# You've heard the last of Ernest T. Bass: Howard Morris dead at 86 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 24, 2005, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-heard-the-last-of-ernest-t-bass-howard-morris-dead-at-86/305224 "2005-05-24T04:44:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-heard-the-last-of-ernest-t-bass-howard-morris-dead-at-86/305224/1 "2005-05-24T04:44:02Z")
[Howard Morris is dead of natural causes.](http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=784517) Eighty-six years (and five wives) is a pretty good run. He was a truly gifted physical and vocal comedian. “She hadn’t oughta have called me a creach-ter!” and “Ol’ Man Haney’s Ocean!” are two of his many lines that will make mel pause in channel surfing if it’s that episode, and his appearance on the _This is Your Life_ parody of _Sid Caesar_ is one of the funniest bits of slapstick I’ve ever seen. And of course, who doesn’t remember where they were when they heard this great song from the 60s: > [@Ernest T.](#): > > Old Aunt Maria, jump in the fi-ah, > Fire too hot, jump in the pot, > Pot to black, jump in the crack, > Crack to high, jump in the sky, > Sky to blue, jump in canoe, > Canoe too shallow, jump in the tallow, > Tallow too soft, jump in the loft, > Loft to rotten, jump in the cotton, > Cotton so white she stay there all night. RIP, Ernest T.- may angels guide you the white cotton of the angels. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-heard-the-last-of-ernest-t-bass-howard-morris-dead-at-86/305224/2 "2005-05-24T04:47:04Z")
AWW! What a bummer. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-heard-the-last-of-ernest-t-bass-howard-morris-dead-at-86/305224/3 "2005-05-24T05:27:41Z")
His wacky voice characterizations were heard in many cartoons: [http://voices.fuzzy.com/actor.idc?actor\_id=907](http://voices.fuzzy.com/actor.idc?actor_id=907) He will be missed. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Torgo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@Torgo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Torgo)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2005, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-heard-the-last-of-ernest-t-bass-howard-morris-dead-at-86/305224/4 "2005-05-25T23:54:23Z")
I don’t know what’s sadder; Mr. Morris’ passing or the fact that there are only 4 posts in this thread. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-heard-the-last-of-ernest-t-bass-howard-morris-dead-at-86/305224/5 "2005-05-26T01:47:24Z")
**Torgo** Yeah, I was surprised at the lack of replies too. Howie Morris literally goes back to the early days of television with Sid Ceasar, Imogene Coca, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, etc. Plus he made a great number of guest appearances on numerous shows. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-heard-the-last-of-ernest-t-bass-howard-morris-dead-at-86/305224/6 "2005-05-26T02:54:06Z")
I was surprised to learn that he only made five appearances on TAGS. He contributed so much it seems like he was on it more often. (He was still pretty spry and limber in the reunion movie. He was even funny in the blah Mel Brooks movie _Life Sucks_ a few years ago. Trivia: the disposition of his ashes in the movie _Life Sucks_ was based on the disposition of Howard’s father’s ashes IRL. (Mel Brooks went with him to toss his dad’s ashes in the Hudson while Sid Caesar was still running- he has some hysterical tales of his time with Howard on that show, including the “great place for a mugging” story.) More Trivia: Though he’ll be best remembered as a Tarheel hillbilly, Morris was born and raised in the Bronx and never left NYC until he was an adult (WW2). Yet More Trivia: two years ago he appeared in a sold-out stage performance of _Love Letters_ with Betty “Thelma Lou” Lynn. ---
**Author:** ![don\_Jaime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b4bc9f/32.png) [@don\_Jaime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_Jaime)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-heard-the-last-of-ernest-t-bass-howard-morris-dead-at-86/305224/7 "2005-05-26T04:00:36Z")
He made other appearances besides Ernest T. TV Land showed one of him as a TV repairman, and he’s the radio singer Leonard Blush in that one episode. Shame to see him go. He was a nice old codger. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-heard-the-last-of-ernest-t-bass-howard-morris-dead-at-86/305224/8 "2005-05-26T04:22:56Z")
In the 50s, I apparently caught him in a road company version of Finnian’s Rainbow with him as Og the leprechan (sp) I came across the program about 10 years ago when my mother died and it had Morris’ name. I was very young but I remember the antics of Og, who I now know was Morris, eanthralled me. Watching him on talk shows was fascinating too. He was always very cultured and controled as opposed to the frenetic characters he place with Sid Ceasar and on Griffith. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-heard-the-last-of-ernest-t-bass-howard-morris-dead-at-86/305224/9 "2005-05-26T22:41:05Z")
“She called me a creatchur.” :: sigh ::