website sponsered by
A Mayberry State Of Mind
Proudly Presents
Ernest T Bass / Howard Morris
page
Howard's voice has been a regular in "Hanna-Barbera" cartoons from the 60's until the present. Directed the classic black-and-white pilot of TV's "Get Smart" (1965). Performed Army tour productions of "Hamlet" and "Macbeth" for Maurice Evans during WWII. Ironically, Howard was Carl Reiner's sergeant at the time and Reiner also performed. In 1972, he directed some McDonaldland commercials featuring Ronald, the Hamburglar, Mayor MacCheese, etc. He served as the voice of the Qantas Airlines Koala for the airline's famous television commercials during the 1980s. He also as well as television's Atom Ant in "The Atom Ant Show," Beetle Bailey and General Halftrack in "Beetle Bailey and His Friends," and Jughead Jones and Big Moose Mason in "The Archie Show." Had four children: David, Gabrielle, Kim, and Devra He was always surprised by his notoriety because he only appeared four times as Ernest T. Bass. He made other appearances as different characters, George and Leonard and one uncredited voice over. Buried at Hillside Memorial Park, Culver City, Los Angeles County, California.
This short, quicksilver comic of TV's "Golden Age" has been heard more than seen in the last few decades, as he possesses one of the finest vocal instruments around for animation. Howard ("Howie") Morris was born in New York City in 1919 and forged his own destiny after a chance meeting with Carl Reiner in a radio workshop. Following the war in which they entertained troops together, they performed in the stage musical "Call Me Mister", then came aboard as part of Sid Caesar's repertory/writing company in the classic sketch shows of the 50s. After years of "second banana" success, however, Morris sought his own solo identity and went off to pursue work as an actor, director and voice artist. Since the early 60s, he has been a main staple of the Hanna-Barbera Productions vocal team, offering hundreds and hundreds of voices for "The Flintstones" (1960), "The Jetsons" (1962), "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" (1971), and other such Saturday morning shows. Interspersed have been some catchy offbeat characterizations in front of the camera. He has given zest to a number of standard comedy films including Boys' Night Out (1962) with Kim Novak, The Nutty Professor (1963) and Way... Way Out (1966), both with Jerry Lewis, and Mel Brooks' spoofs High Anxiety (1977) and History of the World: Part I (1981). Morris has directed Danny Thomas and Andy Griffith in their respective sitcoms, and made a wonderfully eccentric impression on-camera as the grizzled rock-tosser Ernest T. Bass in Griffiths' vehicle. He was so popular in that role, it was brought back faithfully for three seasons. The director of such comedy film fluff as Who's Minding the Mint? (1967), With Six You Get Eggroll (1968), and Woody Allen's Don't Drink the Water (1969), Morris continued on with directing commercials and popping up here and there well into the 1990s.
Ernest T Bass a weird little mountain man that loved to throw rocks. Our first meeting of Ernest T Bass was when Brisco Darling stops in town and asked Andy to stop by the cabin and see if he can set him straight. Ernest T had eyes originally for Charlene even after she was married to Dud and even went to the extent of taking who he thought was the bride in the middle of the wedding. He was civic minded and attempted to fulfill his duty to his country by trying to join the army. He had an extended relationship with Ramona Ankrum. He was even betrothed to her for a short time. Ernest T lived with a muskrat for a while and knew all about possums and how to properly get them out from under a rock. He attempted to finish his education and even received a certificate of knowledge. Ernest t also had a way of unlocking the jail cell causing Barney several headaches. With every visit to town came a broken window or two and Ernest always left an impression.
Sound Clip to enjoy
to listen click link where indicated media player should automaticly open
to download right click link and save target
Moriah
to listen click here