Sydney Chase on the ABC Television Network's "The City"
A native of Dallas, Morgan began acting as a child, when her mother enrolled her in drama lessons after she was too shy to give a book report in class. From the age of 10, she performed in children's and dinner theater and stock productions in Dallas. This vigorous preparation readied her for the key role of the paranoid murderer, Jennifer Pace Phillips, in the daytime drama, "Search for Tomorrow," a part which Morgan landed six weeks after moving to New York and which was the beginning of her television career.
Following her stint on "Search for Tomorrow," Morgan moved to Los Angeles, where she made numerous guest appearances on television series. She had a recurring role on "Mork & Mindy," with Robin Williams; and has had a recurring role on ABC's "Roseanne." Morgan originated the role of Jenna Wade on "Dallas," as well as appearing on such series as "Barnaby Jones," "Happy Days," "The Bob Newhart Show," "A Man Called Sloane," "Police Woman," "Switch," "Kojak," "Big Shamus, Little Shamus," "Perry Mason," "Burke's Law," "Murder, She Wrote," "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," "Empty Nest," "Diagnosis Murder," "Robin's Hoods," "Friends"; and most recently, "Cybill," with Cybill Shepherd. Morgan also starred in the contemporary film noir mystery, "Writers Block," for cable.
Additionally, Morgan co-starred with Natalie Wood in the television movie, "The Memory of Eva Ryker," and also appeared in other TV movies, including "The Initiation of Sarah," with Shelley Winters; "Music in Music City"; "Concrete Cowboy," with Tom Selleck; and the miniseries, "The Dream Merchants," with Mark Harmon. For the latter, she won excellent notices for her portrayal of the tragic actress, Dulcie Warren. She also appeared in David Wolper's ABC miniseries, "North and South," with Patrick Swayze and Elizabeth Taylor.
In 1980, Morgan landed the key role of Constance Weldon Carlyle in "Flamingo Road," for which she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. Morgan starred as a TV newswoman in the feature film, "The Seduction," co-starred with Erik Estrada in the television movie, "Honeyboy," and co-starred with Bette Davis in "Hotel."
Morgan stretched her dramatic muscles with her acclaimed portrayal of Skye in the off-Broadway play, "Geniuses," which was one of the top ten plays of the year as noted by Time Magazine and The New York Times. Other recent stage appearances have included productions of "Goodbye Charlie" and "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes."
She also starred in the TV movie, "The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood," a comic version of the famous tale co-starring George Segal and Roddy McDowall. She played the naughty Racine in the ABC series, "Paper Dolls," with Lloyd Bridges, in 1985-86; and she later starred as lawyer Jordan Roberts in "Falcon Crest," with Jane Wyman. Morgan also made a cameo appearance in the feature film, "Pee Wee's Big Adventure," as well as over a dozen appearances on television specials with comedy legend Bob Hope.
In 1987, Morgan starred in the feature film, "The Red-Headed Stranger," opposite country music legend Willie Nelson, which was based on his concept album of the same name. She then starred in the feature, "Campus Man," in which she played a magazine publisher. She also starred as the Queen in "Sleeping Beauty," part of Cannon Films' fairy-tale series. She then starred in "Deadly Illusions," another feature, opposite Billy Dee Williams. In 1988, she played the "mystery woman" opposite Ben Masters in the TV movie, "Street of Dreams," a film noir detective story; as well as "Midnight Cop," a motion picture shot in Berlin, with Michael York and Armin Mueller-Stahl.
In 1990, Morgan received an Emmy nomination for a special episode of "Murphy Brown," written for her by Diane English. In the spring, she co-starred with Joan Rivers in "Your Money or Your Wife." She then started the summer with "Murder at the PTA Luncheon," which was produced by von Zerneck/Sertner and also starred Cindy Williams and Marla Gibbs. She then traveled to Luxembourg to star in Harmony Gold's production of "Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady," which also starred Christopher Lee and Patrick MacNee. Morgan also starred in the highly rated psychological suspense thriller, "The Haunting of Sarah Hardy."
In 1994, Morgan's career reached new heights with her co-starring role in "Gospa!," in which she played Sister Fabiana opposite Martin Sheen. "Gospa!" will have a worldwide release later this year.
Morgan has authored a beauty book, "Super Looks" (Simon & Schuster), a complete guide including makeup, hair, exercises and diet tips. She is also the star of an informational video, "Safe Sex for Men and Women," about AIDS education and prevention.
Out of the limelight, Morgan is a collector of movie memorabilia (particularly items having to do with Marilyn Monroe) and antique clothing. She is a ballet fan and is also interested in anthropology and paleontology. Morgan is single and lives in Los Angeles.
-- 1995-96 --
A CAPITAL CITIES/ABC, INC. TELEVISION NETWORK GROUP
77 West 66th Street New York New York 10023 212 456-7777
