HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Dermot John Morgan (31 March 1952 – 28 February 1998) was an Irish comedian and actor, best known for his role as the
title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...
on the
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
sitcom ''
Father Ted ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews (writer), Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for British television channel Channel 4. It aired over three seri ...
''.


Early life

Morgan was born in Dublin, the son of Hilda "Holly" (née Stokes) and Donnchadh Morgan, a civil servant and gifted amateur artist and sculptor. His father died young of an
aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward :wikt:bulge, bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also b ...
, leaving Holly with three children: Dermot, Paul, and Denise. A fourth child, Ruth, died in childhood in 1956. Morgan was educated at Oatlands College in Stillorgan and
University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...
(UCD), where he studied English literature and philosophy. During his time there, he honed his comic skills; he also fronted a country and Irish band named Big Gom and the Imbeciles, a kind of 'tribute' act to Big Tom and The Mainliners, a major Irish band of the era.


Career


Father Trendy and ''The Live Mike''

Morgan made his debut in the media on the Morning Ireland radio show produced by Gene Martin, whose sister Ella was the mother of one of Morgan's friends. It was through this contact that Morgan made the break into radio and eventually television. Morgan came to prominence as part of the team behind the highly successful
RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...
television show '' The Live Mike'', presented by Mike Murphy. Between 1979 and 1982 Morgan played a range of comic characters who appeared between segments of the show. Morgan lampooned the rampant
Modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
within the Post-
Vatican II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilic ...
Roman Catholic Church in Ireland by creating Father Trendy, a wishy-washy, trying-to-be-cool
hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...
-priest (modelled after Father Brian D'Arcy). Father Trendy always wore an
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
-style haircut and sometimes a leather jacket. He was also given to drawing ludicrous parallels between religion and secularism in two-minute 'sermons' to the camera. Morgan also satirised extreme nationalist " Little Irelanders", by playing an irate and bigoted GAA member who waved his hurley around while verbally attacking his pet hates. At the height of
The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
, Morgan also lampooned both the '' Wolfe Tones'' and the clichés of Irish rebel songs, which he said: "always have lots of blood and guts and fire and thunder in them". He then sang his own parody of Thomas Osborne Davis' iconic song " A Nation Once Again", about the martyrdom of Fido, a dog who saves his IRA master by eating a
hand grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...
during a search of the house by the
Black and Tans The Black and Tans () were constables recruited into the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) as reinforcements during the Irish War of Independence. Recruitment began in Great Britain in January 1920, and about 10,000 men enlisted during the conflic ...
during the
Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...
. When Fido farts and the grenade accidentally detonates, the Black and Tans comment that "'Scuse me mate, was that something your dog ate?" The song climaxed with the words: "I hope that I shall live to see Fido an Alsatian once again."


As a singer: ''Thank You Very Much, Mr. Eastwood''

Morgan released a comedy single, "Thank You Very Much, Mr. Eastwood", in December 1985 on Dolphin Records. It was a take on the fawning praise that internationally successful Irish boxer Barry McGuigan gave his manager, Barney Eastwood, at the end of successive bouts. The single 'featured' impressions of McGuigan,
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
,
Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part ...
and
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
, and was the Christmas number one in the
Irish singles chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...
in 1985.


''Scrap Saturday''

Morgan's biggest Irish broadcasting success occurred in the late 1980s on the Saturday morning radio comedy show '' Scrap Saturday'', in which Morgan, co-scriptwriter Gerard Stembridge, Owen Roe and Pauline McLynn mocked Ireland's political, business and media establishment. The show's treatment of the relationship between the ever-controversial
Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Charles Haughey and his press secretary PJ Mara proved particularly popular, with Haughey's dismissive attitude towards Mara and the latter's adoring and grovelling attitude towards his boss winning critical praise. Morgan pilloried Haughey's propensity for claiming a family connection to almost every part of Ireland he visited by referring to a famous advertisement for Harp lager, which played on the image of someone returning home and seeking friends. The Haughey/Mara "double act" became the star turn in a series that mocked both sides of the political divide, from Haughey and his advisors to opposition
Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...
TD Michael Noonan as
Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...
disk jockey "Morning Noon'an Night". When RTÉ axed the show in the early 1990s a national outcry ensued. Morgan lashed the decision, calling it "a shameless act of broadcasting cowardice and political subservience". An RTÉ spokesman said: "The show is not being axed. It's just not being continued!" In 1991, Morgan received a Jacob's Award for his contribution to ''Scrap Saturday'' from the Irish national newspaper radio critics.


''Father Ted''

Already a celebrity in Ireland, Morgan got his big break in Britain with
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
's Irish sitcom ''
Father Ted ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews (writer), Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for British television channel Channel 4. It aired over three seri ...
'', which ran for three series from 1995 to 1998. Writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews auditioned many actors for the title role, but Morgan's enthusiasm won him the part. ''Father Ted'' focuses on the misadventures of three morally dubious Irish Catholic priests, whose transgressions have caused them to be exiled to the fictional Craggy Island, off the west coast of Ireland.


