IMPORTANT! - If you love actors - you need to read this.
Pamela Dean
bad information about this wonderful and talent man. They say that Vic was
jealous of his daughter Jennifer Jason Morrow "Leigh" and only left her a
$100.00 in his will. Because Vic thought Jennifer was trying to steal his
fame. Is this true about Vic? I love watching COMBAT! at 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m.
Central Time weekdays. COMBAT! is my favorite series, because it has Vic in
it. I cannot believe we do not have Victor "Vic" Morrow, because of the
director and the people working (and the producer) of The Twilight Zone-The
Movie. I have seen the movie, but I will never see it again. They should put
all the people responsible for Vic's death in prison for life (or give them the
death penality) (pardon my spelling). Does anyone else know anymore
information about actor Victor "Vic" Morrow?
*Pamela Dean*
ANIM8Rfsk
<< I really think Victor "Vic" Morrow is so out of this world. >>
You should write to AthleticGirl; she's a big Vic Morrow fan.
Pamela Dean
http://www.jodavidsmeyer.com/combat/personnel/morrow_BIO.html
VIC MORROW
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
Vital Statistics:
Born: February 14, 1929, Bronx NY
Died: July 23, 1982, Santa Clara river CA
Height: 5'9"
Hair: Blond
Eyes: Blue
Vic Morrow was born in the Bronx, N.Y., on February 14, 1929. He, along with a
bother and sister, were raised in a typical, middle class, Jewish family. Vic's
father was an electrical engineer.
At age 17, feeling "restless, rebellious, and stifled" (Dern 31), Vic Morrow
quit high school and joined the Navy. After completing his hitch, he earned his
diploma at night school. He then enrolled under the GI Bill, as a pre-law
student at Florida Southern College a decision which he said, "had more to do
with the drama of a great courtroom performance than any love of the law" (Dern
32). However, after taking part in a school play (I REMEMBER MAMA), he dropped
law and began to pursue a career on the stage (Farber and Green 86).
Instead of heading directly to Hollywood, Morrow chose to learn his craft the
hard way. He first studied at Mexico City College (1950) where he, "performed
in bilingual productions of Shakespeare, Moliere and Shaw" (Farber and Green
86). He then returned to New York to do little-theatre work before committing
himself to a 2-year stint at the Actors' Workshop under Paul Mann. Abiding by
his instructors' wishes, Vic agreed not to act professionally until his
training was over. In order to make ends meet, he drove a cab for a living.
His first role after graduation was as Stanley Kowalksi in a summer stock
production of A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE. His big break however, came when he
turned up without either an agent, an appointment or lunch money, to audition
for MGM's THE BLACKBOARD JUNGLE. After beating out the likes of Steve McQueen
and John Cassavetes, he was immediately signed and was Hollywood bound. Critics
raved about his portrayal of the tough-talking, knife-weilding, street-wise,
New York kid Artie West but Morrow took it all in stride:
"Sure, the notices were great, but y'da thought they'd picked me up out of an
ash can and made me a star. Hell, I'd already done Shakespeare, Chekhov and all
those other cats." (Dern 32)
Almost right from the start, Vic Morrow was typecast either as the "bad guy" or
a misunderstood, troubled young man. His early career was also marked by his
most unusual project; supplying the voice of a canine character in IT'S A DOG'S
LIFE. It was however, the last work he did for MGM and he drifted off in other
directions; namely marriage, raising a family and directing.
Putting his acting career on hold, Morrow enrolled in a course at the
University of Southern California and began directing community theatre.
Occasionally, he appeared on television or in films but the typecasting was
beginning to wear on him. With a growing family to support, he also found that
the time had come to put his artistic scruples aside and opt for the big
dollars that televison offered. Desperately wanting to challenge his "heavy"
image, he hired Harry Bloom as his personal manager. This proved to be THE
turning point in his career.
Pushing Vic's sex-appeal and leading man qualities, Bloom engineered a screen
test for a proposed new television series about the exploits of American
infantry soldiers in Europe during World War II: Combat! At first, he was
considered for the officer role (Lt. Hanley) but both Morrow and his manager
declined on the basis that, "no one sympathizes with an officer" (Dern 33). The
result was a 5-year starring stint (1962-67) as the heroic and highly respected
Sgt. Chip Saunders.
