Henry Morgan

Henry Morgan (born Henry Lerner von Ost Jr.; March 31, 1915 – May 19, 1994) was an American humorist. He first became familiar to radio audiences in the 1930s and 1940s as a barbed but often self-deprecating satirist. In the 1950s and later he was a regular and cantankerous panelist on the game show I've Got a Secret as well as other game and talk shows. Early life and education Morgan's parents divorced when he and his brother were young. He grew up in Washington Heights, Manhattan, attended the High School of Commerce for two years, then went to the Harrisburg Academy in Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1931. Radio Morgan began his radio career as a page at New York City station WMCA in 1932, after which he held a number of radio jobs, including announcing. He strenuously objected to the professional name Morgan but was told that his birth name of von Ost was exotic and difficult to pronounce despite the fame of successful announcers Harry von Zell and Westbrook Van Voorhis. This began a long history of Morgan's arguments with executives. In 1940, Morgan was offered a daily 15-minute comedy series on Mutual Broadcasting System's flagship station WOR.