Will Morrissey

William James Morrissey, born June 19, 1887, in New York, New York, and died December 16, 1957, was an American performer, composer, lyricist, playwright, and theatrical producer whose career spanned Broadway, vaudeville, film, radio, and the stage productions of the West Coast and Chicago. He studied at the Brooklyn School of Music and, prior to 1905, earned a civil engineering degree from the Stevens Institute before pursuing a life in entertainment.

Morrissey's Broadway career ran from 1919 to 1929 and encompassed five revues: Buzzin' Around, Toot Sweet, Keep It Clean, The Newcomers, and Hot Rhythm. His work in the theater extended well beyond Broadway, as he functioned regularly as both a producer and a writer for stage productions across the country.

His involvement in wartime entertainment brought him to France in August 1918, when he joined the Mayo's Shock Unit of the Y.M.C.A. for three months to perform for American troops. The unit, which included Margaret Mayo, Lois Meredith, Tommy Gray, and Raymond Walker, staged the musical Somewhere in America for soldiers in the European theater. Drawing on that experience, Morrissey produced the 1919 Overseas Review, a production featuring music by Richard Whiting and Ray Eagen that reunited a number of vaudevillians who had served in the Armed Forces and previously appeared in the Over There Review during the war.

Among his notable producing credits, Morrissey's 1935 production of Saluda, which opened in the Bronx, marked the first starring role for Milton Berle. He also produced the 1928 radio broadcast of The Morrissey and Miller Night Club Revue. Over the course of his career, Morrissey worked alongside Martha Raye, Billy Rose, Jack Oakie, Gracie Allen, and Hugh Herbert. Some of his earliest compositions, including Please, Oh Please from 1913, were published under the name Billy J. Morrissey.

Morrissey's work extended into film as well. He contributed additional dialogue to the 1947 Astor Pictures production Look-Out Sister and appeared on screen as an announcer in the 1952 Warner Bros. film The Story of Will Rogers. His first two wives, Elizabeth Brice, born Bessie Shaler in 1883, and Madgie Miller, were both actresses. Morrissey was married seven times in total, a fact that his associate Billy Rose once turned into a public gag by inviting all seven former wives to one of Rose's show openings without informing Morrissey in advance.