I know a lot of people will be remembering Morgan as Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H (or his guest appearance as a crazy general that earned him the role), but this episode of Dragnet (“A.I.D.: The Weekend”) perfectly encapsulates why I enjoyed his Officer Bill Gannon as much as, if not more, than Colonel Potter. (Sadly I could not turn up the episode with his secret ingredient for barbecue sauce.) Morgan’s kooky, idiosyncratic Gannon plays off the straightest-of-straight-men Jack Webb so perfectly that any other, Gannon-less incarnation of the show seems pointless somehow.
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Having grown up with MASH instead of Dragnet, Col. Potter is the definitive Harry Morgan role to me.
From his first episode:
Klinger (all dressed up with somewhere to go): Colonel Potter, sir; Corporal Klinger. I’m section eight, Head to toe. I’m wearing a Warner bra. I like to play with dolls. My last wish is to be buried in my mother’s wedding gown. I’m nuts. I should be out.
Potter (calmly gives him the once-over): Horse hockey! I’ve seen these dodges for forty years, all the tricks. I knew one private said he was a mare. Carried a colt in his arms for weeks. Another fella said he was a daisy. Insisted we water him every morning. No, corporal, it ain’t gonna go with me. Now you get out of that fru-fru and into a uniform and you STAY in uniform. Dismissed!
It’s amazing how many Westerns he starred in, by the by.
And some of the best westerns, too.
The Ox-Bow Incident is the best. I feel bad, but I assumed he was already dead…
It’sAPainThatNeverEnds.
In more crappy news:
http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2011/12/08/jerry-robinson-key-creator-behind-joker-and-robin-dead-at-89/
The classic pot episode “The big high.” is actually the one with Gannon’s secret BBQ sauce recipe in it. Right at the beginning and a great scene.
Dude. Rhoda’s kinda hot.