Garrett Morris: Chico Escuela Been Berry Berry Good For Comedy

By | July 10, 2018

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Left: Garrett Morris on 'Saturday Night Live' in 1980. Right: Morris in 'Cooley High' (1975). Sources: Alan Singer/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images; IMDB

Garrett Morris earned his status as a comedy legend by making the cast of the first season of Saturday Night Live -- nobody knew it yet, of course, but alongside Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, Morris created funny sketches that ended up changing TV comedy forever. As baseball player Chico Escuela and the "School For The Hard Of Hearing" man, Morris turned in performances that make every highlight reel from the show's early years. A Julliard-trained performer, Morris has continued his career in television and movie comedy to this day, with recent work in Ant-Man and 2 Broke Girls.

Garrett Morris Showed Musical Talent At A Young Age

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Morris was the first child born to his mother. He was actually the product of his mother being raped at the age of 16. For this reason, his grandparents stepped in to raise him. His grandfather was a Methodist Preacher and soon realized that Morris had musical abilities. His grandfather fostered that talent and he went on to study at Dillard University and trained vocally at Juilliard. This formal training boosted Morris into a blooming and successful career as a musical arranger and soloist before finding acting.