Actor Barry Morse dies at 89

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'Fugitive' co-star played more than 3,000 roles

Actor Barry Morse, who played a detective pursuing the wrongly accused Dr. Richard Kimble in 1960s TV series “The Fugitive,” died Feb. 2 in London after a brief illness. He was 89.

Born in London, Morse trained at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and appeared in British repertory and West End theaters before emigrating in 1951 to Canada, where he became a regular on radio and television.

The actor’s Web site estimated he played more than 3,000 roles on radio, TV, stage and screen over a seven-decade career.

In 1963, he was hired by producer Quinn Martin to play Lt. Philip Gerard on “The Fugitive.” The series ran for 120 episodes over four seasons, teasing audiences with the cat-and-mouse pursuit of Kimble, wrongly accused of murdering his wife, by the implacable Gerard.

Morse also played Professor Victor Bergman in 1970s science fiction series “Space 1999” and appeared on shows including “The Twilight Zone,” “The Untouchables” and “Judd for the Defense.”

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In 1966, he was named artistic director of the Shaw theater festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, rescuing it from financial crisis.

Morse was a lifelong devotee of playwright George Bernard Shaw, and his son Hayward Morse said reviving the festival, which produces the works of Shaw and his contemporaries, was his proudest achievement.

Morse is survived by his son and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

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