In addition to his appearances in film and television, he was a highly celebrated figure on stage.
Robert Morse, Tony winner and unforgettable presence on Mad Men, died at the age of 90. “My good friend Bobby Morse passed away today at the age of 90, ” Hollywood Academy Vice President Larry Karaszewski tweeted. “A great talent, a beautiful spirit. Sending all my love to his son Charlie and his daughter Allyn.” In addition to being Bertram Cooper in the acclaimed AMC series, Morse was widely recognized for playing J. Pierrepont Finch in the famous musical How to Succeed Without Hitting: both in its version for Broadway and in the corresponding film adaptation, released in 1967.
The news of the actor’s death was confirmed by his son at a time when tributes on social networks are already multiplying. Robert Morse died on Wednesday night, April 20th, and the cause of death is still unknown.
Morse was born in Massachusetts in 1931, and before acting as an actor he served in the Korean War. In the mid-1950s, after training in the performing arts, he began to make a name for himself on Broadway. It was in this environment, in fact, that Morse achieved his greatest successes, without ever managing to match them with his experience in the cinema: in addition to the aforementioned How to succeed without hitting, the interpreter received great praise for his portrayal of Truman Capote in Tru, which it earned him one of his two Tonys. By winning this award in the main musical and theater categories, Morse achieved a milestone that he shares only with the likes of Rex Harrison, Christopher Plummer, and Zero Mostel.
In the audiovisual field, Morse’s first work took place in a couple of episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, until in 1963 he was placed under the command of Otto Preminger for The Cardinal. Two years later he worked with another fundamental filmmaker, Tony Richardson, on The Loved Ones, while already sharing his film credits with the colossal success of How to Succeed Without Hitting, which ran for almost five years of uninterrupted performances. Hollywood wanted to take advantage of this phenomenon and placed Morse at the helm of the film adaptation. The same year, 1967, where Morse co-starred with Walter Matthau in the sitcomGuide for the married man.
In fact, it was this type of film that Morse cultivated the most, and in 1970 he starred for Disney in Sailors Without a Compass. In later years, the presence of Morse in the cinema decreased considerably, until we found a small rebound in the 21st century. In 2007 he was chosen to play the eccentric Bert Cooper (co-founder of the Sterling Cooper advertising company), and thanks to this character he regained the affection of the public while receiving multiple Emmy nominations. He was part of the cast of Mad Men for seven of its eight seasons, signing off with a key scene.
Amelia Warner
Amelia Warner writes all the Latest Articles. She mostly covers Entertainment topics, but at times loves to write about movie reviews as well.
