George Morfogen

George Morfogen
Born(1933-03-30)March 30, 1933
The Bronx, New York, U.S.
DiedMarch 8, 2019(2019-03-08) (aged 85)
Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1957–2016
Spouse
Gene Laughorne
​
(m. 1968)​
[1]

George Morfogen (March 30, 1933 – March 8, 2019) was an American stage, film and TV actor. He is known for playing Bob Rebadow in the HBO show Oz, and for his role as Stanley Bernstein in the original V miniseries.

He was of Greek descent.[1]

Biography

He appeared at the Chelsea Theater Center of Brooklyn and at the off-Broadway Westside Theatre in Heinrich von Kleist's play, The Prince of Homburg.[2] The play was videotaped for the PBS series, Great Performances, and later released as a DVD. A chapter in Davi Napoleon's book, Chelsea on the Edge: The Adventures of an American Theater describes the rehearsal process and the production.

Morfogen was lifelong friends with director Peter Bogdanovich, and was best man for Bogdanovich at his 1962 wedding to Polly Platt.[3] Morfogen acted in five films directed by Bogdanovich: What's Up, Doc? (1972), Daisy Miller (1974), They All Laughed (1981; also producer), Illegally Yours (1988; also co-producer), and She's Funny That Way (2014). He worked off-screen on several other Bogdanovich movies; Morfogen was dialogue coach on At Long Last Love (1975), and associate producer on Saint Jack (1979) and Mask (1985).[4]

In 2001 he reprised his role as Bob in the Off-Broadway premiere of Uncle Bob, by Austin Pendleton, who wrote the role with Morfogen in mind. Gale Harold, followed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, played the character of Josh, Bob's nephew. The production, which was directed by Courtney Moorehead and produced by Steven Sendor, had 114 performances at The SoHo Playhouse. He was a teacher at HB Studio.[5] He died on March 8, 2019, 22 days before his 86th birthday. He was survived by his husband Gene Laughorne. They were partners for 51 years.[1][6]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1972 What's Up, Doc? Headwaiter
1973 The Thief Who Came to Dinner Rivera
1974 Daisy Miller Eugenio
1980 Those Lips, Those Eyes Sherman Sprat
1980 Times Square Don Dowd
1981 They All Laughed Leon Leondopolous
1983 Special Bulletin Dr. Morse Mansfield
1983 V Stanley Bernstein 2 episodes
1984 V: The Final Battle 1 episodes
1984 Heartbreakers Max
1988 Illegally Yours Judge Norman Meckel
1990 One Life to Live Judge Anthony Powers 10 episodes
1993 Twenty Bucks Jack Holiday
1996 The Substance of Fire Otto the printer
1997–2003 Oz Bob Rebadow 56 episodes
1998 Charlie Hoboken Father
2006 Waltzing Anna Henry
2008 The Marconi Bros. Grandpa Marconi
2014 She's Funny That Way Harold Fleet

References

  1. ^ a b c "George Morfogen, 'Oz' Actor and Theater Veteran, Dies at 86". The Hollywood Reporter. 13 March 2019. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021.
  2. ^ ​The Prince of Homburg (1976)​ at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
  3. ^ Abramowitz, Rachel (2002). Is that a Gun in Your Pocket?. Random House. p. 24. ISBN 0375758690.
  4. ^ "George Morfogen". IMDb. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  5. ^ George Morfogen profile, HB Studio
  6. ^ "George Morfogen Obituary". Legacy.com.


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