Jovial, somewhat flamboyant Frank Morgan (born Francis Wuppermann) will forever be remembered as the title character in The Wizard of Oz, but he was a veteran and respected actor long before he played that part, and turned in outstanding performances both before and after that film. One of 11 children of a wealthy manufacturer, Morgan followed his older brother, Ralph Morgan (born Raphael Wuppermann) into the acting profession, making his Broadway debut in 1914 and his film debut two years later. Morgan specialized in playing courtly, sometimes eccentric or befuddled but ultimately sympathetic characters, such as the alcoholic telegraph operator in The Human Comedy or the shop owner in The Shop Around the Corner. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for The Affairs of Cellini. He died in 1949 in Beverly Hills, California.


Born, with his elder brother, the actor Ralph Morgan, into a well-to-do family that formerly distributed in the US the universally-known condiment "Angostura Aromatic Bitters." Interred at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York, USA, in section #168, plot #14447. Uncle of actress Claudia Morgan. Hobby -- boat enthusiast who participated in yacht races. Son, George Morgan (1916 - 2003). Was a member of the famous "Irish mafia"--even though he wasn't Irish--which also included fellow Hollywood actors James Cagney, Spencer Tracy, Frank McHugh and Pat O'Brien. Honorary pallbearers at his funeral included Clark Gable and Pat O'Brien. Irish tenor Dennis Day sang. He owned a 550-acre ranch in Hemet Valley, California, and raised cattle. He also owned yachts and one of his won a race from Los Angeles and Honolulu in 1947. Was a strict and very conservative Republican. Wife Alma Muller (1895-1970) was the daughter of a New York real estate magnate and a woman suffragette. They eloped in 1914. Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz (1939) said that whenever she saw the scene in the film where Frank Morgan as the Wizard is giving Dorothy's friends gifts from his "black bag" (a diploma for the Scarecrow, a ticking heart for the Tin Man, and a medal for the Cowardly Lion), she got teary eyed, because "Frank Morgan was just like that in real life - very generous". Morgan was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor,in 1942 for "Tortilla Flat".