Francis Gregory Alan Morris (September 27, 1933 â€" August 27, 1996)
was an American actor. He was best known for portraying Barney Collier
on Mission: Impossible and Lt. David Nelson on Vega$.Born in
Cleveland, Ohio, to the jazz trumpeter Francis Williams, Morris served
in the United States Army during the Korean War. While in college at
Iowa on the G.I. Bill, Morris was active in college theater and hosted
the late afternoon Jazz radio show, "Tea-Time", on the University of
Iowa station, WSUI. He co-produced concerts at the university with a
student friend. Morris began his television acting career in the
1960s, making guest appearances on numerous TV shows such as The
Twilight Zone, Branded and Ben Casey. In 1966, Morris was cast in his
most recognizable role as the team electronics expert Barney Collier
in the TV series Mission: Impossible. Morris, Peter Lupus, and Bob
Johnson were the only actors to remain with Mission Impossible
throughout its entire run. After Iowa, Greg's first professional stage
role was in The Death of Bessie Smith. One of his earliest television
roles was a cameo appearance on The Dick Van Dyke Show in the episode
"That's My Boy?", where Rob becomes convinced that they have taken
home the wrong baby from the hospital. The revelation of Morris'
character as the other child's father prompted a record setting bout
of laughter from the studio audience. In the 1963â€"1964 season, he
appeared on ABC's drama about college life, Channing, starring Jason
Evers and Henry Jones.After Mission: Impossible was cancelled, Morris
appeared in several movies and made guest TV appearances (1974 â€" The
Six Million Dollar Man â€" Episode 1-05 "Little Orphan Airplane")
before he was cast in 1978 as Lt. David Nelson of the Las Vegas Metro
Police, during the 1978-79 season of the ABC TV detective series
Vega$, co starring with Robert Urich as Las Vegas detective Dan Tanna
and Phyllis Davis as Bea. After the cancellation of Vega$ in June
1981, Morris recovered from a serious car accident on I-15 near Las
Vegas. After his recovery, Morris continued to make guest TV
appearances in the next decade, including several episodes in the
short-lived 1988â€"1990 remake of the Mission: Impossible TV series,
which starred his son Phil Morris. Phil Morris was cast as Grant
Collier, the son of Barney. Morris also appeared in two episodes of
the TV series What's Happening!! as Lawrence Nelson (father of Dwayne)
and in three episodes of The Jeffersons, in which he reprised his role
of an electronics expert (although not as Barney Collier) in a
comparison sequel of the Mission: Impossible series. Morris was also a
frequent guest star on Password ‘’ Tattletales ‘’ and Password
Plus in the 1960s and 1970s.
was an American actor. He was best known for portraying Barney Collier
on Mission: Impossible and Lt. David Nelson on Vega$.Born in
Cleveland, Ohio, to the jazz trumpeter Francis Williams, Morris served
in the United States Army during the Korean War. While in college at
Iowa on the G.I. Bill, Morris was active in college theater and hosted
the late afternoon Jazz radio show, "Tea-Time", on the University of
Iowa station, WSUI. He co-produced concerts at the university with a
student friend. Morris began his television acting career in the
1960s, making guest appearances on numerous TV shows such as The
Twilight Zone, Branded and Ben Casey. In 1966, Morris was cast in his
most recognizable role as the team electronics expert Barney Collier
in the TV series Mission: Impossible. Morris, Peter Lupus, and Bob
Johnson were the only actors to remain with Mission Impossible
throughout its entire run. After Iowa, Greg's first professional stage
role was in The Death of Bessie Smith. One of his earliest television
roles was a cameo appearance on The Dick Van Dyke Show in the episode
"That's My Boy?", where Rob becomes convinced that they have taken
home the wrong baby from the hospital. The revelation of Morris'
character as the other child's father prompted a record setting bout
of laughter from the studio audience. In the 1963â€"1964 season, he
appeared on ABC's drama about college life, Channing, starring Jason
Evers and Henry Jones.After Mission: Impossible was cancelled, Morris
appeared in several movies and made guest TV appearances (1974 â€" The
Six Million Dollar Man â€" Episode 1-05 "Little Orphan Airplane")
before he was cast in 1978 as Lt. David Nelson of the Las Vegas Metro
Police, during the 1978-79 season of the ABC TV detective series
Vega$, co starring with Robert Urich as Las Vegas detective Dan Tanna
and Phyllis Davis as Bea. After the cancellation of Vega$ in June
1981, Morris recovered from a serious car accident on I-15 near Las
Vegas. After his recovery, Morris continued to make guest TV
appearances in the next decade, including several episodes in the
short-lived 1988â€"1990 remake of the Mission: Impossible TV series,
which starred his son Phil Morris. Phil Morris was cast as Grant
Collier, the son of Barney. Morris also appeared in two episodes of
the TV series What's Happening!! as Lawrence Nelson (father of Dwayne)
and in three episodes of The Jeffersons, in which he reprised his role
of an electronics expert (although not as Barney Collier) in a
comparison sequel of the Mission: Impossible series. Morris was also a
frequent guest star on Password ‘’ Tattletales ‘’ and Password
Plus in the 1960s and 1970s.
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