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| Gary Morton, Lucy's Husband and Producer, Dies at 74 Gary Morton, stand-up comic and producer of Lucille Ball's TV shows afterI Love Lucy, has died at age 74. Morton, who was married to the legendary comedienne from November, 1961 until her death in April, 1989, died on March 30, 1999 in Palm Springs. The cause of death wasn't disclosed, but according to his longtime friend, Variety columnist Army Archerd, Morton died of lung cancer. Born Morton Goldaper in New York City, Morton became a popular nightclub comedian in New York, Miami, Chicago, Las Vegas and the Borscht Belt before his marriage to Lucy brought him to Hollywood and television. "The first thing I noticed about Lucy was her warmth," Morton said not long after they met in 1960. "The second was her carriage. I mean, she's like a thoroughbred. When she walks into a room, you know she's there." For her part, Lucy commented, "Besides liking his looks, I also liked his sense of humor. Before I met Gary, I hadn't laughted in years. I'd made other people laugh,but I hadn't laughed." Morton's first involvement with Lucy's career came not long after their wedding, when he took on the job of warm-up comedian on The Lucy Show, in which she starred from 1962 to 1968. Later, after Lucy's ex-husband, Desi Arnaz, stepped down as executive producer of that show and Lucy took over Desilu Productions, Morton became a production consultant on the series. Upon Lucy's sale of Desilu to Paramount in 1967, she formed a new company, Lucille Ball Productions, naming Morton vice president. That company produced Here's Lucy, in which Lucy starred from 1968 to 1974, with Morton as executive producer. He teamed with Aaron Spelling Productions to produce Lucy's final TV series, Life With Lucy, which was canceled after only two months in 1986. Despite his shift to executive status, Morton continued to do audience warm-ups on all of Lucy's shows, which were filmed in front of an audience. Morton had supporting roles in films, including Lenny (starring Dustin Hoffman) in 1974 and Postcards From the Edge (starring Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine) in 1990. He also produced several Lucille Ball television specials through the 1970s, as well as other specials and films for television, including Bungle Abbey in 1981 and Sentimental Journey in 1984. In motion pictures, Morton executive produced the 1983 film All the Right Moves, which starred Tom Cruise as a high school football star. | |||||||
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