Ernie Morrison

Ernie Morrison
Ernie Morrison as Sunshine Sammy in Dogs of War (1923)
Born	Ernest Fredric Morrison December 20, 1912 New Orleans, Louisiana
Died	July 24, 1989 (aged 76) Lynwood, California
Cause of death	cancer
Other names	Sunshine Sammy Little Sambo Smiling Sambo
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1916-1976

Ernest Fredric "Ernie" Morrison (December 20, 1912 – July 24, 1989) was an African American child actor who performed under the stage name "Sunshine Sammy." Morrison was the only black member of the East Side Kids, and was also an original Our Gang kid, a sidekick to Harold Lloyd and Snub Pollard, a silent screen comedian, a vaudevillian, a dancer, and band leader.

Early life and career

Born in 1912 in New Orleans, Morrison 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 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.

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 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 doing some 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." ^[1]

Later years and death

By the late 1960s, it was mentioned by friend Leo Gorcey in interviews, that Morrison later got into work in military defense plants. Morrison eventually left show business and ended up working for an aircraft-plant making parts for aircraft (or perhaps "missile work"), apparently doing very well financially.^[2] In later years, Morrison appeared in a guest spot on Good Times.

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

Selected filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1916	The Soul of a Child		Uncredited
1918	Dolly's Vacation	Ebenezer Eczema Abraham White	Credited as Sambo
1919	The Little Diplomat	George Washington Jones, Jr.	Credited as Little Sambo
1920	Number, Please?	Suit Duster	Uncredited
1920	Waltz Me Around		Credited as Sunshine Sammy Morrison
1920	Get Out and Get Under	Child on the street	Uncredited
1921	Rush Orders	Narcissus	Credited as Sunshine Sammy Morrison
1922	One Terrible Day	Booker T.
1923	No Noise	Sunshine Sammy
1924	Fast Company	Sunshine Sammy
1925	Haunted Spooks	House Boy	Uncredited
1926	Between Meals	In Need	Credited as Sunshine Sammy Morrison
1940	I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby	Joe	Credited as Sammy Morrison
1940	Boys of the City	Scruno	Credited as Sunshine Sammy Morrison
1940	That Gang of Mine	Scruno	Credited as Sunshine Sammy Morrison
1940	Pride of the Bowery	Scruno	Credited as Sunshine Sammy Morrison
1941	Spooks Run Wild	Scruno	Credited as Sunshine Sammy Morrison
1941	Flying Wild	Scruno	Credited as Sunshine Sammy Morrison
1941	Bowery Blitzkrieg	Scruno	Credited as Sunshine Sammy Morrison
1942	Mr. Wise Guy	Scruno	Uncredited
1942	Let's Get Tough!	Scruno	Credited as Sunshine Sammy Morrison
1942	Smart Alecks	Scruno	Credited as Sunshine Sammy
1942	'Neath Brooklyn Bridge	Scruno	Credited as Sunshine Sammy Morrison
1943	Kid Dynamite	Scruno	Credited as Sunshine Sammy
1943	Clancy Street Boys	Scruno	Credited as Sammy Morrison
1943	Ghosts on the Loose	Scruno	Credited as Sammy Morrison
1944	Follow the Leader (film)	Scruno in a dream sequence only	Uncredited
1944	Greenwich Village	One of the Four Step Brothers	Uncredited
1974	Good Times	Messenger	Episode: "The TV Commercial"

References

1. Hayes, David & Walker, Brent The Films of the Bowery Boys Citadel Press; 1st edition (October 1984)
2. Leo Gorcey: Bobby Jordan's Funeral on YouTube

Bibliography

• Holmstrom, John. The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995, Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, pp. 56-58.
• Dye, David. Child and Youth Actors: Filmography of Their Entire Careers, 1914-1985. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 1988, p. 165.

External links

• Ernie Morrison at the Internet Movie Database Retrieved on 2009-05-18
• Ernie Morrison at AllMovie Retrieved on 2009-05-18
• "Ernie Morrison". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2009-05-18.