Boyd 'Red' Morgan

Biography

Actor and stuntman Boyd Franklin 'Red' Morgan was born on October 24, 1915 in Waurika, Oklahoma. Morgan spent the first twelve years of his life growing up on a combination farm and cattle ranch. Boyd started high school in Hobbs, New Mexico and finished high school in Holtville, California. An outstanding athlete in high school, Morgan attended the University of Southern California on a football scholarship in 1935 and made his film debut as a football player in 1936. Following graduation from college, Boyd was recruited by the Washington Redskins before going on to join the Pacific Coast League in 1940 and went on to play football for the Hollywood Bears and the Birmingham Generals. Morgan joined the U.S. Navy as an ensign in 1942 and in the wake of his military service worked as a football coach at Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, California up until 1948. Boyd decided to pursue a career as both an actor and stuntman in the late 1940's. Among the notable actors that he doubled for are Stuart Whitman, Dean Martin, Scott Brady, Gene Evans, Darren McGavin, Jim Davis, Peter Graves, and Leo Gordon. A steady and sturdy fixture in Western movies and TV shows, Morgan's career in show business encompassed over five decades altogether. Boyd died from a heart attack at age 72 on January 8, 1988 in Tarzana, California.