| Stanley Morgan | |
| Birth Date: | 1929 11, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Liverpool, Lancashire, England |
| Children: | 4 |
Stanley Morgan (10 November 1929 – 24 August 2018[1] [2]) was an English writer and actor. He wrote fiction, in the comedy and thriller genres and had more than 40 books published between 1968 and 2006.
Originally an actor, Morgan had many jobs as a young man, including sewing machine salesman, debt collector and bank clerk. In 1951, Morgan emigrated to Canada where he spent some time working in the Bank of Nova Scotia. In 1955, he emigrated again, this time to Southern Rhodesia. He resumed his acting career there and was sponsored to return to London after winning a Best Actor award. Upon returning to London, Morgan featured mostly in voice-overs ("Mullardability" the documentary he voiced for Mullard was nominated for the Special Film BAFTA in 1970[3]), although he did have a small role in the James Bond film Dr. No playing the Concierge in the casino who first introduces Sean Connery as James Bond.[4] Most of his acting credits were in second-feature crime shorts filmed at Merton Park Studios.[5]
Whilst between acting jobs in the late 1960s, Morgan began to write seriously and his first novel The Sewing Machine Man was published in 1968. Allegedly autobiographical, the novel revolved around the character Russ Tobin and Morgan went on to write a further 18 novels in the series. The latest of the Russ Tobin novels was published in 2005 after Morgan came out of retirement, mainly due to renewed interest in his work via the internet.[1]
Along with George Harrison and Paul McCartney, Morgan was an alumnus of the Liverpool Institute High School for Boys, which he attended between 1945 and 1946.[1]
In August 2018, Morgan's webmaster announced his death on his website.[6] Morgan died on 24 August 2018.[7]
As of 2024, his estate have begun to publish his work as eBooks via Amazon.
The Russ Tobin series tells the story of a happy-go-lucky 20-something Liverpool lad who travels the world investigating life. Starting in Liverpool, he goes on to have adventures in London, Portugal, Majorca, Nairobi, Nassau, Miami, New York, Toronto, Las Vegas, Tahiti, Sydney, Co. Kildare, Ireland, Los Angeles and finally returning to Brighton for his last hurrah.
The Fly Boys series spanned three books of high farce, documenting the adventures of Glamour Airlines, a new venture set up by a millionaire who wins a fleet of aircraft in a poker game.
The Michael Morgan books feature a rugged British secret agent on missions to Africa with his partner. Octopus Hill was actually written before the first Russ Tobin book, but rejected as too similar to James Bond. It was only published after the Tobin books began to find success.
The Randy Comfort books are comedies, similar in the style to the Tobin books and feature Randy Comfort, a hunky unemployed layabout who lands himself a dream job as handyman to the rich and beautiful in a luxury apartment complex in London.
Gabriel Horn is the spoilt son of a successful business man who is forced to earn his way onto the board of his Father's company, by being sent around the world on a tiny budget. Originally planned as a series in the style of the Tobin books, but only one book was published.
Another attempted new character intended for further serialisation - Albert Shifty is an odd-job man on a new estate who does loft conversions.
All of Stanley Morgan's action thriller novels below were loosely themed around power and revenge, although none were related to each other.