JOHNNY MORRISJohnnyMorris, who died on 6 May, 1999, was the charismatic BBC host of children’s animal programmes including ‘AnimalMagic.’
In a careerlasting over 40 years, Morris entertained millions of children with hishumorous programmes that brought to life hundreds of different animals.
He was agifted storyteller, acting out hilarious and informative dialogues with animalsto whom he gave funny voices and mannerisms. But the characters he createdalways had an innate gentleness, reflecting Mr Morris’ deep love and respect forthe animal kingdom.
No matterhow amusing the voice he provided, he always made sure it was him who lookedridiculous, not the animal. He captured the imaginations of two generations ofchildren, and was responsible for transforming zoology into one of TV'smost popular genres.
JonathanMorris was born on 20 June, 1916, in Newport ,Monmouthshire. He left school at 14 and worked in a variety of jobs includingsolicitor’s clerk and farm manager, where he developed his love of animals.
He had a reputation at his home in Wiltshire as the localcharacter and raconteur, and a fellow villager started his media career afterdiscovering Mr Morris telling storiesin a pub . He made his radiodebut in 1946, and soon had a regular BBC West Region programme, ‘ Pass the Salt ’.
He transferred to television as ‘ The Hot Chestnut Man’ ,telling funny stories in a Westcountry accent at a chestnut stand in BristolZoo. In 1960 he became the popular narrator of the ‘ Tales of the Riverbank’ stories, bringing to life the antics ofa group of animal friends.
In the 1970s, hisvoice became increasingly familiar to his young audience. He recordedchildren’s bedtime stories for the Post Office’s telephone listening serviceand also presented several BBC School Radio music and story programmes.
But Mr Morriswas best known as theentertaining presenter of hit series ‘ AnimalMagic’ .For 21 years between 1962 and 1984, he presented over 400editions of the programme, in which he created little scenes with wildlife atBristol Zoo.
His phenomenal success onAnimal Magic led to other programmes like the BBC2 travelogue ‘Follow the Rhine ’ and numerous other travel and animal broadcasts.Mr Morris stayed in demand as a talented sound effects expert, providing noisesand voices for adverts and voice-overs.
He was awarded the OBE in 1982and continued pursuing his passion into old age,demonstrating against the Newbury by-pass construction despite being inhis eighties. In 1999, he was about to star in an ITV animal series, ‘WildThing’ when he collapsed at his home in Hungerford, Berkshire .
Mr Morris was cared for in a nursing home until his death on 6 May, 1999, aged82. He was buried at the bottom of his four-acre garden next to his belovedwife of 45 years, Eileen, who died in 1989.
Nobody could have matched the energy and passion hebrought to the screen, underpinned by his total respect and understanding ofthe animals he introduced to millions of viewers. Mr Morris had a natural abilityto communicate ideas to children, which he attributed to his claim that he hada mental age of seven.
He said he learned as much from animals as about them.He transferred this fascination and love of wildlife to generations ofchildren, who were captivated by the characters he created, especially hiscompanion Dottie the ring-tailed lemur.
He remained completely down-to-earth, forever self-deprecating about histalent and success. In 1996, when Radio 4 asked him to take part in anadaptation of ‘The Ladykillers’, he said: "I fancied the Alec Guinnessrole, but they wanted me for the parrot."
Peter Salmon, Controller of BBC One, said: "Johnny Morris was a TVpioneer. He created a style all of his own - a distinctive and unique voicewhich combined humour, humanity and insight. Generations of children simplyenjoyed learning from him."
He once described his career in a rather different way: "Agrey-haired man drives to a railway station. He catches the InterCity toPaddington. Takes a taxi to the West End .Enters recording studio. Sits at microphone. Watches film. Waits until donkeyturns. The man says "Thistles". Gets up, shakes hands all round.Takes taxi to Paddington. Takes InterCity to country station. Gets in car anddrives home."
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