Morris the Cat
Morris the Cat (* 1959 in Chicago , Illinois ; † July 7, 1978 there ) was an orange house cat and the star of a number of cat food commercials for the 9Lives brand .
history
In 1968 Morris, initially called "Lucky", was accepted into the Hinsdale Humane Society (HHS) shelter . There they discovered their potential and contacted the animal trainer Bob Martwick. He passed the hangover on to the cat food company 9Lives, which made Morris the star of 58 different commercials between 1968 and 1978. Morris then became the face of the company. He was spoken by John Erwin in all of the spots . His popularity was so great that he hired his own secretary to handle the mail.
In 1973 he starred in the film The Sniffer Dog on the side of Burt Reynolds and Dyan Cannon and in Death Knows No Return . He has also had a number of television appearances, including Good Morning America and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous . The US magazine chose Morris for "Pet Star of the Year" and was also won in 1972 and 1973 PATSY ( P icture A nimal T op S tar of the Y ear), the Oscar-equivalent for animal actors.
When the company expanded into the United Kingdom in the 1970s, the US commercials on British television were adapted, but with a new synchronization. Johnny Morris , known for his dubbing for the children's program Animal Magic, took on this.
He was named the lead author of three books, and in 1974 Morris: An Intimate Biography appeared . He is considered the template for Jim Davis ' cartoon character Garfield . Jim Davis called Garfield a cross between Morris and Archie Bunker .
Morris the Cat died of a heart attack in July 1978 at the age of 19 . Even after his death, he remained the company's advertising character and was replaced by four different cat actors. Today 9Lives operates, among other things, a Facebook page with "Morris".
literature
- Mary Daniels: Morris - An Intimate Biography . Morrow & Co., 1974, ISBN 978-0-688-00282-4 .
Web links
- Morris the Cat in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Official website of 9Lives
Individual evidence
- ^ Morris the Cat. Find a Grave , accessed August 12, 2014 .
- ^ A b c Hinsdale Humane Society - Home of Morris the Cat. Hinsdale Humane Society, accessed August 12, 2014 .
- ^ Brian Galindo: Morris The Cat Was The Original Grumpy Cat. Buzzfeed.com , March 22, 2013, accessed August 12, 2014 .
- ↑ a b Working Felines: Entertainment & Media: Cats in Films and TV. Purr-n-fur.org.uk, accessed August 13, 2014 .
- ^ Mary Vespa: Garfield Goes Hollywood . In: People . No. 18 , November 1, 1982, pp. 88 ( people.com ).
- ↑ Morris the Cat dies . In: Lodi News-Sentinel . July 13, 1978, p. 1 ( google.com ).
- ↑ Official website. Retrieved August 12, 2014 .