MORSE GLAD TO GET INTO THE ACT

JULIANNE HASTINGS, United Press International

Acting was St. Elsewhere (Wednesdays, Ch. 3 at 10 p.m.) star David Morse's ticket out of his small New England town. He might still be there, stacking newspapers for $3 an hour.

The boy-faced, gangly actor who plays Dr. Jack Morrison on the NBC series said he got caught up in acting because there really wasn't any alternative.
"Working in a newspaper pressroom, stacking newspapers for $3 an hour. That was my big skill," he said. "I had no intention of going to college."

And so when a friend who was a founding member of the Boston Repertory Theater suggested he join up, Morse was glad to oblige - about the only thing he had liked about high school was acting in school plays.

"It was the only hope I had of getting to Boston or New York or Los Angeles," Morse said.

Now Morse has homes in two of those cities, bi-coastal they call it. He lives
in Los Angeles and his wife, actress Susan von Moschzisker, is living in New York until she completes her studies later this month.

Morse's chief experience has been in theater. He acted with the Boston
company for six years before he moved to New York and joined the Circle
Repertory Company, appearing in a number of off-Broadway productions.

His big break came when he played a basketball player in the feature film
Inside Moves.

"I'm not much in sports and ironically my first break came when I was playing an athlete," Morse said. "I still have nightmares about playing basketball." Morse does not have nightmares about being a doctor, although to prepare for St. Elsewhere he spent time in emergency rooms and intensive care units watching doctors involved in life-and-death situations, watching families react to losing children.

"I appreciate how hard it is for doctors who watch people come in, one after another," he said. "I can see how they have to harden themselves. It's a natural reaction."

In the future, Morse hopes to produce John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men and play the part of Lenny on stage Los Angeles. He also hopes to see St.
Elsewhere go on.

Copyright (c) 1984 Philadelphia Daily News