan Woodward in Firecreek (1968)
Henry Fonda, Jack Elam, James Best, Gary Lockwood, and Morgan Woodward in Firecreek (1968)
Paul Newman and Morgan Woodward in Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Dan Blocker, Paul Brinegar, Denver Pyle, Dale Robertson, and Morgan Woodward in Tales of Wells Fargo (1957)
Kevin Brodie, Debbie Megowan, and Morgan Woodward in The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955)

Known for

Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Cool Hand Luke
8.1
  • Boss Godfrey
  • 1967
Sybil Danning, George Peppard, Richard Thomas, Lara Cody, Darlanne Fluegel, Lawrence Steven Meyers, and Morgan Woodward in Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)
Battle Beyond the Stars
5.5
  • Cayman
  • 1980
Helen Hunt, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Lee Montgomery in Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985)
Girls Just Want to Have Fun
5.9
  • J.P. Sands
  • 1985
Walter Koenig, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, George Takei, and Nichelle Nichols in Star Trek: The Original Series (1966)
Star Trek: The Original Series
8.4
TV Series
  • Captain Tracey
  • Dr. Simon van Gelder

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • Lance Henriksen and Klea Scott in Millennium (1996)
    Millennium
    • Iron Lung Man
    • TV Series
    • 1997
  • Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny in The X-Files (1993)
    The X-Files
    • Old Harry Cokely
    • TV Series
    • 1995
  • Bruce Campbell in The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (1993)
    The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
    • Sam Travis
    • TV Series
    • 1994
  • Lorenzo Lamas in Renegade (1992)
    Renegade
    • Dad Meechum
    • TV Series
    • 1993
  • Andy Griffith in Matlock (1986)
    Matlock
    • Zack Tannenbaum
    • TV Series
    • 1992
  • Gunsmoke: To the Last Man (1992)
    Gunsmoke: To the Last Man
    • Sheriff Abel Rose
    • TV Movie
    • 1992
  • Johnny Depp, Holly Robinson Peete, Peter DeLuise, Dustin Nguyen, and Steven Williams in 21 Jump Street (1987)
    21 Jump Street
    • Albert Schalin
    • TV Series
    • 1990
  • Angela Lansbury in Murder, She Wrote (1984)
    Murder, She Wrote
    • Sheriff Brademus
    • TV Series
    • 1989
  • Dark Before Dawn (1988)
    Dark Before Dawn
    • J.B. Watson
    • 1988
  • Days of Our Lives (1965)
    Days of Our Lives
    • Phillip Colville
    • TV Series
    • 1987–1988
  • Victoria Principal, Barbara Bel Geddes, Patrick Duffy, Larry Hagman, Charlene Tilton, Jim Davis, Linda Gray, and Steve Kanaly in Dallas (1978)
    Dallas
    • Punk Anderson
    • TV Series
    • 1980–1987
  • Hal Linden and Harry Morgan in Blacke's Magic (1986)
    Blacke's Magic
    • TV Series
    • 1986
  • T.J. Hooker (1982)
    T.J. Hooker
    • Maj. Gen. Robert Selkirk, retired
    • TV Series
    • 1985
  • Helen Hunt, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Lee Montgomery in Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985)
    Girls Just Want to Have Fun
    • J.P. Sands
    • 1985
  • The Fall Guy (1981)
    The Fall Guy
    • LV Vernon
    • Reuben
    • TV Series
    • 1982–1985

Writer

  • The Devil's Bedroom (1964)
    The Devil's Bedroom
    • Writer
    • 1964

Soundtrack

  • Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983)
    Scarecrow and Mrs. King
    • performer: "Whoopee Ti Yi Yo (Git Along Little Dogies)" (uncredited)
    • TV Series
    • 1983
  • The Waltons (1972)
    The Waltons
    • performer: "Handsome Rosie"
    • TV Series
    • 1978

Videos6

Battle Beyond the Stars
Clip 1:18
Battle Beyond the Stars
Trailer
Trailer 1:48
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:12
Official Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:21
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:27
Official Trailer
Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Trailer 1:26
Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Personal details

Edit
  • Official sites
    • Morgan Woodward's official site
    • Official Morgan Woodward Website
  • Height
    • 6′ 3″ (1.91 m)
  • Born
    • September 16, 1925
    • Fort Worth, Texas, USA
  • Died
    • February 22, 2019
    • Paso Robles, California, USA(cancer)
  • Spouse
    • Enid Anne LoftisNovember 18, 1950 - February 22, 2019 (his death, 1 child)
  • Parents
      Valin Woodward
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Interview

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    A 1969 article in "Newsweek" magazine, about screen "heavies" entitled "The Dirty Half Dozen," named Woodward as one of the six most in demand bad guys in television and motion pictures at the time.
  • Quotes
    "Recognition is a funny thing. I've been recognized for many roles and recently I had someone remember me from an old show I did more than 20 years ago. It was such an obscure role that it took me a few minutes to remember the part myself. But it's amazing what people will remember you for doing. I still get response about my role as Shotgun Gibbs on 'Wyatt Earp' and that ended in the early 60's." (on roles he's recognized in public for playing)
  • Trademarks
      Full head of (prematurely) snow white hair

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