Cleeve Morrison (a.k.a. Cleve Moore)
Cleeve Palmer Morrison was Kathleen Morrison's younger brother; information about him has been harder to come by. At least one source list his birthday as June 10, 1900, which means Agnes Morrison would have only take a break of one month after the birth of Kathleen before she was pregnant again.
By all accounts the siblings got along famously, shared the same sense of humor. They were constant playmates, and Kathleen frequently enlisted her brother's help in her backyard productions. Years later, Cleeve followed in his sister's footsteps, giving acting a try. One newspaper account claims he had taken a job in the offices of First National, arranged by his new brother-in-law John McCormick, where he did accounting or clerical tasks. Supposedly it was John who had encouraged him to get into the movies.
| Los Angeles Times, April 20, 1924, page 13. |
It's doubtful it happened this way; in all likelihood he would not have required much encouragement, as he had already put in an appearance in at least one of his sister's films (according to a newspaper clipping, he was a diver in a pool scene in "Flaming Youth.") His first credited film appearance (that I know of) was in the 1923 film "Cause for Divorce." which was released in late 1923.
The 1921 - 1922 University of Santa Clara Catalogue register of students lists “Morrison, Cleave (sic) Palmer” as in the 3rd level of the High School or Preparatory Department. He is listed as a Resident, meaning he lived on campus while his family lived in Los Angeles (Santa Clara is more than 300 miles north of Los Angeles, about 40 south of San Francisco). The 1922-1923 register lists Cleeve as in the 4th level of the High School or Preparatory Department. Student records list his previous school as Gardner School for Boys and Girls, formerly the Westlake School for Boys, at 612 S. Alvarado, Los Angeles, California. Morrison withdrew prior to completion of the Preparatory Department program. According to information contained in his file, he was four credits short of completion. It is possible that if he completed his degree, it was at some point after his turn at acting in Hollywood. He would have left school about the same time as he began to appear in films.
His years near water resulted in a love of swimming (both siblings loved water sports) and he trained as a swimmer and diver, nearly making it to the 1925 Olympics.
While in Hollywood, Cleeve took the professional name "Cleve Moore," taking the frequent misspelling of his first name and running with it. He started out in his sister's films, as mentioned above; he had a part as a diver in a scene of "Flaming Youth," and probably made his way into the background of several others. He appeared in a number of films without his sister. His films included (AFI Silent Catalog): "Cause for Divorce" (1923) , "It Must Be Love" (1926) , "The Prince of Headwaiters" (1927) , "The Stolen Bride" (1927), "Too Many Crooks" (1927), "Her Summer Hero" (1928), "Lilac Time" (1928), and "Footlights and Fools" (1929).
| Cleeve Morrison and his father Charles Morrison, courtesy Colleen Michelle Guilbault Fodrey, Cleeve Morrison's grandaughter. |
He left the motion picture industry around the same time as his sister, and went to the stage for a time. Colleen had done the same thing after her short-lived return to motion pictures. When Cleeve turned to the stage, Colleen was present for his debut, in disguise, under a hat, but she had been spotted and the audience had paid nearly as much attention to her as to the play.
| Cleeve shown in the July 17, 1935 Los Angeles Times. |
He appeared in "June Moon," which debuted in San Francisco on March 25th, 1930. Featured in the play along with him were Nancy Dover and Ruth Abbott. The May 22nd 1931 issue of the New York Times ran a story that he had secretly married Ruth Abbott. They were married for several years and for a time they lived at 707 North Arden Drive (telephone CR-9712). By 1935, the two divorced, Cleeve siting her desire for a stage career over her wish to remain married as the cause. This was about the same time Colleen divorced her second husband, Albert Scott.
As the 1930s advanced, Cleeve left show business. For a time he was with the Wall Street firm of Palmer and Company (though this information comes from the same source as the Ruth Abbott wedding claim, so take it with a grain of salt).
| Thanks to the relatives of Cleeve's who have contacted me through this website with their offers of help and many stories; this short portion on Cleeve is taken mostly from my original page on the old website and is filled with mistakes that I hope to correct soon; please feel free to contact me with information! - Jeff |
During the Second World War, Cleeve had wanted to use the flying skills he had picked up in training for his part in “Lilac Time,” but did not make it into the U.S. Army Air Forces. Instead, he flew in civil air patrols in Florida. One day he had to ditch his plane, and when the rescue ship finally found him, he was stretched out in the cockpit, enjoying the warm weather and sea breezes: miffed, they tossed him into the water before they brought him aboard (Thanks to Alana Morrison for this entertaining story).
Cleeve married Maizie and there were had six children in the family: Michael, Alana, Penny (Penelope), Bridget and Melinda and Cleeve. They lived on a farm owned by Colleen in Rockdale, GA, currently the Elks Aidmore Children’s Center. Cleeve died suddenly and unexpectedly, his wife Maizie was pregnant with Cleeve, when he died.