BAFTA Award

In 1996, ''Father Ted'' won a
BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
award for Best Comedy. The same year Morgan also won a British Comedy Award for Top TV Comedy Actor, and McLynn was awarded Top TV Comedy Actress. In 1999, ''Father Ted'' won a second BAFTA for Best Comedy, with Morgan being awarded Best Comedy Performance posthumously.


Unreleased works

Morgan said in an interview with Gay Byrne on ''The Late Late Show'' in 1996 that he was writing a screenplay titled ''Miracle of the Magyars'', based on a real-life incident in the 1950s when the
Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...
John Charles McQuaid forbade Catholics from attending a football match between the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
and
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
on religious and spiritual grounds. Yugoslavia won the match 4–1. Morgan planned to use Hungary as the opposing side to the Republic of Ireland – hence the title. At the time of his death in 1998, he had completed the screenplay but the film was never made. Morgan's first project after ''Father Ted'' was to be ''Re-united'', a sitcom about two retired footballers sharing a flat in London. According to former manager John Fischer, Morgan was writing the script for the programme and planned to take the part of "an Eamon Dunphy-type who had gone on to work in journalism, but had ended up living with an old football pal". Mel Smith was in talks for the role of the friend. Morgan had been commissioned to write a drama series for the BBC.


Personal life

Morgan was married to Susanne Garmatz, a German woman, with whom he had two sons. He later began a relationship with Fiona Clarke, with whom he had another son. Although he had been raised as a Catholic and had briefly considered becoming a priest during childhood, Morgan became an
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
in his later life, and he was critical of the Catholic Church. He supported Irish football clubs Shamrock Rovers FC and UCD, as well as English football club Chelsea.


Death

Before location filming on the third and final series of ''Father Ted'', Morgan underwent a mandatory medical examination in which he was found to have
high blood pressure Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms itself. It is, however, a major ri ...
, and was prescribed medication. On 28 February 1998, one day after recording the series' final episode, Morgan suffered a heart attack while hosting a dinner party at his home in London's St Margarets area, at which the Scottish musician Jim Diamond was present. Guests and ambulancemen tried to revive him at his home. He was rushed to West Middlesex Hospital in
Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a suburban town in the London Borough of Hounslow, West London, England. It lies immediately east of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's original area of ...
, but despite further resuscitation efforts he did not regain consciousness. He was 45 years old. Morgan's sister Denise said "He wasn't feeling great at the end of the meal and I went to the bedroom with him. He had a heart attack, and I didn't recognize it. From my limited training in first aid, I wasn't sure exactly what was happening. The symptoms didn't match what the books said. I said to him 'I think you are okay' and we went back to the table. He apologised for having left the room and the next thing he just collapsed. We tried to resuscitate him but it didn't work." ''Father Ted'' co-star Frank Kelly said "Dermot's mind was mercurial. I think he was a kind of comedic meteor. He burned himself out." Despite Morgan's atheism, a Catholic requiem Mass was offered for him at St Therese's Church in the
South Dublin South Dublin () is a county in Ireland, within the province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished for administrative purposes in 1994. South Dublin Cou ...
suburb of Mount Merrion. The Mass was attended by Irish President
Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer, academic, author, and former politician who served as the president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. McAleese was first elected as president in 1997, ...
, her predecessor
Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson (; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who served as the president of Ireland from December 1990 to September 1997. She was the country's first female president. Robinson had previously served as a senato ...
, and many of the Irish political and religious leaders who had been the targets of his satire in ''Scrap Saturday''. His body was cremated at Glasnevin Cemetery, and his ashes were buried in the family plot at Deans Grange Cemetery.


Legacy

"The Joker's Chair" a bronze throne by sculptor Catherine Green was unveiled by then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in Merrion Square, in Dublin. It bears his name and dates. In December 2013, the documentary ''Dermot Morgan – Fearless Funnyman'' aired on RTÉ One. A plaque outside McGuire's shop in Mount Merrion was unveiled in 2016. A wax statue of Morgan stands in the national wax museum in Dublin as part of a "Father Ted's Room" display.


Appearances


Television

*'' The Live Mike'' (1979–1982) *''
Father Ted ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews (writer), Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for British television channel Channel 4. It aired over three seri ...
'' (1995–1998) *'' Have I Got News for You'' (1996–97; episodes 11.02 and 14.03) *'' Shooting Stars'' (1 episode, 1996) *'' That's Showbusiness'' (1 episode, 1996)


Radio

*'' Scrap Saturday'' (1989–1991)


Film

*'' Taffin'' (1988) *'' The First Snow of Winter'' (1998, voice in UK version)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Dermot 1952 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Irish male actors Alumni of University College Dublin Best Comedy Performance BAFTA Award (television) winners Burials at Deans Grange Cemetery Critics of the Catholic Church Former Roman Catholics Irish atheists Irish comedy musicians Irish former Christians Irish impressionists (entertainers) Irish male comedians Irish male television actors Irish satirists Irish schoolteachers Irish sketch comedians Irish expatriates in England Jacob's Award winners People educated at Oatlands College Radio personalities from the Republic of Ireland People from Stillorgan Broadcasters from County Dublin