Born in Missouri September 20, 1934, Morris was raised in Lubbock, Texas.  In high school he played football for Lubbock High. After high school, he went straight to Hollywood and worked his way into movies and television.

At first, he parked cars at Lawry's Restaurant and at Trader Vic's, where he met and somehow convinced Broderick Crawford to give him a small part on Highway Patrol. His first acting job turned out to be a disaster, when the young actor got so nervous that he forgot his lines and ran from the set. This small setback aside, Jeff Morris soon began to rack up a steady stream of character roles that would gain him notice. Along the way, he worked with many of Hollywood's greats, including Clint Eastwood, Jack Nicholson, and Meryl Streep.

According to fellow west Texan, Whitney Rix Victory II, "Shortly after arriving in Hollywood, Jeff called his father in Lubbock in the wee hours of the morning. It went something like this: “Dad?” “Yes Morris, what's wrong?” “Dad, I just met Johnny Carson at a party!” “Morris, call me back in the morning when I wake up, you'll still have just met Johnny Carson!!!”

Among his roles was Bob, the owner of Bob's Country Bunker, in The Blues Brothers. He later reprised his role in Blues Brothers 2000. He also had roles in many war films, including Private Cowboy in Kelly's Heroes and in television westerns, Death Valley Days. Morris also acted in the hit TV series Bonanza with fellow west Texan Dan Blocker.

Morris appeared in a number of films starring Jack Nicholson, among them Goin' South, The Border, Ironweed, The Two Jakes, The Crossing Guard and Anger Management.

Respected as a "fine actor" by all who knew him, Jeff Morris was also known as a hard-charging, no-nonsense fellow who would let you know exactly what he was thinking As Jack Nicholson said of Jeff shortly after his death, "Jeff was an old-fashioned, rough man."

Morris died in Los Angeles July 12, 2004 when he was 69.
 

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