Steven Gilborn

Steven Gilborn was an American actor and educator who portrayed Harold Morgan, Ellen's father, on the sitcom Ellen. Born in New Rochelle, New York, he completed a bachelor's degree in English at Swarthmore College and later received his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1969 for work in dramatic literature. Before turning to acting, he worked as a humanities professor at MIT and served as faculty adviser to its Gilbert and Sullivan Society, later teaching at Stanford, Columbia, and the University of California, Berkeley. His television credits include a recurring role as Mr. Collins, Kevin Arnold's algebra teacher, in three episodes of The Wonder Years, and guest spots on Columbo, The Golden Girls, L.A. Law, ER, The Practice, Law & Order, NYPD Blue, and The West Wing. In film, he appeared as Mr. Phillips in The Brady Bunch Movie and played the hotel owner in Joyride. He died in 2009.