Barry Morse
| Name: | Barry Morse |
| Also Known As: | Herbert Barry Morse |
| Occupation: | actor, director, writer |
| Medium: | television, film, stage, radio |
| Works: | Space: 1999 The Fugitive |
| Official Website(s): | [1] |
| Fan Website(s): | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj91am-tX1c |
| On Fanlore: | Related pages |
Barry Morse (born June 10, 1918, died February 2, 2008) is perhaps best known for his roles in two American television series: 'Lieutenant Philip Gerard' in The Fugitive (TV) and Professor Victor Bergman in Space: 1999.
He also played multiple roles in numerous genre productions over more than 40 years, including The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, The Martian Chronicles, and The Ray Bradbury Theatre.
Morse was reunited with his co-star from Space: 1999, Barbara Bain, when they performed together in a production of A.R. Gurney's Love Letters in Culver City, California at the Breakaway convention on September 11, 1999.
In a career that spanned seven decades, actor and director Morse played more than 3,000 roles on radio, television, stage, and in film.
He was a five-time winner of Canada's Best Television Actor award and a former Artistic Director of the famed Shaw Festival of Canada.
The Return of Victor Bergman
Morse reprised his role of Professor Victor Bergman in a new performance in the short film The Return of Victor Bergman, an eight-minute fan-production scripted by Robert E. Wood and Barry Morse. The film also featured clips (including Morse and various other actors) from the Space:1999 television series. Directed by Robert E. Wood and Produced by Anthony Wynn, it debuted at the Journey to Where convention Austin, Texas in 2010. The film was also screened publicly at the "Alpha: 2012" convention in Burbank, California. It has been embraced by fandom and dubbed the "50th episode" by fans of the show.
Books
Morse, with co-authors Robert E. Wood and Anthony Wynn, wrote an autobiography Pulling Faces, Making Noises and a theatrical memoir, Remember with Advantages, detailing his experiences on The Fugitive, Space: 1999, and many other productions. He is also the subject of several biographical works by co-authors Wood and Wynn, including "Valiant for Truth: Barry Morse and his Lifelong Association with Bernard Shaw", "Merely Players: The Scripts", and "The Wit and Wisdom of Barry Morse". Morse wrote the Foreword and also gave an interview that appeared in Conversations at Warp Speed. Morse wrote the Afterword to Destination: Moonbase Alpha.
In his memoir, Morse expresses his appreciation for his fans - particularly from Space: 1999 and The Fugitive - and admires how they've come together to help others, as well as each other, through charitable endeavors. He also mentions several fans by name, including Vivian Stanley his long-time fan club president, and Danita Loue, a fan from South Africa with whom he struck up a correspondence in the 1970s and 80s.[1]
Fan Club
Morse Code, the Barry Morse fan club, was created and organized by Vivian Stanley. The club published a quarterly newsletter of the same name, Morse Code, and was in existence from 1977 to 1997.
Conventions
Morse appeared at a number of fan conventions for the following fandoms: Space: 1999, The Fugitive, The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, and Star Trek beginning in 1982 and continuing to 2005. Several of these included:
- SpaceCon V in Springfield, Massachusetts (1982)
- SpaceCon VIII in Los Angeles, California (1986)
- SpaceCon X in Wapokeneta, Ohio (1989)
- SpaceCon XI in La Mirada, California (1992)
- SpaceCon XII and The Outer Limits Tribute Show in Portland, Oregon (1997)
- Breakaway: The Convention in Culver City, California (1999)
- Main Mission: 2000 in New York, New York (2000)
- SpaceCon XIV in Tampa, Florida (2001)
- The Twilight Zone Reunion in Burbank, California (2002)
- Vulkon in Atlanta, Georgia (2002)
- Vulkon in Cleveland, Ohio (2002)
- Vulkon in Orlando, Florida (2003)
- SpaceCon XV in Portland, Oregon (2003)
- The Fugitive Reunion in Burbank, California (2004)
- Earthbound in Tampa, Florida (2005)
Fan Fiction
The fanzine The Return of Victor Bergman was published in 2010 as a charity zine to accompany the release of the fan film of the same title. It is a gen Space: 1999 short story collection of fan fiction by multiple authors edited and published by Anthony Wynn. It also featured the script of the short film, The Return of Victor Bergman. All focus on the character of Victor Bergman. Other zines that contain stories including the character of Bergman are Everything Yet To Be, The Alpha Files, and Moonscape.
Fanzine Covers
Cover of the Everything Yet To Be
Cover of ComLoC Issue 1
Cover of Alpha Log 5
Cover of Vol. 1, No. 1, Reconnaissance Quarterly
Cover of Issue #1, Whispers in the Grove
Cover of The Return of Victor Bergman
References
- ^ Remember with Advantages, Barry Morse, McFarland and Company, 2007.