Editing Chester Morris (section)

==Career==
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| caption1 =Morris (left, with [[Mae Busch]]) received an Oscar nomination for his performance as a gangster in ''[[Alibi (1929 film)|Alibi]]'' (1929)
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| caption2 =Morris and [[Wallace Beery]] in ''[[The Big House (1930 film)|The Big House]]'' (1930)
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[[File:Public Hero No1 Trailer.webm|thumb|thumbtime=1:12|[[:File:Public Hero No1 Trailer.webm|''Public Hero No. 1'' trailer]] (1935)]]
Morris made his sound film debut in the 1929 film ''[[Alibi (1929 film)|Alibi]]'', for which he was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Actor]].<ref>{{harvnb|Morton|Adamson|2009|p=86}}</ref> He followed with roles in ''[[Woman Trap (1929 film)|Woman Trap]]'' (1929), ''[[The Case of Sergeant Grischa (film)|The Case of Sergeant Grischa]]'' (1930) and ''[[The Divorcee]]'', starring [[Norma Shearer]] in 1930. Later that year, Morris was cast as one of the leads (with [[Wallace Beery]] and [[Robert Montgomery (actor)|Robert Montgomery]]) in the [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]] prison drama ''[[The Big House (1930 film)|The Big House]]''. For the next two years, he worked steadily in films for [[United Artists]] and MGM and was cast opposite [[Jean Harlow]] in the 1932 comedy-drama ''[[Red-Headed Woman]]''.<ref name="Parish, Leonard 1976 413">{{harvnb|Parish|Leonard|1976|p=413}}</ref>

By the mid- to late 1930s, Morris' popularity had begun to wane and he was cast as the lead actor in such [[B-movie]]s as ''[[Smashing the Rackets]]'' (1938) and ''[[Five Came Back]]'' (1939).<ref name="blottner"/> In 1941, Morris' career was revived when he was cast as criminal-turned-detective [[Boston Blackie]]. Morris appeared in a total of 14 ''Boston Blackie'' films for [[Columbia Pictures]], beginning with ''[[Meet Boston Blackie]]''. He reprised the role of Boston Blackie for the [[Boston Blackie (radio series)#NBC version|radio series]] in 1944.<ref>{{harvnb|Young|Young|2010|p=241}}</ref> During [[World War II]], Morris performed magic tricks in over 350 [[United Service Organizations|USO]] shows. He had been practicing magic since the age of 12 and was considered a top amateur magician.<ref name="henderson">{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1665&dat=19700912&id=wRsaAAAAIBAJ&pg=3801,3271340&hl=en| title=Veteran Actor Chester Morris Found Dead| date=September 12, 1970| newspaper=[[Times-News (Hendersonville, North Carolina)|The Times-News]]| page=9| access-date=March 21, 2015| location=Hendersonville, North Carolina}}</ref>

While appearing in the ''Boston Blackie'' series, Morris continued to appear in roles in other films mostly for [[Pine-Thomas Productions|Pine-Thomas]] films for [[Paramount Pictures]].<ref name="blottner"/> After appearing in 1949's ''Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture'', the final ''Boston Blackie'' film, Morris largely retired from films.<ref name="reading"/> During the 1950s, he focused mainly on television and theatre, returning to Broadway in 1954 in the comedy ''The Fifth Season''.<ref name="Billboard Fifth Season"/> During this time, Morris also appeared in guest spots for the [[anthology series]] ''[[Cameo Theatre]]'', ''[[Lights Out (radio show)#Television|Lights Out]]'', ''[[Tales of Tomorrow]]'', ''[[Alcoa Premiere]]'', ''[[Suspense (U.S. TV series)|Suspense]]'', ''[[Danger (TV series)|Danger]]'', ''[[Robert Montgomery Presents]]'', ''[[The Web (1950 TV series)|The Web]]'', ''[[Philip Morris Playhouse (TV series)|Phillip Morris Playhouse]]'', ''[[Studio One (American TV series)|Studio One]]'', and ''[[Kraft Television Theatre]]''. He briefly returned to films in 1955 with a role in the prison drama ''[[Unchained (film)|Unchained]]'', followed by a role in the 1956 science-fiction horror film ''[[The She-Creature]]''. In 1960, he had recurring role as Detective Lieutenant Max Ritter in the [[CBS]] summer replacement series, ''[[Diagnosis: Unknown]]''. The series lasted a year, after which Morris appeared in the [[NBC]] television film ''A String of Beads''. In November 1960, he returned to Broadway as Senator Bob Munson in the stage adaptation of the 1959 novel ''[[Advise and Consent]]''. Morris remained with the production until it closed in May 1961. In October, he reprised his role for the touring production.<ref name="Parish, Leonard 1976 413"/>

In the early to mid-1960s, Morris appeared in guest spots for the dramas ''[[Route 66 (TV series)|Route 66]]'', ''[[The Defenders (1961 TV series)|The Defenders]]'', and ''[[Dr. Kildare (TV series)|Dr. Kildare]]''. In 1965, he replaced [[Jack Albertson]] in the Broadway production of ''[[The Subject Was Roses]]''.<ref name="blottner"/> He reprised his role in the play for the touring production in 1966.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1338&dat=19661108&id=HbszAAAAIBAJ&pg=4343,2234703&hl=en| title=No Book---Says Chester Morris| date=November 8, 1966| newspaper=[[Spokane Daily Chronicle]]| page=17| access-date=March 21, 2015}}</ref>