Morris, Savannah paper's 'Man in Black,' dies at 62

<p>Bob Morris, a newspaper photographer whose compelling images and distinctive personal style made him an icon in Savannah, died late Tuesday after a battle with cancer. He was 62.</p><p>Morris began working at the Savannah Morning News and Savannah Evening Press more than 29 years ago. He left his job as a loan officer _ turning down a promotion and taking a 75 percent pay cut _ after winning a National Enquirer amateur photography contest.</p><p>Known as "The Man in Black" for his all-black wardrobe, Morris's images captured Savannah's unique flavor _ from gritty shots of crime scenes to photo essays chronicling the lives of a homeless flute player, a premature baby and children who were deaf and blind.</p><p>"Bob was just the kind of guy who recognized people whose stories needed to be told," said Morning News executive editor Rexanna Lester. "He picked people, literally almost, off the streets and just told their stories in a way that made them seem so human."</p><p>An Air Force veteran, Morris wrote a popular column, also titled "The Man in Black," that chronicled often-humorous stories he culled on the newspaper's police beat and in his everyday life.</p><p>Morris was devoted to covering police stories and always carried two scanners _ keeping an extra so he'd know if two stories were breaking at once.</p><p>He often said one of his only regrets was not becoming a photographer earlier.</p><p>"It's been a fun, exciting, interesting life," Morris said in a 2001 profile in the Morning News. "If I started earlier, I'd have 20 more years of memories."</p><p>He drove a black Ford Mustang to match his wardrobe _ in recent years he added stickers that resembled bullet holes _ and said his china set included one plate, one salad bowl and one saucer, all black.</p><p>"He was kind of a throwback to times when newsrooms were full of characters," Lester said. "He represented something that's not all that common anymore. I miss him."</p><p>Morris was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. He retired in June and had spent the past several months under hospice care.</p><p>___</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>HASH(0x2866554)</p>