Matthew Morrison

Early life

Morrison was born in Fort Ord, California, the son of Mary Louise (Fraser) and Thomas Morrison. Morrison was raised in Chico, and has Scottish and English ancestry. He was a member of Buena Park Youth theater, located in Buena Park. He was part of the Collaborative Arts Project 21 (CAP21) and the Orange County School of the Arts, while at the Los Alamitos High School campus. While in high school, Morrison did a musical with actress Jodie Sweetin. He attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for two years before dropping out and joining the Broadway adaptation of Footloose.

Career

In 1999, while still at NYU, Morrison appeared on Late Show with David Letterman and Total Request Live as one of five members of the fictional parody boy band "Fresh Step", an act that was conceived by several Late Show writers. The choreographer hired for "Fresh Step" was also the choreographer for the Broadway musical Footloose, and helped Morrison to get cast in Footloose later that year. Morrison dropped out of NYU to begin appearing in the show.

In 2001, Morrison was recruited to join the boy band LMNT, turning it from a trio into a quartet. He stayed in the band for one year, then left and was replaced by Jonas Persch; he left before the recording of the group's sole album, All Sides. In a 2010 interview, Morrison stated about the experience, "It was the worst year of my life. You know when you're a performer and you're out there on stage and you're embarrassed that you're doing something wrong. It was pretty bad."

Morrison briefly appeared in a revival of The Rocky Horror Show in 2002. He then starred in the original cast of the musical Hairspray as Link Larkin from its opening in 2002 through January 2004. In 2005, Morrison starred as Fabrizio Nacarelli in the Broadway premiere of Adam Guettel's musical The Light in the Piazza; he was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance. He left the show on August 28, 2005.

Morrison started working in television, guest-starring on shows such as Ghost Whisperer, Numbers, CSI: Miami, and Hack. Morrison also had small roles in films including Marci X (2003). He also appeared as Sir Harry in the 2005 ABC-TV production of Once Upon a Mattress, starring Tracey Ullman, Zooey Deschanel and Carol Burnett.

He earned a Drama Desk Nomination for his role in the Off Broadway show 10 Million Miles which ran at the Atlantic Theater Company in 2007. That same year he appeared in two films: Dan in Real Life, followed by Music and Lyrics as Cora Corman's manager. In 2008, he played Lieutenant Cable in a Lincoln Center production of the musical South Pacific. He left the production at the end of 2008 and in early 2009 returned to California to shoot the first season of Glee.

Morrison played Will Schuester in the Fox Broadcasting television series Glee, which had its television preview on May 19, 2009. Schuester is a high school Spanish (later History) teacher who takes on the task of restoring the school's glee club to its former glory. He made his directorial debut with the third season's ninth episode.

In January 2010, Morrison signed a solo record deal with Mercury Records. His first studio album, Matthew Morrison, was released on May 10, 2011. Two singles were released from the album, "Summer Rain" and "Still Got Tonight". The album also includes duets with Elton John (a medley of "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" and "Rocket Man"), Gwyneth Paltrow ("Over the Rainbow") and Sting ("Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot"). On June 16, 2010, Morrison joined Leona Lewis—appearing at London's O2 Arena as part of her world tour—for a one-off performance to sing "Over the Rainbow".

In March 2012, Morrison was featured in a performance of Dustin Lance Black's play, 8—a staged reenactment of the federal trial that overturned California's Prop 8 ban on same-sex marriage—as Paul Katami. The production was held at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre and broadcast on YouTube to raise money for the American Foundation for Equal Rights.

A Morrison concert at Connecticut's Bushnell Center was recorded and aired on PBS in June 2013. In April 2013, Morrison appeared at the 2013 Laurence Olivier Awards at the Royal Opera House in London.

On June 4, 2013, 222 Records released Morrison's second studio album, Where It All Began, an album of show tunes and jazz standards. One single was released from the album, a cover of "It Don't Mean a Thing".

Morrison returned to Broadway as J. M. Barrie in the Broadway debut of the musical Finding Neverland, which opened in April 2015.

