The NYT sadly informs us that actor Harry Morgan (best known for playing Col. Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H) has passed away at the ripe old age of 96.

In more than 100 movies, Mr. Morgan played Western bad guys, characters with names like Rocky and Shorty, loyal sidekicks, judges, sheriffs, soldiers, thugs and police chiefs.

On television, he played Officer Bill Gannon with a phlegmatic but light touch to Jack Webb’s always-by-the-book Sgt. Joe Friday in the updated “Dragnet,” from 1967 to 1970.

But to many fans he was first and foremost Col. Sherman T. Potter, commander of the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital unit in Korea. With a wry smile, flat voice and sharp humor, Mr. Morgan played Colonel Potter from 1975 to 1983, when “M*A*S*H” went off the air.

And while everyone remembers him in his most famous role, one of my fave performances went down on M*A*S*H BEFORE he took over the Potter role, when he played the super-militaristic nutbag racist, Maj. Gen. Bartford Hamilton Steele. Here's a poor quality clip (sorry) of Morgan in one of the most memorable M*A*S*H scenes ever!