Editing Chester Morris (section)

==Early years==
[[File:The Beloved Traitor 1918.jpg|thumb|right|Morris and [[Mae Marsh]] in ''The Beloved Traitor'' (1918)]]
Chester Morris was born John Chester Brooks Morris in New York City, and was one of five children of Broadway stage actor [[William Morris (actor)|William Morris]] and stage comedienne [[Etta Hawkins]].<ref name=palmbeach>{{cite news| title=Veteran Actor Chester Morris, 69| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BJFGAAAAIBAJ&pg=865,4592181&dq=chester+morris+divorce&hl=en| newspaper=[[The Palm Beach Post]]| date=September 12, 1970| page=6}}</ref> His siblings who lived to adulthood were screenwriter-actor Gordon Morris,<ref name="AE2001">{{cite book |last=Ellenberger |first=Allan R. |title=Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory |year=2001 |edition=First |type=softcover |location=Jefferson, NC |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-0983-9 |page=141 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZraJCgAAQBAJ&q=Adrian+Morris+actor&pg=PA141}}</ref> actor [[Adrian Morris (actor)|Adrian Morris]], and actress Wilhelmina Morris.<ref name="SAN2019">{{cite book |last1=Nollen |first1=Scott Allen |last2=Nollen |first2=Yuyun Yuningsih |title=Chester Morris: His Life and Career |year=2019 |edition=First |type=softcover |location=Jefferson, NC |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-7729-3}}</ref>{{rp|7,263}} Another brother, Lloyd Morris, had died young.<ref name="SAN2019"/>{{rp|7}}

Morris dropped out of school and began his Broadway career at 15 years old opposite [[Lionel Barrymore]] in ''The Copperhead''.<ref name="reading">{{cite news |title=Movies' 'Boston Blackie,' Chester Morris, Dies |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fn8uAAAAIBAJ&pg=5493,6448083&dq=chester+morris+death&hl=en |newspaper=[[Reading Eagle]] |date=September 12, 1970 |page=13}}</ref> He made his film debut in the silent comedy-drama film ''[[An Amateur Orphan]]'' (1917).<ref name="blottner">{{harvnb|Blottner|2011|p=51}}</ref>

After appearing in several more Broadway productions in the early 1920s, Morris joined his parents, sister, and two brothers, Gordon and Adrian, on the [[vaudeville]] circuit.<ref>{{harvnb|Parish| Leonard|1976|p=410}}</ref> From 1923, they performed William Morris' original sketch called ''All the Horrors of Home'', which premiered at the [[Palace Theatre (New York City)|Palace Theatre]], New York, then on the [[Orpheum Circuit|Keith-Orpheum]] circuit for two years, including Proctor's Theatre, Mount Vernon, New York, and culminating in Los Angeles in 1925.<ref name="SAN2019"/>{{rp|12,304}}<ref name="KJ1980">{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Ken D. |last2=McClure |first2=Arthur F. |last3=Twomey |first3=Alfred E |title=Character People: The Stalwarts of the Cinema |year=1980 |edition=Third softcover printing |orig-year=First published 1976 |type=softcover |location=Secaucus, NJ |publisher=Citadel Press |isbn=978-0-8065-0701-9}}</ref>{{rp|150}} Morris returned to Broadway with roles in ''The Home Towners'' (1926) and ''Yellow'' (1927). While appearing in the 1927 play ''Crime'', he was spotted by a talent agent and was signed to a film contract.<ref name=palmbeach/>