The early Combat! days were rocky ones. Morrow, not liking the direction the
show was taking namely, his often limited appearances, actually threatened to
quit (he did so again during contract negotiations two years later). He emerged
from the ordeal with the majority of the scripts and a contract which put him
among television's highest paid performers (a reported $5,000 per week) (Farber
and Green 91). He also assumed the director's reins with the episode "The
Pillbox" (Jan. 7, 1964)) and went on to direct many memorable episodes
including the acclaimed two-part anti-war saga, "Hills Are For Heroes" (Jan. 3
and 8, 1966). The outstanding features of his directorial efforts included
innovative camera angles and the ability to elicit strong, sensitive
performances from the ensemble cast. He also wrote many segments of the show
but those went uncredited (McGilligan 213). For Vic Morrow however, the high
point of his "Combat!" career was to be an Emmy nomination for his superb
portrayal of a horribly burned and abandoned Saunders in the first-season
episode "Survival" (March 12, 1963).
In 1958, Vic Morrow finally married New York actress and writer, Barbara Turner
(they had been together for seven years). Together they worked on several
projects including the satirical musical WILLIE LOVED EVERYBODY, and the screen
adaptation of Jean Genet's play, DEATHWATCH. Morrow had both appeared in the
latter off-Broadway in 1958 as well as directing a little theatre production of
it in Los Angeles. The couple had two children, Carrie Ann (b: 1959) and
Jennifer Leigh (b: 1962). Only five years later and on Barbara's initiative
(she had been involved in an affair with then Combat! director Robert Altman),
the couple separated and were officially divorced in 1965. Morrow took it all
very hard, especially the estrangement from his children. This, plus the
cancellation of Combat! in 1967, sent him into a personal and professional
decline from which he was never able to fully recover.
Morrow's post-Combat! career saw a return to the image of the "heavy". At
first, he was much in demand to do guest shots on hit series and while a
starring role in another series was proposed, what he really wanted was quality
film offers, a chance to develop his own projects and most of all, to direct.
With few opportunities at home, he took his talents to Japan but soon returned
when it became apparent that things were no better there. By this time, he
found himself relegated to supporting roles in mini-series and a string of
made- for-t.v. movies. THE GLASS HOUSE and POLICE STORY pilot ("Countdown")
were two of his most memorable performances but rarely, with the exception of
the 1976 hit THE BAD NEW BEARS, did he appear in a major film. Ironically,
despite the critical acclaim he received for his portrayal of the abusive
baseball coach in THE BAD NEW BEARS, his t.v. roles got smaller.
By the late 70s, Vic was lonely and despondent. A failed second marriage
(1975), the death of his beloved mother (1978), a reputation as a hard drinker,
the failure of a pet project (A MAN CALLED SLEDGE) and annonymity as a actor,
left him distraught. He also found it distressing to watch his own performances
and reputation being quickly eclipsed by those of his daughter, Jennier. While
she had changed her name to Jennifer Jason Leigh in an effort to escape the
"Vic Morrow's kid" label, Vic saw this as the ultimate act of disloyalty.
Driven by the need to keep busy, Vic found solace in a string of roles in
low-budget films, building a new house and playing the commodities market
(Farber and Green 98). When, in 1982, the chance came to appear in Steven
Spielber's latest project, a film adaptation of the classic t.v. series THE
TWILIGHT ZONE, Vic eagerly accepted. He saw it as a way to revive his career in
mainstream films.
Vic Morrow died tragically in the early morning hours of July 23, 1982 while
filming a scene for "Twilight Zone: The Movie". As he waded across the Santa
Clara River carrying two Vietnamese children, a helicopter crashed beside them.
All three actors were killed-- Morrow and one of the children were decapitated.
In his will, written in purple felt-pen on yellow paper, just seven months
before his death, he left the bulk of his million-dollar estate (house, bank
accounts, safety deposit boxes, personal effects and "Macho" the dog) to
Carrie. Jennifer, who had remained estranged from her father, received the
token sum of $100 while his SAG insurance and some cash went to a female friend
(Weiss 72)
REFERENCES:
"Combat Star Killed on Location". Toronto Globe & Mail. July 24,
1982. p. E3.
Contemporary Theatre, Film and Televison. v. 2. Detroit: Gale Research Inc.,
1986. p. 210.
Dern, Marian. "The Sergeant's Private War: Vic Morrow Has His Own Battles to
Fight." T.V. Guide. Oct. 2-8, 1964. p. 30-33.
Farber, Stephen and Marc Green. Outrageous Conduct: Art, Ego, and the 'Twilight
Zone' Case. New York: Arbor House/Morrow, 1988.
Hanson, Patricia and Stephen L. Hanson. Film Review Index. Phoenix: Orynx
Press, 1987.
International Who's Who of the Cinema. New York: Macmillan, 1983.
"Jennifer Jason Leigh". Current Biography Yearbook: 1992. New York:H.W. Wilson.
p. 357-61.
Marill, Alvin H. Movies Made For Television: The Telefeature and the
Mini-Series, 1964-1986. New York: Baseline, 1987.
McGilligan, Patrick. Robert Altman: Jumping Off the Cliff. New York: St.
Martin's Press, Inc., 1991.
