Morris was born in
Folkestone,
Kent. He won a choral scholarship to
Magdalen College School, Oxford, at age nine. Morris went on to read English at
Magdalen College at the
University of Oxford. His tutor was
C. S. Lewis. During World War II, Morris' brother was killed in North Africa. That and his own experiences serving in the war led Morris to become a peace activist. He later became an active member of the
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and helped organize the first Artists for Peace exhibition in the 1980s. After the war, Morris decided to become an artist, and he studied at the
École des Beaux-Arts. Some of Morris' portraits and landscapes were exhibited by the
Royal Society of Portrait Painters and the
Royal Academy, and two of his murals depicting Christ in Bible stories in views from
Waterloo Bridge were displayed at St. John's Church,
Waterloo Road, London until the 2022 redevelopment of that church. It is not known where they are now stored or displayed. Morris taught art for 20 years in the Royal Academy Schools and lectured at various other schools in London, Oxford and Brighton. Morris was an amateur actor who staged Shakespeare productions in a converted barn called the "Bottom Theatre" at his home in Roughwood,
Buckinghamshire. In 2004, Morris was recommended for a role in the TV mystery series
Jonathan Creek by his friend, director
Sandy Johnson. Morris went on to appear in the TV film ''
When I'm 64 and the comedy series Little Britain and Saxondale''. In 2005, he played Grandpa George in
Tim Burton's
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Morris married Olwen Goodwin, a pianist, in 1957 and they had four children: Sarah, Martin, Stephen and Anna. Morris died on 29 October 2007 from a
heart attack, at age 83. ==Filmography==