Michael Morris Papers

Title: Michael Morris Papers

Dates: 1946-1981

Collection Number: WGF-MS-078

Creator/Collector: Morris, Michael, 1918-2003

Extent: 446 digital files (416 MB) ; and 87 manuscripts

Repository: Writers Guild Foundation Archive

Abstract: The Michael Morris Collection contains hundreds of scripts written for radio, TV and film projects by Morris. All but a few of the scripts are for produced and released projects written during his five decades in entertainment.

Language of Material: English

Open for research.

The responsibility to secure copyright and publication permission rests with the researcher.

[Identification of item]. Michael Morris Papers. Collection Number: WGF-MS-078. Writers Guild Foundation Archive

Donated by Pearl Morris on 11/4/2002.

Michael Morris was born Misha Stuczko on January 7, 1918 in Kharkiv of the Russian Empire (now Ukraine). When he was five years old, his family moved to New York City and changed their surname to Stutchkoff. His father, Nahum Stutchkoff, was an actor, radio host and linguist, known for compiling the largest Yiddish dictionary known as “The Thesaurus of the Yiddish Language.” Morris got an early start in the entertainment industry by performing with his father. After serving in the United States Army during World War II, Morris returned to New York City where he began his career in writing. He started in radio writing for Hollywood Story and Mr. and Mrs. North in the late 1940s. In the 1950s he began writing for television, including with Gertrude Berg for the Goldbergs series. In 1960, he moved to Los Angeles and continued to write for many classic shows including The Andy Griffith Show, Bewitched, The Brady Bunch, The Flying Nun, and Chico and The Man. Although he wrote primarily for episodic TV, Morris co-wrote a few theatrical films, such as For Love or Money and Wild and Wonderful. Morris collaborated with Larry Markes on a number of TV and film projects and he was active in Hollywood until 1980 when he retired. Michael Morris died in Los Angeles at the age of 85 on June 20, 2003 and was survived by his wife Pearl and family.

The Michael Morris Papers contain over 400 scripts and are organized into three series according to format. Series I: Television Scripts, 1951-1981 is comprised of episodic television scripts written almost exclusively by Morris and span his career including: The Andy Griffith Show, Bewitched, Brady Bunch, Checkmate, Colonel Humphrey Flack, The Tom Ewell Show, The Flying Nun, The Goldbergs (1955-1956), All in the Family, Chico and the Man, The Detectives, I Cover Times Square, Johnny Jupiter, His Honor Homer Bell, Howdy Doody, Perry Mason, Maude, Mama, McHale’s Navy, Modern Romances, Room For One More, Sanford, The Verdict is Yours, True Story, The Web, and the soap opera Secret Storm. Also included are segments of The Morning Show (Good Morning! With Will Rogers Jr.) with “original fairy tales” written by Michael Morris for Dick van Dyke in 1955. This series also contains pilots by Morris (some with Larry Markes) including Always Go First Class, His Highness and O’Hara, The Jane Powell Show, The Sins of George Gower, Second Chance, We’ll Take Manhattan, and the Yeggs and I. Series II: Film Scripts, 1963-1964, is comprised of Morris' produced and unproduced scripts for feature films: Royal Flush, SmashMaster, and Wild and Wonderful (1964) and For Love or Money (1963). Series III: Radio Scripts, 1946-1954 contains radio scripts written throughout his career including Hollywood Story, Adventures of the Thin Man, and Mr. and Mrs. North, Top Guy and House of Glass revival (1953-1954). Also included is an unsold ABC radio series pilot for Colonel Humphrey Flack, aired as an episode of ABC Playhouse in 1953.