Al Morgan, Novelist and Television Producer
In addition to writing nine novels, Morgan was a producer of the Today show from 1961 to 1968.
Al Morgan, a novelist, screenwriter, playwright and television producer who achieved notoriety for his 1955 novel The Great Man, which inspired a film of the same name, died on March 3, 2011, at his home in Brattleboro, Vermont. He was 91.
Based on Morgan’s years in the radio business, The Great Man was a dark tale about a popular radio personality whose folksy on-air persona is at odds with his despicable behavior off the air. After the man dies, radio executives and sponsors strive to perpetuate the myth.
A film version starring Jose Ferrer was released in 1957.
Morgan returned in 1958 with Cast of Characters, a similarly caustic novel set in the movie industry.
That same year, in collaboration with Ferrer, Morgan wrote the book for the Broadway musical Oh Captain! a Broadway musical based on the Alec Guinness movie The Captain’s Paradise.
His other novels include One Star General and The Whole World Is Watching.
In addition to his literary career, Morgan worked extensively in television. From 1961 through 1968, was producer of the Today show, working with the hosts Hugh Downs, Barbara Walters and Jack Lescoulie. He received an Emmy Award the year he left the show.
Albert Edward Morgan was born in the New York City borough of Queens on January 16, 1920. He began writing short stories and poems while in high school, after which he served in World War II, as an Army infantryman. When he was wounded in Europe, Morgan was reassigned to work for an armed forces radio network in Paris.
Upon returning to New York, he wrote scripts for radio shows. He later became a writer-producer for This Is New York, a CBS radio show in which staff members would go out at night to gather stories “while you were sleeping.”
Morgan’s longtime wife, former radio actress Martha Falconer, died in 2008. He is survived by two daughters, a son, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.