Al Morgan

Al Morgan (January 16, 1920 – March 3, 2011) was an American producer of The Today Show during the 1960s, and a novelist best known for his trenchant look at media personalities, The Great Man (Dutton, 1955), which reviewers compared to The Hucksters and Citizen Kane. It was this novel which popularized the phrase "The Great Unwashed." As in Citizen Kane, a reporter sets out to gather information on a well-known deceased public figure. Some critics suggested the deceased character, national radio commentator Herb Fuller, was inspired by Arthur Godfrey. Kirkus Reviews commented:

Morgan and José Ferrer collaborated on the screenplay of The Great Man, and it was directed in 1956 by Ferrer who also portrayed the lead role. Time's review detailed the story twists:

Bosley Crowther reviewing the film in The New York Times (January 2, 1957), described the film as:

When Morgan and Ferrer collaborated again two years later on the book for the musical comedy, Oh, Captain!, they were nominated for Broadway's 1958 Tony Award for Best Musical.

Morgan's other novels include One Star General (Rinehart & Company, 1959) and Anchor Woman (Stein & Day, 1974).