ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, August 28, 1996 TAG: 9608280079
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LAS VEGAS
TYPE: NEWS OBIT
SOURCE: Associated Press
Actor Greg Morris, who played technical wizard Barney Collier in the ``Mission: Impossible'' television series, was found dead Tuesday. He was 61.
Morris died at home, a spokeswoman for the Clark County Coroner's office said. The cause of death was not immediately known.
Morris battled brain cancer the past few years, but he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in May that he was cancer-free.
Morris was one of the first black actors to star in a hit series during the 1960s, playing a quiet, efficient electronics expert on ``Mission: Impossible,'' which ran from 1966-1973.
``My seven years on that show were seven of the most fun years of my career,'' he recalled.
But he walked out of the new movie version after watching only 40 minutes.
``It's an abomination,'' he said of the Tom Cruise film, which did not feature any of the TV series' cast.
Born Sept. 27, 1934, in Cleveland, Morris came to Hollywood in the early 1960s after some minor stage experience in Seattle. He had guest roles on series including ``Dr. Kildare,'' ``The Dick Van Dyke Show'' and ``The Twilight Zone'' before being cast in ``Mission: Impossible.''
LENGTH: Short : 35 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Morris.by CNB