Morrow was born in Austin, Minnesota and studied at St. Olaf College.
Several of Morrow's scripts are inspired by real people, especially people with disabilities and/or extraordinary talents. These include the savant played by Dustin Hoffman in the film Rain Man, inspired by the real savant Kim Peek; and mentally disabled Bill Sackter, played by Mickey Rooney in the TV movie Bill. Both works received writing Oscar, Emmy and other awards for Morrow and for the actors who portrayed them. Morrow gave his Oscar statuette as a gift to Kim Peek. Morrow wrote CBS's Bill: On His Own (1983) and his relationship with Sackter is presented in the feature-length 2008 documentary A Friend Indeed – The Bill Sackter Story.
Morrow put his Oscar statuette on permanent loan to Salt Lake City in memory of Kim Peek, and put forward the money for the Peek Award, which "pays tribute to artists, media makers, and film subjects who are positively impacting our society’s perception of people with disabilities" and is given out by the Utah Film Center.

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