peoplepill id: ernie-morrison
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The basics

Quick Facts

Intro
American child actor
Gender
Male
Place of birth
New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, USA
Place of death
Lynwood, Los Angeles County, California, USA
Age
76 years
Awards
Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame
(1987)
The details (from wikipedia)

Biography

Ernest Fredric Morrison (December 20, 1912 – July 24, 1989) was an American child actor, comedian,vaudevillian and dancer who also performed under the stage name Sunshine Sammy Morrison and was the only black member of the East Side Kids, and also was an original performer in the Our Gang short film series franchise (the 1920s silent film series).A sidekick to Harold Lloyd and Snub Pollard.

Early life

Born in 1912 in New Orleans, Morrison was the brother of Florence Morrison and stage and screen actress Dorothy Morrison, he fell into show business because a child actor being used for a film could not be persuaded to do anything but howl. One of the crew members asked Morrison's father Ernest Morrison Sr. to bring in his newborn son, and since the newest member of the Morrison clan gave the film crew what they needed, they decided to christen him "Sunshine," since he did not cry. Morrison's father added "Sammy" to his son's moniker to create his stage name of Sunshine Sammy

Biography

Morrison ultimately appeared in two-reel silent comedies opposite both Harold Lloyd and Snub Pollard, two of the era's biggest comedians. He was the first African American actor to be signed to a long-term contract, signing with studio executive and comedy producer Hal Roach in 1919. When Roach conceived his Our Gang series, featuring child actors in a natural juvenile setting in 1921, Sammy was the first child recruited. Morrison left the series in 1924 to work in vaudeville, where his talents were featured on the same bills with such up-and-coming acts as Abbott and Costello and Jack Benny.

After touring in Australia with partner Sleepy Williams, Morrison returned to the United States and was chosen by Sam Katzman to be one of the East Side Kids. From the beginning, Morrison tapped into his experiences growing up on the East Side of New York City to shape the character of "Scruno." He spent three years with the gang before leaving to pursue other opportunities, often doing promotional stints with Huntz Hall and Bobby Jordan. Morrison left the Kids when he was offered an opportunity to work with the Step Brothers act, a prominent black stage and film dance act. He was drafted into the army during World War II. After being discharged, he was offered a part in The Bowery Boys series that was just being launched, but he declined the offer.Morrison made mention of this in interviews, saying he "didn't like the setup."

Morrison later worked as a quality control inspector for an aerospace company in Compton, California. In later years, Morrison appeared in a guest spot on the sitcom Good Times airing in 1974.

Morrison died of cancer in Lynwood aged 76, on July 24, 1989. He is interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood California.

Selected filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1916The Soul of a ChildUncredited
1918Dolly's VacationEbenezer Eczema Abraham WhiteCredited as Sambo
1919Peggy Does Her DarndestSnowball Snow
1919The Little DiplomatGeorge Washington Jones, Jr.Credited as Little Sambo
1920Number, Please?Suit DusterUncredited
1920Waltz Me AroundCredited as Sunshine Sammy Morrison
1920Get Out and Get UnderChild on the streetUncredited
1921Rush OrdersNarcissusCredited as Sunshine Sammy Morrison
1922One Terrible DayBooker T.
1922Saturday MorningSorghum
1923The ChampeenSammy
1923The CobblerErnie
1923A Pleasant JourneyErnie
1923No NoiseSunshine Sammy
1924Fast CompanySunshine Sammy
1925Haunted SpooksHouse BoyUncredited
1926Between MealsIn NeedCredited as Sunshine Sammy Morrison
1940I Can't Give You Anything But Love, BabyJoeCredited as Sammy Morrison
1940Boys of the CityScrunoCredited as Sunshine Sammy Morrison
1940That Gang of MineScrunoCredited as Sunshine Sammy Morrison
1940Pride of the BoweryScrunoCredited as Sunshine Sammy Morrison
1941Spooks Run WildScrunoCredited as Sunshine Sammy Morrison
1941Flying WildScrunoCredited as Sunshine Sammy Morrison
1941Bowery BlitzkriegScrunoCredited as Sunshine Sammy Morrison
1942Mr. Wise GuyScrunoUncredited
1942Let's Get Tough!ScrunoCredited as Sunshine Sammy Morrison
1942Smart AlecksScrunoCredited as Sunshine Sammy
1942'Neath Brooklyn BridgeScrunoCredited as Sunshine Sammy Morrison
1943Kid DynamiteScrunoCredited as Sunshine Sammy
1943Clancy Street BoysScrunoCredited as Sammy Morrison
1943The Ape ManCopyboyUncredited
1943Ghosts on the LooseScrunoCredited as Sammy Morrison
1944Follow the LeaderScruno in a dream sequence onlyUncredited
1944Greenwich VillageOne of the Four Step BrothersUncredited
1974Good TimesMessengerEpisode: "The TV Commercial"
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