
Morgan Conway
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1903-03-16
Day of Death
1981-11-16 (78 years old)
Place of Birth
Newark, New Jersey, USA
Morgan Conway
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Morgan Conway (March 16, 1903 in Newark, New Jersey – November 16, 1981 in Livingston, New Jersey) was an American actor, best known for his portrayals of Dick Tracy.
Born Sydney Conway, he was educated at Columbia University in New York City. He arrived in Hollywood just in time to get on the ground floor of the industry's burgeoning labor movement. Conway was one of the founding members of the Screen Actors Guild. His first film appearance was in the 1934 film Looking for Trouble.
For many years he freelanced, working for various studios in bits or supporting roles. His most familiar appearance from this period is probably in Charlie Chan in Reno (1939).
By the mid-1940s he was a contract player for RKO Radio Pictures, and he was chosen to portray Chester Gould's comic-strip detective Dick Tracy in a pair of feature films: Dick Tracy and Dick Tracy vs. Cueball. RKO's earliest publicity photos posed Conway in profile, hoping to emulate Gould's square-jawed caricatures. Although this screen Tracy didn't resemble the print Tracy physically, Conway's dramatic interpretation was faithful; he gave the role an understated, businesslike quality totally in keeping with a police procedural. Morgan Conway is considered by many (including Dick Tracy writer Max Allan Collins) to be the best screen Dick Tracy.
Morgan/Sydney Conway left the motion picture industry and returned to New Jersey, where he died of lung cancer at the age of 78.
Known For
Acting
(2023)
Dick Tracy Special: Tracy Zooms In
as Dick Tracy (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1946)
Dick Tracy vs. Cueball
as Dick Tracy
(1946)
Badman's Territory
as Captain William 'Bill' Hampton
(1946)
The Truth About Murder
as Lester Ashton
(1946)
Vacation in Reno
as Joe
(1945)
Dick Tracy
as Dick Tracy
(1943)
Tornado
as Gary Linden
(1943)
Jack London
as Richard Harding Davis
(1943)
Canyon City
as Craig Morgan
(1942)
A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen
as Ray Stafford
(1942)
Bells of Capistrano
as Stag Johnson
(1940)
Brother Orchid
as Philadelphia Powell
(1940)
Florian
as Kingston
(1940)
A Fugitive from Justice
as 'Julie' Alexander
(1940)
The Saint Takes Over
as Sam Reese
(1940)
Millionaires in Prison
as James Brent
(1939)
Charlie Chan in Reno
as George Bentley
(1939)
Private Detective
as Nat Flavin
(1939)
Wings of the Navy
as Tommy - Duty Officer
(1939)
Off the Record
as Lou Baronette
(1939)
The Spellbinder
as Mr. Carrington
(1939)
North of Shanghai
as Bob Laird
(1939)
Secret Service of the Air
as Henchman Ed Powell
(1939)
Sued for Libel
as Albert Pomeroy
(1939)
Blackwell's Island
as Steve Cardigan
(1939)
Television Spy
as Carl Venner
(1939)
Grand Jury Secrets
as Thomas Reedy
(1938)
Sinners in Paradise
as Harrison Brand
(1938)
Crime Ring
as Ray Taylor
(1938)
Illegal Traffic
as State's Attorney Ryan
(1938)
The Nurse from Brooklyn
as Inspector Donohue
(1934)
Looking for Trouble
as Dan Sutter
(1934)
Happy Landing
as Frank Harland