Allen Morris(I)
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Allen Morris is a Texan, living in Kingwood outside of Houston. His
career began in 1969 when he and his twin sister provided voices and
operated puppets on "Through Magic Doorways," a local children's show
on KTRE-TV9, a small East Texas TV station.
Born in Dallas, Texas, Allen and his twin sister Myra, along with their other siblings older brother Dalton and younger sister Brenda, grew up in the Glen Oaks section of Oak Cliff.
After graduating in the top ten percent of his Lufkin High School class in 1972, Allen attended Angelina Junior College and then Stephen F. Austin State University, graduating in 1975 with a double major in Theatre and Communications, Radio/TV/Film. While in college, he worked full time at KTRE-TV9, where he was able to receive course credit for a practicum course he supervised in basic TV production. Part of his project work included producing an hour-long television special featuring music and theatre students from SFASU. The program, "A Journey Through Christmas," aired two years consecutively on the two Buford-owned television stations serving the Tyler and Lufkin markets.
After graduation, he was hired by KDOG-TV, an independent station in Houston. He was hired as an editor in the production department, largely because he held a First Class FCC Broadcast Engineering license and could sign the transmitter log while working in the control room editing commercials for a variety of agency clients. One of his first national spots for agency J. Walter Thompson and their client Ford Trucks won both the Grand Prix from the Houston Advertising Awards and a Clio Award.
In his second year at KDOG, he began producing two local programs. "Paws For The Night" was an all night movie show with a live host conducting celebrity interviews and audience contests during the extended commercial breaks. The other program was "#26 Morning Place," an early morning children's show featuring eight rotating pairs of children serving as hosts.
In 1977, he produced, co-wrote and acted in the pilot for a situation comedy based on a play by William King Gleason, a former classmate at SFASU. "They'd Hang You In Nashville," was shown to Grant Tinker at MTM in Studio City. After watching five minutes of the program, Tinker turned to Morris asking, "How did you get an appointment with me?" and then advised throwing the pilot into the Los Angeles River on the way out of town. He then proceeded to give advice about the business of developing programs for television.
Metromedia bought KDOG and renamed it KRIV. As a producer for Metromedia, Morris produced two public affairs series. One was "Herencia," a weekly Spanish-language program exploring issues of concern for Houston's growing Hispanic community. The other was "The Black Voice," a panel program focused on issues affecting Houston's black community. During the 1979-81 baseball seasons, he was contracted as the road producer for the Houston Astros. He traveled with the team and produced the out-of-town games, working alongside industry veterans such as directors Joe O'Rourke from Boston and Bob Hiestand from Los Angeles. Allen's first season with the team was also the first season former Astros pitcher Larry Dierker provided color commentary to complement the play-by-play announcers Gene Elston and Dewayne Staats.
In Egypt in 1986, Allen directed a documentary entitled "Alexandria: Monument to Civilization." Chronicling the influence of the ancient city on the cultural development of western civilization, his crew received unprecedented access to archaeological sites. During the Gulf War, Allen and crew traveled to Israel; returning with the first interview in which Yitzhak Rabin said he would consider a "land for peace" initiative. They conducted interviews with both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
This work has allowed Allen to travel the globe, earning recognition from The National Television Academy: one national and 4 regional Emmy's. In addition, his work received recognition from Addy Awards, American Marketing Association, Associated Press, Clio Awards, Country Music Association of America, Dallas Press Club, International Association of Business Communicators, National Association of Television Programming Executives, The New York Festivals, Telly Awards and The Texas Public Relations Society.
Allen maintains a commitment to community service that began as a teenager working with mentally challenged children. He has produced documentaries and marketing materials helping raise over $50 million for worthy causes. Among the boards and committees he has served are: United Way, YMCA, Crime Stoppers, and Arthritis Foundation; advisor to organizations including The Boy Scouts, Texas Department of Mental Health; sponsor and counselor for Explorer Scouting and Junior Achievement. In 2009, Allen Morris was named Humanitarian of the Year by the Children's Assessment Center in recognition of his work for that organization.
Until January 2010, Morris was a partner in Houston's VT2 Studios. He is now a partner in Belay Media LLC in Houston. He serves on the board of the Lone Star Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Science based in Los Angeles, and served as co-chair on the Lone Star College System's Visual Curriculum Advisory Board for ten years, (four as co-chair). He is strong believer in mentoring, Morris has established several internship programs, helping develop the skills of young people. He is a frequent guest presenter at high school career days and a guest lecturer and project advisor for college classes in the field of communications. Allen is married to Nina and has six children and eight grandchildren.