On July 7, 2016, Morrison appeared alongside Megan Hilty in a summer evening of Broadway and other songs with The New York Pops at the Forest Hills Stadium in Forest Hills, Queens.

Morrison was a "dance captain" on BBC One's The Greatest Dancer, which aired for two seasons in 2019 and 2020, alongside Cheryl, Oti Mabuse and, in the second season, Todrick Hall as well. In the second half of 2019, he portrayed Trevor in the ninth season of the FX horror anthology television series American Horror Story.

In December 2020, he starred as The Grinch in NBC's production of Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical Live!.

On April 4, 2022, he was announced as a judge for the seventeenth season of So You Think You Can Dance, along with JoJo Siwa and Stephen "tWitch" Boss. However, on May 27, he was fired from the show. His final episode aired on June 8, and he was replaced by actress Leah Remini. Amidst claims that he had sent an inappropriate text message, Morrison posted an Instagram video in June 2022, where he claimed that his messages were just friendly, and that he was dismissed for other reasons.

In June 2023, it was announced that Morrison would star alongside Jen Lilley in the TV film A Paris Christmas Waltz, which aired on Great American Family in November 2023. Morrison starred in the independent thriller From Embers. He played Billy Flynn in a limited engagement of Chicago in Japan from April 18–21, 2024, at the Orix Theater in Osaka, and then April 25–May 5 at the Tokyu Theater Orb.

Personal life

Morrison became engaged to actress Chrishell Stause on December 9, 2006. Their relationship later ended.

In 2011, Morrison began dating Renee Puente. On June 27, 2013, Elton John helped Morrison announce that he and Puente were engaged. Morrison and Puente were married on October 18, 2014, at a private home on the island of Maui.

On May 16, 2017, it was revealed on his personal Instagram account that he and Puente were expecting their first child. Their son was born on October 22, 2017. On March 16, 2021, Morrison used his Instagram again to announce that he and Puente were expecting their second child together following a series of miscarriages. Their daughter was born on June 28, 2021.

