Photo: Robert Morse | By Carmel Dagan, Variety |Robert Morse, who translated Broadway stardom into a film career in the 1960s, then re-emerged decades later as one of the stars of “Mad Men,” has died. He was 90.
Writer-producer Larry Karaszewski, who serves as a VP on the board of governors for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, tweeted news of Morse’s death on Thursday.
“My good pal Bobby Morse has passed away at age 90,” he wrote. “A huge talent and a beautiful spirit. Sending love to his son Charlie & daughter Allyn. Had so much fun hanging with Bobby over the years – filming People v OJ & hosting so many screenings (How To Succeed, Loved One, That’s Life).”
Morse was Emmy nominated five times for playing the sage Bertram Cooper, the senior partner at the advertising firm that was the focus of AMC’s prestigious series “Mad Men,” from 2007 to 2015. In 2010, he shared the SAG Award that “Mad Men” won for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series.
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… that 2014 episode afforded Morse the opportunity to show off his singing and dancing skills in a fantasy number, imagined by Jon Hamm’s Don Draper, to the tune of “The Best Things in Life Are Free.”
“The opportunity to shine in the spotlight that Matt Weiner gave me — it was an absolute love letter. Christmas and New Year’s, all rolled into one,” Morse told the New York Times.
Morse also won an Emmy in 1993 for a PBS “American Playhouse” adaptation of Morse’s one-man show “Tru,” about Truman Capote.
Morse, known for his impish, gap-toothed grin, became a star on Broadway in the musical comedy “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” for which he won his first Tony, as best actor in a musical, in 1962. The enormous hit ran for more than 1,400 performances and was adapted for the big screen in a 1967 film in which Morse reprised his starring role of J. Pierpont Finch.
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The actor won his second Tony for the one-man show “Tru,” in which he played Truman Capote, appearing on Broadway for 297 performances in 1989-1990. Makeup man Kevin Haney, whose credits include the movies “Altered States” and “Wolfen,” turned Morse into the bloated mass that Capote became before he died in 1984.
“With his mad shopping-bag woman’s cackle and darting lounge lizard’s tongue, Mr. Morse so eerily simulates the public Capote of the pathetic waning years that he could be a Capote robot,” wrote Frank Rich. “One is glad to have met up with this actor again, is impressed by his command of his technique and his audience, and is moved by the courage that has allowed him to return to a Broadway stage in so unlikely a vehicle.”
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The actor starred in the Disney comedy “The Boatniks” (1970), and made a few guest appearances on series including “Love, American Style” and “Fantasy Island” during the 1970s; in the 1980s he guested on shows including “The Dukes of Hazzard” and “Murder, She Wrote.”
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Morse was born in Newton, Massachusetts. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. A drama teacher in high school inspired him to become an actor, and after graduating he headed to New York City’s prestigious Neighborhood Playhouse, where his older brother, Richard, was already studying acting. He also studied with Lee Strasberg. He made his stage debut in 1949 production of “Our Town” in New Hampshire.
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After “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” which ran from 1961-65, Morse starred in the original musical comedy “Sugar,” based on the classic Billy Wilder comedy “Some Like It Hot.” It ran for 505 performances in 1972-1973. In 1976, he appeared in the musical “So Long, 174th Street,” whose source material was a book by Carl Reiner.
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Morse was twice married, the first time to “West Side Story” actress Carole D’Andrea from 1961 until their divorce in 1981.
He is survived by second wife Elizabeth Roberts, whom he married in 1989; three daughters by D’Andrea, Andrea Doven, Hilary Morse and Robin Morse, all actresses; and two children by Roberts, son Charles Morse and daughter Allyn Morse.
Read the full story here – Mr. Morse was quite accomplished:
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/robert-morse-mad-men-broadway-114757162.html
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OTHER NOTABLE MUSICIANS’ DEATHS
We are going to miss them so much. If you want to know more about any of the musicians we lost, please check them out at http://www.wikipedia.com
19: Robert Morse (see “In Memoriam”)
18: Nicholas Angelich, 51, American classical pianist, lung disease; Sir Harrison Birtwistle, 87, English composer (The Triumph of Time, The Mask of Orpheus, The Minotaur); José Luis Cortés, 70, Cuban flutist, composer, and musical director (NG La Banda); Jerry Doucette, 70, Canadian musician, cancer; Andrzej Korzynski, 82, Polish composer (Man of Marble, The Birch Wood, Possession); Janez Maticic, 95, Slovenian composer and pianist; María Inés Naveillán, 68, Chilean singer.
17: Roderick “Pooh” Clark, 49, American R&B singer (Hi-Five); DJ Kay Slay, 55, American disc jockey and record executive, COVID-19; Prafulla Kar, 83, Indian musician, singer, and lyricist, cardiac arrest; Radu Lupu, 76, Romanian pianist; Paolo Noël, 93, Canadian singer, television presenter and actor (There’s Always a Way to Find a Way, Sticky Fingers, Coteau rouge); Hollis Resnik, 67, American singer and actress (Backdraft); Catherine Spaak, 77, Belgian-Italian actress (Kiss the Other Sheik, Il Sorpasso, Adultery Italian Style) and singer; Rick Turner, 78, American luthier and musician (Autosalvage), heart failure and stroke.
16: Bill Bourne, 68, Canadian musician (Tri-Continental) and songwriter, bladder cancer; James Johnson, 82, American blues guitarist (Slim Harpo).
15: Leo Boni, 57, Italian-American singer and guitarist; Art Rupe, 104, American Hall of Fame music executive and record producer (Specialty Records).
14: Orlando Julius, 79, Nigerian saxophonist, singer and bandleader; Trygve Thue, 71, Norwegian guitarist.
13: Archie Eversole, 37, German-born American rapper; Tim Feerick, 34, American rock bassist (Dance Gavin Dance); Lennart Hegland, 79, Swedish musician (Hep Stars); Hua Wenyi, 81, Chinese Kunqu performer.
12: Charles E. McCormick, 75, American singer (Bloodstone); Lazo Pajcin, 49, Serbian singer and songwriter; Jacek Szymkiewicz, 47, Polish songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaths_in_2022