New York Times. Various issues.
T.V. Collector. 2(9):5-14.
TV. Collector. 2(10):7-21
Variety International Showbusiness Reference. New York: Garland Publishing
Inc., 1983.
Weiss, Philip. "Jennifer Jason Leigh Flirts With Stardom". Rolling Stone. May
17, 1990. p. 7-72+.
Data collected by:
Loraine Wingham, Malaspina University-College, Library, Nanaimo, B.C. CANADA
Loraine, a dear Combat! fan and one of the first members of the online Combat!
discussion list, passed away in 2000. She is fondly remembered and greatly
missed.
Search eBay for:
Portrait of Mobster
Original Movie Poster
Blackboard Jungle Movie Poster
Item # mp01198
(1955) The first film to feature rock music. Glenn Ford, Anne Francis, Vic
Morrow, Louis Calhern. Dir: Richard Brooks. Folded. British.
Original Blackboard Jungle Poster
for sale
http://www.tv-now.com/stars/vicmor.html
http://video.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.asp?ctr=630535
http://shopping.yahoo.com/shop?d=d&id=1800011005
http://dir.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Actors_and_Actresses/Morrow__Vic__1929_
1982_/
*Pamela Dean*
Pamela Dean
Bone marrow
So Shallow
Shall we begin?
Vic was an established actor. He had an okay list of credits to his name, which
you can view at the Internet Movie Data Base www.imdb.com – if you are
interested. The little kids in this story, Myca Dinh Le, and Renee Shin-Yi Chen
weren’t as established, as they were 7 and 6 respectively. They were filming
a segment for the Stephen Spielberg produced film, Twilight Zone – The Movie.
This particular segment, Time Out, was about a bigoted man being in the place
of those he feels hatred towards. An interesting concept, it was directed by
John Landis – famous for taking risks during filming. Just watch The Blues
Brothers Movie, and you’ll see to what lengths he would go, to achieve a
reaction.
Earlier in his career, Morrow was in a film called Dirty Mary Crazy Larry.
There was a scene where he was supposed to fly in a helicopter. "I’m not
getting up in the helicopter… I have a premonition that I’m going to get
killed in a helicopter crash." The clue phone was ringing – no one picked up.
Vic was living in a house in Sherman Oaks. Couldn't see the house very well,
but the gates were extremely visible. Apparently his street was private, so I
didn't snoop in his mailbox.
The two children in the scene were not professional actors, and they weren’t
on proper work permits. Their sequence was to be filmed around 2am, and
contracts for children normally stipulate that they be finished much earlier.
The children’s parents were thrilled to have her family involved in a real
Hollywood film, and Landis wasn’t that bothered with dotting the i’s and
crossing the t’s. The segment was to take place in the jungles of Vietnam –
the real location being Indian Dunes Park, a dirt bike park near Six Flags over
Magic Mountain theme park.
At 2:20am on the morning of July 23, 1982, the final shot of the sequence was
being filmed. Morrow would have two children in his arms, wading across a
knee-deep river in the (obviously) dark. Also in the shot would be a village
under military siege, and a helicopter coming towards them. The shot would be
littered with gigantic explosions. It didn’t go well.
My friend Jody and I went on a trek to find this park. Finally found the
intersection of where it should have been, but had no luck. After driving
around for a bit, I found a fire station and went in. I swear, it was like I
walked into a porn film. Man. Anyway, they were very kind to me, and told me
that the park is no longer in existence. I asked if there was any way to get
in. They showed me a map of the area, and where the filming was, but honestly
they got so technical, my mind fogged over and I lost the will to live. So, my
findadeath.com friends, you’ll have to live with these shots, unless someone
else can get in there.
After Landis called ACTION!, the scene commenced. Morrow and the children,
trying to get thru the river, while these amazing explosions were pounding all
around them. Even the special effects people were a bit freaked out. Then the
helicopter enters the scene. Landis screamed, "Lower! Lower! Lower!" to direct
the chopper downwards, and it actually came to just 24 feet above the water.
Morrow must have been shitting himself, but you know what? It was to be the
last one of his life.
There were cameras whizzing away during this entire event. There was even a guy
standing on the skid of the helicopter, filming the entire thing. These
explosions were big. Way big. Just when the pilot of the copter was about to
split the scene, two more blasts came, and he went out of control. Everyone
that could, got the hell out of there. Vic lost his grip on Renee, but in the
time he tried to get her back, the helicopter landed on top of her, crushing
her to death. The 40 foot in diameter blades decapitated Morrow and little Myca
Le. The cameras were still rolling.
Landis and his assistant director made their way down to the scene, and his
assistant was the guy that found Vic’s torso in the water. The people in the
helicopter made it out okay.
