Ralph Morgan

Raphael Kuhner Wuppermann (July 6, 1883 – June 11, 1956) billed as Ralph Morgan was a Hollywood stage and film character actor, and the older brother of Frank Morgan (who played the title role in The Wizard of Oz, 1939).

Early life

Born as Raphael Kuhner Wupperman in New York City, the eighth of eleven children of Josephine Wright and George Diogracia Wuppermann. His mother was a Mayflower descendent and his father, George Wuppermann was a Hispanic and Latino German-born citizen, who had moved to U.S.. He had made a fortune by distributing Angostura bitters, allowing him to send all of his children to universities. Ralph Morgan graduated from Columbia University with a law degree. However, he abandoned the world of jurisprudence for the vocation of journeyman actor, having already appeared in Columbia's annual Varsity Show. Morgan became so successful in stock and on Broadway that his younger brother, Frank, was encouraged to give acting a try. Frank's career would eventually overshadow that of his elder brother.

Career

His first role on the stage came in The Bachelor in 1909 and later played John Marvin in the 1918 hit play, Lightnin' .

Ralph Morgan made his film debut in silent films in 1915, appearing in several production made on the East Coast. In the early talkie era he played such leading roles in such productions as Strange Interlude in 1932 and Rasputin and the Empress also in 1932.

"I have great faith in the sense of justice inherent in my fellow player. I believe he wants to and will fight to correct any injustice so long as he feels confident that this fight will be waged cleanly and in keeping with the high calling of his profession."

Ralph Morgan on the Screen Actors Guild and the professional ettiquette between fellow thespians

He later settled into secondary character parts. His quiet, dignified demeanor on screen was often employed for murder mysteries in which, more often than not, he would play what is known as a "heavy", being exposed in the last reel as the killer. One of his memorable roles was in the 1942 serial Gang Busters, in which he played a brilliant surgeon turned master criminal.

Morgan later worked in both, radio and television, frequently in religious dramas filmed for Family Theater.

Among his off-camera activities, he alongside, Grant Mitchell, Berton Churchill, Charles Miller, Alden Gay and Kenneth Thomson formed the Screen Actors Guild to resolve and stop most of the injustice, which actors faced within the industry. (among which, were prolonged work hours enforced by the studios and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences' membership policy, which was exclusively by invitation.) He was also a founder, charter member and became the first president of SAG in 1933 and was elected to two additional one-year terms in 1938 and 1939, serving until 1940.

Personal life

Ralph Morgan was married to Georgiana Louise Iverson, who as a stage actress was known as Grace Arnold, although he called her "Daisy" and was the father of Claudia Morgan (1911–1974), an actress best known for creating the role of Vera Claythorne on Broadway in the original production of Ten Little Indians, and for her portrayal of Nora Charles on the radio series The Thin Man. Upon his death in 1956, Ralph Morgan was interred at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

Selected filmography

• Charlie Chan's Chance (1932)
• Rasputin and the Empress (1932)
• Strange Interlude (1932)
• The Power and the Glory (1933)
• Doctor Bull (1933)
• The Kennel Murder Case (1933)
• No Greater Glory (1934)
• Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round (1934)
• Little Men (1934)
• Stand Up and Cheer! (1934)
• Star of Midnight (1935)
• Condemned to Live (1935)
• Magnificent Obsession (1935)
• Speed (1936)
• The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (1936)
• Anthony Adverse (1936)
• General Spanky (1936)
• Crack-Up (1936)
• The Outer Gate (1937)
• The Life of Emile Zola (1937)
• Mannequin (1937)
• Wells Fargo (1937)
• Army Girl (1938)
• Wives Under Suspicion (1938)
• Mother Carey's Chickens (1938)
• Out West with the Hardys (1938)
• The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt (1939)
• Man of Conquest (1939)
• Fast and Loose (1939)
• Forty Little Mothers (1940)
• The Mad Doctor (1941)
• Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. (1941 serial)
• Gang Busters (1942 serial)
• Night Monster (1942)
• Hitler's Madman (1943)
• Jack London (1943)
• The Great Alaskan Mystery (1944 serial)
• Weird Woman (1944)
• The Monster Maker (1944)
• The Impostor (aka Strange Confession) (1944)
• The Monster and the Ape (1945 serial)
• Black Market Babies (1945)
• Hollywood and Vine (1945)
• Song of the Thin Man (1947)
• Sleep, My Love (1948)