Born in Dallas, Texas, Allen and his twin sister Myra, along with their other siblings older brother Dalton and younger sister Brenda, grew up in the Glen Oaks section of Oak Cliff.
After graduating in the top ten percent of his Lufkin High School class in 1972, Allen attended Angelina Junior College and then Stephen F. Austin State University, graduating in 1975 with a double major in Theatre and Communications, Radio/TV/Film. While in college, he worked full time at KTRE-TV9, where he was able to receive course credit for a practicum course he supervised in basic TV production. Part of his project work included producing an hour-long television special featuring music and theatre students from SFASU. The program, "A Journey Through Christmas," aired two years consecutively on the two Buford-owned television stations serving the Tyler and Lufkin markets.
After graduation, he was hired by KDOG-TV, an independent station in Houston. He was hired as an editor in the production department, largely because he held a First Class FCC Broadcast Engineering license and could sign the transmitter log while working in the control room editing commercials for a variety of agency clients. One of his first national spots for agency J. Walter Thompson and their client Ford Trucks won both the Grand Prix from the Houston Advertising Awards and a Clio Award.
In his second year at KDOG, he began producing two local programs. "Paws For The Night" was an all night movie show with a live host conducting celebrity interviews and audience contests during the extended commercial breaks. The other program was "#26 Morning Place," an early morning children's show featuring eight rotating pairs of children serving as hosts.
In 1977, he produced, co-wrote and acted in the pilot for a situation comedy based on a play by William King Gleason, a former classmate at SFASU. "They'd Hang You In Nashville," was shown to Grant Tinker at MTM in Studio City. After watching five minutes of the program, Tinker turned to Morris asking, "How did you get an appointment with me?" and then advised throwing the pilot into the Los Angeles River on the way out of town. He then proceeded to give advice about the business of developing programs for television.
Metromedia bought KDOG and renamed it KRIV. As a producer for Metromedia, Morris produced two public affairs series. One was "Herencia," a weekly Spanish-language program exploring issues of concern for Houston's growing Hispanic community. The other was "The Black Voice," a panel program focused on issues affecting Houston's black community. During the 1979-81 baseball seasons, he was contracted as the road producer for the Houston Astros. He traveled with the team and produced the out-of-town games, working alongside industry veterans such as directors Joe O'Rourke from Boston and Bob Hiestand from Los Angeles. Allen's first season with the team was also the first season former Astros pitcher Larry Dierker provided color commentary to complement the play-by-play announcers Gene Elston and Dewayne Staats.
In Egypt in 1986, Allen directed a documentary entitled "Alexandria: Monument to Civilization." Chronicling the influence of the ancient city on the cultural development of western civilization, his crew received unprecedented access to archaeological sites. During the Gulf War, Allen and crew traveled to Israel; returning with the first interview in which Yitzhak Rabin said he would consider a "land for peace" initiative. They conducted interviews with both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
This work has allowed Allen to travel the globe, earning recognition from The National Television Academy: one national and 4 regional Emmy's. In addition, his work received recognition from Addy Awards, American Marketing Association, Associated Press, Clio Awards, Country Music Association of America, Dallas Press Club, International Association of Business Communicators, National Association of Television Programming Executives, The New York Festivals, Telly Awards and The Texas Public Relations Society.
Allen maintains a commitment to community service that began as a teenager working with mentally challenged children. He has produced documentaries and marketing materials helping raise over $50 million for worthy causes. Among the boards and committees he has served are: United Way, YMCA, Crime Stoppers, and Arthritis Foundation; advisor to organizations including The Boy Scouts, Texas Department of Mental Health; sponsor and counselor for Explorer Scouting and Junior Achievement. In 2009, Allen Morris was named Humanitarian of the Year by the Children's Assessment Center in recognition of his work for that organization.
Until January 2010, Morris was a partner in Houston's VT2 Studios. He is now a partner in Belay Media LLC in Houston. He serves on the board of the Lone Star Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Science based in Los Angeles, and served as co-chair on the Lone Star College System's Visual Curriculum Advisory Board for ten years, (four as co-chair). He is strong believer in mentoring, Morris has established several internship programs, helping develop the skills of young people. He is a frequent guest presenter at high school career days and a guest lecturer and project advisor for college classes in the field of communications. Allen is married to Nina and has six children and eight grandchildren.