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

Theatre

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. "Matthew Morrison".
2. "Matthew Morrison Credits".
3. Dirmann, Tina. (December 2009). "Matthew Morrison Revealed". [[Orange Coast (magazine).
4. Stated on ''[[Who Do You Think You Are? (U.S. TV series). Who Do You Think You Are?]]'', December 17, 2018
5. "Matthew Morrison – Music".
6. Wanshel, Elyse. (January 10, 2019). "David Letterman's 'Late Show' Created A Fake Boy Band, And You Probably Didn't Know". HuffPost.
7. (February 28, 2011). "Matthew Morrison Got His Big Break on Letterman". Female First.
8. (January 15, 2010). "'Glee' Star Matthew Morrison Recalls 'Worst Year' Ever".
9. Simonson, Robert. (January 26, 2005). "Hairspray's Matthew Morrison Joins Cast of Piazza".
10. Simonson, Robert. (July 25, 2005). "Matthew Morrison Will Leave Light in the Piazza Aug. 28".
11. "Cable's Exit Interview Dec 23, 2008".
12. Lipshutz, Jason. (February 25, 2011). "Listen: 'Glee' Original Songs, 'Loser Like Me' and 'Get It Right,' Debut".
13. (January 21, 2011). "Elton John Reveals Duet With Glee's Matthew Morrison".
14. Stack, Tim. (March 22, 2011). "Matthew Morrison and Gwyneth Paltrow to duet on his upcoming album".
15. Weinstein, Joshua L.. (January 19, 2012). "Jane Lynch, Matthew Morrison to Join George Clooney in Dustin Lance Black Play '8'".
16. (March 3, 2012). ""8": A Play about the Fight for Marriage Equality".
17. Gray, Stephen. (May 8, 2012). "YouTube to broadcast Proposition 8 play live".
18. Denette, Kelsey. (October 25, 2012). "Matthew Morrison's November Bushnell Center Concert to Be Recorded for PBS Broadcasts".
19. Benett, Dave M.. (April 28, 2013). "The Laurence Olivier Awards - Press Room: Matthew Morrison".
20. Hetrick, Adam. (June 4, 2013). "'Glee' Star Matthew Morrison Releases New Album, 'Where It All Began,' June 4".
21. (November 10, 2014). "Official: Matthew Morrison Will Return to Broadway in Finding Neverland!".
22. "Megan Hilty and Matthew Morrison Join the New York Pops Tonight".
23. (December 7, 2018). "Teaser: The Dance Captains - Meet The Greatest Dancer's Dance Captains".
24. (November 10, 2020). "Hoorays in Who-ville as NBC Brings Classic Dr. Seuss Tale to the Stage with Holiday Special "Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical!" on Dec. 9".
25. (April 4, 2022). "'So You Think You Can Dance': Matthew Morrison & JoJo Siwa Join As Judges Alongside Stephen 'tWitch' Boss As Cat Deeley Also Returns".
26. (May 31, 2022). "Matthew Morrison Fired from SYTYCD for 'Flirty' Messages That Made Contestant 'Uncomfortable': Source". [[People (magazine).
27. (May 27, 2022). "Matthew Morrison Out as SYTYCD Judge After Failing to Follow 'Production Protocols'".
28. (June 10, 2022). "SYTYCD: Leah Remini to Replace Fired Matthew Morrison as Season 17 Judge".
29. Haring, Bruce. (2022-06-03). "Matthew Morrison Speaks Out About Incident That Led To His Dismissal From 'SYTYCD'".
30. Rice, Lynette. (2023-06-06). "'The Christmas Waltz' Movie Franchise Moves To Great American Family; Matthew Morrison, Jen Lilley To Star In Sequel".
31. Travis, Emlyn. (2023-10-12). "Great American Family unveils 2023 holiday lineup starring Candace Cameron Bure, Chad Michael Murray, and more".
32. Grobar, Matt. (2023-11-20). "Matthew Morrison & Kara Wang To Topline Dramatic Thriller 'From Embers'".
33. (2023-12-27). "Glee Star Matthew Morrison Will Head Cast of Chicago in Japan".
34. Spaner, Whitney (June 14, 2007). [http://www.papermag.com/blogs/2007/06/curtain_cutie_matthew_morrison.php "Curtain Cutie: Matthew Morrison"]. {{webarchive. link. (March 28, 2008. ''[[Paper (magazine)). Paper]]''.
35. (June 6, 2013). "Matthew Morrison Opens Up About His Sexuality, ''Glee'' and Going Back to Where It All Began".
36. Nessif, Bruna. (June 27, 2013). "Glee's Matthew Morrison Is Engaged to Renee Puente".
37. Garcia, Jennifer. (October 19, 2014). "Matthew Morrison Marries Renee Puente".
38. Feldman, Kate. (May 17, 2017). "Matthew Morrison, wife Renee Puente expecting first child". [[New York Daily News]].
39. Heller, Corrinne. (October 22, 2017). "Matthew Morrison and Wife Renee Welcome First Child".
40. Ekren, Cansu. (2021-03-17). "Matthew Morrison And Wife Renee Are Expecting Their Second Child: "After 3 Miscarriages, A Pandemic, And The Loss Of Many Loved Ones"".
41. "Matthew Morrison and Wife Renee Welcome Baby Girl Phoenix Monroe: 'Our Family Is Now Complete'".
42. "Matthew Morrison Chart History".
43. "Matthew Morrison Chart History: Independent Albums".
44. "Matthew Morrison Chart History: Kid Albums".
45. (May 16, 2011). "Chartifacts – Week Commencing: 16 May 2011".
46. (June 11, 2011). "OFFICIAL UK ALBUMS TOP 100 – 11th June 2011".
47. (January 10, 2020). ""Go the Distance" from "Disney Dreamin' with Matthew Morrison" Now Streaming".
48. "Matthew Morrison Chart History: Bubbling Under Hot 100".
49. "Matthew Morrison Chart History: Adult Contemporary".
50. "CHART: CLUK Update 25.06.2011 (wk24)".