Claudia Morgan

Claudia Louise Morgan (June 12, 1911 – September 17, 1974) was an American actress whose career spanned Broadway, film, television, and radio. Born in Brooklyn, New York, she was the daughter of actors Ralph Morgan (born Raphael Kuhner Wuppermann) and Grace Arnold (born Georgiana Louise Iverson). Her uncle was actor Frank Morgan. Some sources list her birth surname as Wuppermann, while others indicate her father had already adopted the Morgan name before her birth. She attended Ely Court School in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Morgan's Broadway career extended from 1929 to 1956, encompassing more than thirty productions. Among her most notable stage credits was originating the role of Vera Claythorne in the first Broadway production of Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians. She was ultimately dismissed from that production because her radio commitments caused the Friday night curtain to be delayed. Morgan also starred in Wine of Choice and The Man Who Came to Dinner, and appeared in The Apple Cart, Venus Observed, and The Sun Field, among other productions.

On radio, Morgan was widely recognized for her portrayal of Nora Charles on The Adventures of the Thin Man during the 1940s. In 1941, she joined the cast of The O'Neills in the role of Laura Penway. She was a regular presence on numerous other programs, including Ford Theatre, David Harum, Joyce Jordan M.D., Lone Journey, We Love and Learn, and The Right to Happiness. She was married to radio announcer and actor Ernest Chappell, with whom she also performed on the late 1940s program Quiet Please.

Morgan's screen career began with a film role in 1932 and concluded with her appearance in The World of Henry Orient in 1964. On television, she appeared on Kraft Television Theatre and Robert Montgomery Presents.

Morgan was married five times, and none of the marriages produced children. Her first marriage, to Talbott Cummings in 1931, ended in divorce after approximately one year. She married aviator Robert Shippee on July 22, 1934, and that union also ended in divorce. On May 14, 1937, she wed Charles H. Horburg Jr.; they divorced in 1938. She then married actor and architect Phil Ormsby on August 2, 1938. Her fifth husband, Kenneth Loane, survived her. Morgan died in New York City on September 17, 1974, at the age of 63. She was buried in the Wuppermann Family Plot at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.