Actor and director Barry Morse, who emigrated to Canada from England in 1951 and whose work appeared for several years on CBC Radio and Television, has died at age 89.

Actor Barry Morse, best known as the police detective in constant pursuit of Dr. Richard Kimble in the TV series The Fugitive, also served as director of the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.
(Canadian Press)

Morse, who died in England, was perhaps best known as the police detective in constant pursuit of Dr. Richard Kimble in the TV series The Fugitive.

Morse performed on and produced the half-hour CBC Radio series A Touch of Greasepaint, which ran for 14 years, and Barry Morse Presents on television. He also had served as artistic director at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.

His son, Hayward Morse, says his father died Saturday at University College hospital in London, where he had been living for a number of years. He says he was taken there Wednesday after he began experiencing blackouts and was falling down.

Morse established himself in London theatrical circles before emigrating to Canada. His career spanned seven decades, and his website estimates Morse played more than 3,000 roles on radio, television, stage and in film.

Morse, who graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also appeared on Broadway in Hide and Seek and Salad Days, and played the lead of Frederick William Rolfe in Hadrian VII.

In 1963, he was hired by producer Quinn Martin to play Lieut. Phillip Girard on The Fugitive — a series that ran four seasons and 120 episodes.