Thomas Francis "Cozy" Morley ( – August 23, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter, entertainer, comedian and club owner, best known for his rendition of " On the Way to Cape May", which became his signature song. Raised in

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west."." ''City of Philadelphia''. Retrieved November 8, ...

, Morley attended Southeast Catholic High School.Cozy Morley

Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia is a state-chartered, federally recognized, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, devoted to collecting information about and promoting cultural work related to broadcasting and communications in Philadelphia, Pe ...

. Accessed May 31, 2020. "His parents named him Thomas, but we all knew him as Cozy. A shy kid, Cozy Morley was born in South Philly at 1240 E. Moyamensing Ave and grew up on Two Street. He went to Southeast Catholic High." He started with the banjo and added the clarinet and saxophone to his repertoire. Morley credited the broad diversity of his neighborhood for the breadth of cultural references in his humor, though in his later years he recognized that some of the jokes he had told were no longer "politically correct". The nickname "Cozy" came because he looked like he could be the younger brother of an entertainer named Cozy Dolan. He was described by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' as having been a "South Jersey Shore institution" starting from the time when he was first discovered in 1949 and brought to the attention of Ed Suez, who owned a club in

North Wildwood, New Jersey North Wildwood is a City (New Jersey), city located on the Jersey Shore in Cape May County, New Jersey, Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The city and all of Cape May County are part of the Ocean City, New Jersey, Ocean City metr ...

and hired him as an opening act; building on his success as a performer, Morley bought the club from Suez in 1958 for $10,000.Strauss, Robert
"Theater; For Comedian, Old Jokes, Loyal Fans"
''

'', August 13, 2000. Accessed May 31, 2020. "Mr. Morley has been a South Jersey Shore institution since the old comic Mickey Shaughnessey saw him performing his quasi-musical comic act in Philadelphia in 1949." Though he didn't create the song, Morley helped popularize the song "On the Way to Cape May," a song that became Morely's signature song, chronicling the places encountered along the route. A statue of Morley stands at the former site of Club Avalon in North Wildwood, which he owned and operated until 1989, when the city condemned the building. He attracted crowds as large as 1,200 to his club.Morrison, John
"Thomas "Cozy" Morley, 87, popular South Jersey comedian and musician."
''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'', August 26, 2013. Accessed May 31, 2020. "Thomas Francis "Cozy" Morley, who became an iconic part of the South Jersey entertainment scene, a jokester who could pack his 1,200-seat Club Avalon in North Wildwood every night and became a hit in the Atlantic City casinos, died last week. He was 87. He had homes in North Wildwood, Haddon Township and Fort Lauderdale, Fla." The city's mayor called him "Mr. North Wildwood".Gilfillian, Trudi
"Jersey Shore icon Cozy Morley dead at 87"
''

The Press of Atlantic City ''The Press of Atlantic City'' is the fourth-largest daily newspaper in New Jersey. Originally based in Pleasantville, New Jersey, Pleasantville, it is the primary newspaper for southeastern New Jersey and the Jersey Shore. The Designated marke ...

'', August 25, 2013. "In 2002, then-Mayor Aldo Palombo called Morley 'Mr. North Wildwood.' 'Cozy is an institution,” Palombo said." After his club closed, Morley performed frequently in

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

. In the late 1990s, Morley competed in an annual Tramcar Race as a fundraiser on the Wildwood / North Wildwood boardwalk against entertainer Al Alberts. He wrote a song called "It's New Jersey", which he unsuccessfully promoted for acceptance as the official

state song A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

. In 2003,

New Jersey State Senators New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

James Cafiero and Stephen M. Sweeney, both from

South Jersey South Jersey, also known as Southern New Jersey, comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located between Pennsylvania and the lower Delaware River to its west, the Atlantic Ocean to its east, Delaware to its south, ...

, introduced legislation that would make Morley's song "It's New Jersey" one of six official state songs. A longtime resident of

Haddon Township, New Jersey Haddon Township is a township in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 15,407, an increase of 700 (+4.8%) from the 2010 census count of 14,707, which in turn refle ...

, Morley also owned homes in North Wildwood and in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

. Morley died on August 23, 2013, at a hospital in Camden. The cause of death was complications related to

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

.via

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"Shore funnyman 'Cozy' Morley; Club owner was Wildwoods icon"
''

The Record The Record may refer to: Music * The Record (Fear album), ''The Record'' (Fear album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear * The Record (Boygenius album), ''The Record'' (Boygenius album), a 2023 studio album by the indie rock supe ...

'', August 28, 2013. Accessed May 31, 2020. Morley was inducted into the

Hall of Fame in 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morley, Cozy 1920s births 2013 deaths Comedians from Camden County, New Jersey Comedians from Cape May County, New Jersey People from Haddon Township, New Jersey People from North Wildwood, New Jersey Entertainers from Philadelphia Singers from New Jersey American male comedians