"Leave your equipment where it is. Everyone go home. Please, everyone go home!"
was the announcement made.
Jack Rimmer, one of the fire-safety officers, covered Vic Morrow’s torso and
set it on a bank. As he was wading across the river to the village to douse the
fires there, Rimmer found Myca Le’s head in the water. A crew member brought
over a plastic garbage bag and placed the little boy’s severed head inside.
Special effects technician Kevin Quibell located Vic’s head, which was placed
in another black plastic bag. Post accident, the helicopter sat in place.
Many people were taken to emergency room of the nearby Henry Mayo Newhall
Memorial Hospital in Valencia, for treatment of injuries and shock.
Vic’s funeral took place on July 25th, and John Landis gave a eulogy. He is
buried at Hillside Memorial Park.
On July 27th, both children had their funerals, which Landis also attended.
Renee is buried in Forest Lawn Glendale.
Myca Le is buried in Cerritos.
Indian Dunes Park is now private. I really don’t know what they do in there,
but you can’t get in. No matter how hard you try. And I did. This is road we
took, to the closest we could get.
Added May 2002: Findadeath.com friend Mike Jones sends us this: Enjoyed your
article about Vic Morrow and the filming of "The Twilight Zone". FYI: Indian
Dunes is now owned by the Newhall Ranch Development Company in Newhall,
California. They closed the area to movie and film production some time ago.
Indian Dunes has been used for many movies and television programs, most
notably "Black Sheep Squadron" with Robert Conrad and "Some Kind Of Hero" with
Richard Pryor. I believe the last film made at Indian Dunes was "The Rocketeer"
and the last television production was "China Beach". There were many silent
films and westerns made here years ago and I believe that part of "Escape From
New York" was also filmed there.
The Newhall Ranch Development Company owns practically every inch of land in
the area and closed the area in the early 90's for what they termed
"agricultural use", but everyone and their brother knew what would be next.
Currently there are preliminary plans to construct over 20,000 homes in the
area, thus destroying what may be the very last open and unobstructed parcels
of land in the region. There has been a HUGE uproar over the proposal and, much
like Los Angeles before the LA river system, the big gripe is over water and
the amount needed to supply the huge development.
There are two books which discuss the tragedy in detail. The first, "Outrageous
Conduct", you mentioned. However, there is another book entitled "Special
Effects" by Ron LaBrecque that is equally mesmerizing. It even suggest that
Steven Spielberg, Exec Producer, was on the scene immediately after the
accident but left before the authorities arrived. Oh, well, that's HOLLYWOOD!
Everybody filed lawsuits. I mean everybody. Landis went on trial for
involuntary manslaughter, but was acquitted. Warner Bros. settled the civil
suits for about $2 million each.
Vic had two daughters. One called Carrie, the other one messed her name about
and is now called Jennifer Jason Leigh. Vic’s will left everything to his
daughter Carrie, and a hundred bucks to Jennifer. They didn’t get along.
You can see the scenes where the accident happened, if you rent or buy Death
Scenes 2. Not the most respectable of videos, but it works. I used to have
AVI files of the accident, that I was hoping to add to this page, but they are
sadly lost.
Thanks to an anonymous findadeath.com friend who turned me on to this website.
Go here, scroll down to vicmorrow.zip and you can download the scene there.
Thanks buddy!
Many thanks to Stephen Farber and Marc Green, and their fantastic book
Outrageous Conduct: Art, Ego and the Twilight Zone Case. It really is
fascinating reading. You can get it from Amazon, if you click the link below.
Outrageous Conduct if you are in the USA Outrageous Conduct :
if you are in the UK
*Pamela Dean*
Pamela Dean
http://www.seeing-stars.com/ImagePages/VicMorrowGravePhoto1.shtml
www.susanwernerphoto.com/ knotts-berry-farm-amusement-park.htm
Vic Morrow
actor, director, writer, producer
Born: 2/14/32
Birthplace: Bronx, New York
Adept at strong and vulnerable character roles, Morrow studied both prelaw and
drama at Florida State College before moving to New York and driving a cab to
pay for further acting classes. After some stage work in the early '50s, he
debuted on film in 1954 as a juvenile delinquent troublemaker in The Blackboard
Jungle. Most of his subsequent films and television work was in war and western
films, including the series Combat (1962–67) for which he was cast as tough
but fair Sergeant Chip Saunders. He later played prominent parts in Roots
(1977) and The Captains and the Kings (1976). He was tragically killed in 1982
along with two children in a helicopter accident on the set of Twilight
Zone—The Movie. His daughter is the talented actress Jennifer Jason Leigh.
Died: 7/23/82
*Pamela Dean*
Pamela Dean
jma...@gmail.com
http://www.keropiansculpture.com/sgt_saunders.html