Theatre owner.
Born at Minsk, Russia on 17 February 1892, he emigrated to the United States in 1906 and, in 1914, moved to Winnipeg where he began working as a doorman at a theatre. Later he managed and acquired several theatres, including the Arlington Theatre (863 Portage Avenue), Beacon Theatre (559 Main Street), Gaiety Theatre (457 Portage Avenue), Garrick Theatre (330 Garry Street), and Rialto Theatre (557 Main Street). In 1941, he became a partner in the Odeon theatres at Winnipeg and Saskatoon, serving as President of the Odeon-Morton Theatres Company until his death.
On 2 May 1926, he married Eva Rebecca “Beck” Ginsberg (c1897-1985) at Winnipeg and they had two children: Elaine Morton (1930-2016, wife of Percy Goldberg) and Paul Morton. He was a member of the Variety Club, Canadian Motion Picture Pioneers, Masons, B'nai B'rith, Shaarey Zedek Synagogue, and YMHA. He was a charter member of the Glendale Golf and Country Club and President of the Manitoba Exhibitors' Association.
He died at the Misericordia Hospital on 29 August 1951 and was buried in the Shaarey Zedek Cemetery.
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Morton House (155 Waverley Avenue, Winnipeg)
Marriage [Henry Alliezer Morton, Eva Rebecca Ginsberg], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“To spend large sum renovating three theatres,” Winnipeg Free Press, 27 June 1934, page 7.
Death registration [Henry Albert Morton], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Theatre doorman to President, H. A. Morton dies,” Winnipeg Free Press, 30 August 1951, page 14.
“Here, there and Hollywood,” Winnipeg Free Press, 31 August 1951, page 5.
Obituary [Eva Rebecca Morton], Winnipeg Free Press, 6 May 1985, page 41.
Obituary [Elaine Marilyn Goldberg], Winnipeg Free Press, 1 March 2016.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
We thank Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 7 April 2023
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