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Thomas Fisher Morgan, already an actor and singer of experience, joined the D'Oyly Carte Company in April 1951, and began by playing the two small parts of Bouncer in "Cox and Box" and the Lieutenant of the Tower in "Yeomen". By September he was playing the heavy bass-baritone parts of Sergeant of Police, Private Willis, Pooh-Bah, Sir Despard Murgatroyd, Wilfred Shadbolt and Don Alhambra. In addition he continued to appear as Bouncer, and had also added the Learned Judge to his repertoire.
Possessing a voice of slightly lighter timbre than that of the much-admired Kenneth Sandford, Fisher Morgan was a very fine artist. He had a great sense of humour, and musically left little to be desired.
In September 1953 he surrendered Bouncer to Trevor Hills, but a year later he added another important laurel to his crown when he became the first King Hildebrand since the 1939-45 war in a revival of "Princess Ida" at the Savoy.
In July 1955 he went on a seven month tour of the United States and Canada with D'Oyly Carte, playing seven big roles. The Company had reached a new post-war peak in the opinion of many, and such artists as Peter Pratt, Ann Drummond-Grant, Donald Adams, Leonard Osborn, Muriel Harding, and Joyce Wright had just won them new laurels on the other side of the Atlantic. In this Tom Fisher Morgan was no whit behind the others. His Sergeant was probably as good as any since the war, his Pooh-bah was very funny, his Shadbolt suitably grotesque, and his Grand Inquisitor full of archness coupled with dignity.
Possibly his greatest performance, however, he reserved for "Ruddigore", in which he played Sir Despard Murgatroyd to perfection. His grisly first entrance in Act I was brilliantly contrasted with just the right degree of sobriety and sedateness in Act II, in which he and Joyce Wright, in the duet "I once was a very abandoned person", gave a superb performance of singing and dancing, in which they proved what great artists they were by never overplaying their parts; thus achieving the maximum comic effect, which was just what Gilbert wanted. Also the patter trio, "My eyes are fully open", was probably as well performed by Peter Pratt, Fisher Morgan, and Joyce Wright as it has been since the war. They were truly magnificent.
Fisher Morgan's final D'Oyly Carte appearance was on April 21st, 1956, at Streatham Hill, when he gave a fine Hildebrand. Sadly, after less than three years, during which time he showed his versatility by appearing in pantomimes, Fisher Morgan died in January 1959.
He made three Decca recordings for D'Oyly Carte - in "lolanthe" (Private Willis), "Princess Ida" (King Hildebrand), and "The Sorcerer" (Sir Marmaduke Pointdextre).
He will be remembered by lovers of Gilbert and Sullivan as one of the finest artists of his type.
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