# Gary Morton
**Gary Morton** (born Morton Goldaper) was an American stand-up comedian and television producer, best known as the second husband of [Lucille Ball](https://www.edgepedia.org/lucille-ball) and the executive producer of her post-*I Love Lucy* sitcoms, including *Here's Lucy* and *Life with Lucy*.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Morton Goldaper; birth year is disputed, 1924 per IMDb and the Los Angeles Times (died at 74) versus 1917 per The Independent's obituary[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-01-mn-23341-story.html) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0607979/bio/) • [3](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/obituary-gary-morton-1085422.html) |
| Death | March 30, 1999, of lung cancer, in Palm Springs[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-01-mn-23341-story.html) |
| Marriage to Lucille Ball | November 19, 1961, in New York; lasted nearly 28 years, until Ball's death on April 26, 1989[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-01-mn-23341-story.html) |
| Comedy career | Borscht Belt and nightclub comedian in New York, Miami, Chicago, and Las Vegas; opening act for performers including Tony Bennett[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-01-mn-23341-story.html) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0607979/bio/) |
| Production roles | Warm-up comedian and production consultant on *The Lucy Show*; vice president of Lucille Ball Productions (1967); executive producer of *Here's Lucy* and *Life with Lucy*[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-01-mn-23341-story.html) |
| Film work | Executive producer of *All the Right Moves* (1983); supporting roles in *Lenny* (1974) and *Postcards from the Edge* (1990)[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-01-mn-23341-story.html) |
## Early career
Morton worked as a stand-up comedian on the "Borscht Belt" circuit of resorts in the Catskills and in nightclubs in New York, Miami, Chicago, and Las Vegas[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-01-mn-23341-story.html). According to his IMDb biography, he was personally popular among fellow performers and made a living as an opening act for major artists, including [Tony Bennett](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-bennett)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0607979/bio/). The Independent's obituary adds that he learned comedy entertaining troops during the Second World War while serving in the Army Special Services[3](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/obituary-gary-morton-1085422.html).
## Meeting Lucille Ball
Morton met Lucille Ball in 1960, shortly after her divorce from [Desi Arnaz](https://www.edgepedia.org/desi-arnaz). Ball was starring on Broadway in the musical *Wildcat* when the comedian Jack Carter and his wife Paula Stewart arranged a blind date for Morton and Ball at a pizza parlor[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-01-mn-23341-story.html). IMDb's account places the meeting while Morton was headlining at New York's Copacabana nightclub, and says his indifference to Ball's celebrity at first infuriated her before she was won over[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0607979/bio/).
The two married on November 19, 1961, in a quiet New York wedding at which Stewart and Carter served as matron of honor and best man[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-01-mn-23341-story.html). Instead of a honeymoon, Morton completed a pre-arranged nightclub tour while Ball returned to California to her post as chairman of Desilu Productions[3](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/obituary-gary-morton-1085422.html). The marriage lasted until Ball's death in Los Angeles on April 26, 1989, at the age of 77[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-01-mn-23341-story.html). Ball often described it as steady and comfortable, in contrast with her first marriage; asked in her later years for the secret of her happiness, she answered, "my husband"[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-01-mn-23341-story.html).
## Work with Ball's television shows
**Warm-up comedian and consultant.** After the marriage, Morton became involved in Ball's television career as the warm-up comedian for her second CBS sitcom, *The Lucy Show*, telling jokes to the studio audience before filming[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-01-mn-23341-story.html). Ball's former husband, Desi Arnaz, served briefly as the show's executive producer before Morton eventually took over that role.[3](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/obituary-gary-morton-1085422.html) A couple of years after Arnaz stepped down and Ball took over as president of Desilu Productions, Morton was made a production consultant on the series[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-01-mn-23341-story.html).
**Lucille Ball Productions.** When Ball sold Desilu to Paramount in 1967, she formed a new company, Lucille Ball Productions, and named Morton vice president[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-01-mn-23341-story.html). The Museum of Broadcast Communications records the sale of Desilu to Gulf and Western for $17 million in the mid-1960s[4](https://www.museum.tv/tvencyclopedia1/ball-lucille). The new company produced *Here's Lucy*, Ball's third CBS sitcom, with Morton as executive producer; he continued to do the audience warm-ups despite his executive role[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-01-mn-23341-story.html). The series ran from 1968 to 1974[3](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/obituary-gary-morton-1085422.html).
**Later productions.** Morton produced several Ball television specials through the 1970s and other specials and television films, including *Bungle Abbey* (1981) and *Sentimental Journey* (1984)[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-01-mn-23341-story.html). In 1986 he teamed with Aaron Spelling Productions to produce *Life with Lucy* for ABC, Ball's attempt to return to weekly television. The series flopped after less than two months on the air[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-01-mn-23341-story.html); the television historian Alex McNeil's chronology records that it ran from September 20 to November 15, 1986, and was lifted after only eight weeks[5](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Total-Television-Programming-1948-1991-McNeil.pdf).
## Film work and acting
Morton was executive producer of the 1983 film *[All the Right Moves](https://www.edgepedia.org/all-the-right-moves-film)*, which starred [Tom Cruise](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-cruise) as a high school football star[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-01-mn-23341-story.html). He also took supporting roles in films, playing a comedian in [Bob Fosse](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-fosse)'s *Lenny* (1974) and a famous star's husband in *Postcards from the Edge* (1990)[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-01-mn-23341-story.html) • [3](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/obituary-gary-morton-1085422.html).
## Later life
After Ball's death, Morton accepted numerous posthumous awards on her behalf, including a Governors Award at the 1989 Emmy ceremony, and arranged a private memorial goodbye with Ball's two children, Lucie and [Desi Arnaz Jr.](https://www.edgepedia.org/desi-arnaz-jr)[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-01-mn-23341-story.html). He retired to their home in Palm Springs, where he played golf[3](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/obituary-gary-morton-1085422.html). His first marriage, to Jacqueline Inmoor, was annulled in 1957; several years after Ball's death he married Susie McAllister, whom the Independent dates to 1996[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-01-mn-23341-story.html) • [3](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/obituary-gary-morton-1085422.html).
Morton died of lung cancer on March 30, 1999, in Palm Springs[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-01-mn-23341-story.html). The Independent's obituary gives the place of death as "Palm Springs, Florida," while the Los Angeles Times, which covers the region, places him in [Palm Springs, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/palm-springs-california); the California location is the one consistent with his residence there after Ball's death[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-01-mn-23341-story.html) • [3](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/obituary-gary-morton-1085422.html).
## References
1. [Gary Morton; Lucille Ball's Husband and Producer, Los Angeles Times (April 1, 1999)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-01-mn-23341-story.html)
2. [Gary Morton - Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0607979/bio/)
3. [Obituary: Gary Morton, The Independent (April 5, 1999)](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/obituary-gary-morton-1085422.html)
4. [Ball, Lucille, The Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of Television](https://www.museum.tv/tvencyclopedia1/ball-lucille)
5. [Life with Lucy entry, Total Television Programming 1948-1991 (Alex McNeil), WorldRadioHistory](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Total-Television-Programming-1948-1991-McNeil.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Theater and dance › Stand-up comedy and comedians › American stand-up comedians, contemporary › Stand-up comedians born before 1940*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license