George Morfogen passes away aged 85

It is Cult Faction’s sad duty to report that George Morfogen has passed away at the age of 85 years old. His death was announced by his family in a New York Times obituary. No cause was disclosed, but donations in his memory can be made to the Parkinson’s Foundation. He is survived by his husband Gene Laughorne.

Morfogen was known for his role as Stanley Bernstein in the 1983 V miniseries and its follow up V: The Final Battle. Later he starred as Bob Rebadow in the ground breaking TV series Oz. He also appeared at the Chelsea Theatre Center of Brooklyn and at the off-Broadway Westside Theatre in Heinrich von Kleist’s play, The Prince of Homburg. The play was videotaped for the PBS series, Great Performances, and later released as a DVD. A chapter in Davi Napoleon’s book, Chelsea on the Edge: The Adventures of an American Theater describes the rehearsal process and the production. Morfogen appeared in 1988’s comedy Illegally Yours as the judge.

In 2001 reprised his role as Bob in the Off-Broadway premiere of “Uncle Bob,” by Austin Pendleton, who wrote the role with Morfogen in mind. Joseph Gordon-Levitt played the character of Josh, Bob’s newphew. The production, which was directed by Courtney Moorehead and produced by Steven Sendor, had 114 performances at The SoHo Playhouse.