The man who has always been listed by Maltin and Bann [as] Ernie Morrison Sr. is actually named Joseph Morrison (though he still was Ernie's real-life dad). As far as I know, there never was an Ernie Morrison Sr., at least not in any of the Our Gang comedies. Mtw12055 02:40, July 21, 2010 (UTC)
How are things like this determined? Internet Movie Database (I know, not very reliable) calls him Ernie Morrison Sr. Wikipedia does the same in several "Our Gang" articles. There are some references to "Ernie Morrison Jr.", which implies the existence of a "Sr." Actually looking further, IMDB says his full birth name was "Joseph Ernest Morrison." I believe that we should use the name he preferred to go by if that can be determined.
It turns out that can be determined. With more searching, I found this: http://www.archive.org/details/Fatty_Arbuckles_Out_West 12 seconds into the 1918 film, the actor is credited as "Ernie Morrison."
Now looking up the son, IMDB says his full birth name was "Frederick Ernest Morrison." If the father is referred to as "Joseph Morrison" here, then logically the references to the son should be changed to "Frederick Morrison." Rjh 07:06, July 21, 2010 (UTC)
There's an Our Gang documentary on youtube titled "Our Gang: Inside the Clubhouse". In part 1, Ernie tells the story of how he began acting, and how his father helped in christening the name "Sunshine Sammy". Throughout the story, Ernie refers to his dad has 'Joe'. Mtw12055 02:23, July 22, 2010 (UTC)
Well, it would sound strange for Ernie (Jr.) to refer to his father as "Ernie" when that was the name the son was going by. Rjh 04:58, July 22, 2010 (UTC)
That came out the wrong way. When I said he was referring to his father as 'Joe', I meant that whenever Ernie quoted somebody who was talking to his father, he used the name 'Joe'. For instance, he would have said "So then the director said, 'Joe, you have a son right? Why don't you get him.' And then my dad said 'Okay'". Mtw12055 14:21, July 22, 2010 (UTC)
Change in brith date[]
Why was the birth year changed from 1892 to 1881? A web search shows a few references to 1892, and none to 1881. With no evidence to the contrary I think it should go back to 1892. Rjh 05:11, September 3, 2011 (UTC)