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In his time he was an officer
in the United States Army (Louisiana Native Guards), serving
three and a half years in the civil war. It was after the war
that he became an actor. Of late years he was best known for
his characterization of Mephistopheles in "Faust."
Lieutenant Morris W. Morris became an actor after the Civil
War. His stage name was Lewis Morrison, and he became the grandfather
of two well-known actresses, Constance
and Joan Bennett. He is also Morton
Downey, Jr.’s great grandfather. The photograph
to the left is Morris in costume for his best known part, Mephisopheles
in Faust. (This image is from Joan Bennett’s book, The
Bennett Playbill.)
Grandfather of Morton Downey Jr. And Constance and Joan Bennett |
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Mr. Morrison was born in Jamaica, West Indies, sixty-one years
ago. Through only a youth when the war between the States began,
he became an officer and saw service in many battles.
In 1865,
when the army was mustered out, Morrison decided to go on t
he stage, and it was with Lawrence Barrett in New Orleans that
he made his first appearance. Afterward he appeared with Tommaso
Salvini, Edwin Forrest, Edwin Booth, and Charlotte Cushman.
He acquired the reputation in secondary roles, and then became
a star.
One
of his recent appearances was in "The Master of Ceremonies,"
a dramatization from a novel. It is as Mephistopheles, though,
that he is most clearly remembered. His widow is Florence
Roberts, the actress. Last season she was seen in "The
Strength of the Weak."
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