Robert Morse

Robert Alan Morse (May 18, 1931 – April 20, 2022) was an American actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he received two Tony Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. He notably starred as J. Pierrepont Finch in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, both the 1961 original Broadway production, for which he won a Tony Award, and its 1967 film adaptation; and as Bertram Cooper in the critically acclaimed AMC dramatic series Mad Men (2007–2015). He won his second Tony Award for playing Truman Capote in the 1989 production of the one-man play Tru. He reprised his role of Capote in an airing of the play for American Playhouse in 1992, winning him a Primetime Emmy Award. Early life Morse was born on May 18, 1931, in Newton, Massachusetts, the second child of May (Silver), a pianist, and Charles Morse, who worked at a record store and managed a chain of movie theaters. He was Jewish. He attended a number of different schools until finding his inspiration in Henry Lasker, a music teacher at Newton High School who, according to Morse, "knew what I had burning in me and wanted to express". Upon graduation, he left home for New York City to fulfill his ambition of becoming an actor, joining his elder brother Richard who was already studying acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse. He received an uncredited role in The Proud and Profane (1956), a film starring William Holden and Deborah Kerr. Soon thereafter, he was cast as Barnaby Tucker in the original Broadway production of Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker, launching his career. Morse also served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. Career Morse earned multiple nominations and wins for Tony, Drama Desk, and Emmy awards over a period of five decades. He appeared in musicals and plays on Broadway, as well as in movies and television shows. He played young 1960s New York City businessman J. Pierrepont Finch in the 1961 Broadway production and 1967 film version of the Frank Loesser and Abe Burrows musical, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. In the late 2000s he had a recurring role of elder 1960s New York City businessman Bertram Cooper on the AMC television show Mad Men.