[9][10] Periodically on SNL he sang classical music: once a Mozart aria "Dalla Sua Pace", Don Ottavio's aria from Don Giovanni when guest-host Walter Matthau designated him as a "musical guest...in place of the usual crap", and once a Schubert lied while the titles on the screen expressed his colleagues' purported displeasure at having to accommodate a misguided request by him.

In February 1977, he sang Tchaikovsky's Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt barefoot in colorful Caribbean dress while subtitles explained he had just returned from Jamaica where he had picked up a girl by claiming to be Harry Belafonte.

Another recurring bit, used in the newscast segment Weekend Update, involved Morris being presented as "President of the New York School for the hard of hearing" and assisting the newscaster by shouting the main headlines, in a parody of the then-common practice of providing sign language interpretation in an inset on the screen as an aid to the deaf viewer.

Eddie Murphy, for example, told TV Guide in the early 1980s that SNL producer Jean Doumanian "had tried to Garrett Morris me".

[15] In 1965, he worked alongside Amiri Baraka, Sun Ra, Albert Ayler and Sonia Sanchez at the Black Arts Repertory Theatre/School in Harlem; during this period, the theater was frequently raided and surveilled by the New York City Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

[23] In 1986, Morris began playing Arnold "Sporty" James, on the NBC cop drama Hunter, starring Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer through 1989.

In 2006, Morris reprised his role as "Headmaster of the New York School for the Hard of Hearing" in a cameo on the TV series Family Guy, in the episode "Barely Legal.

"[30] In August 2008, Morris played the role of Reverend Pratt in the family comedy drama film, The Longshots, starring Ice Cube and Keke Palmer.

"[33] In 1994, he was shot by a would-be robber, whom he attempted to fight off, but recovered as he discussed on the January 14, 2016, episode of Marc Maron's podcast WTF.

[34] On Howard Stern's radio show on July 20, 1995, Morris said the culprit was imprisoned not for the shooting, but for parole violations for other crimes.

Morris' shooting rendered him temporarily unable to continue in the role; he was written out of the show by having the character become a national fugitive.

[36] In 1985, he appeared in Larry Cohen's science fiction horror film The Stuff, playing cookie magnate Chocolate Chip Charlie, a parody of Famous Amos.

The national commercial, titled "PopPop", features Morris alongside actors Stacey Dash and Jason Weaver.

On February 9, 2007, Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa honored Garrett Morris for his work and contributions to the black community.