Robert Morse, two-time Tony winner
NEW YORK » Actor Robert Morse, who won a Tony Award as a hilariously brash corporate climber in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” and a second one a generation later as the brilliant, troubled Truman Capote in “Tru,” has died. He was 90.
Morse died at his home Wednesday after a brief illness, said David Shaul of BRS/GAGE Talent Agency.
The boyishly handsome Morse first made his name on Broadway in the 1950s, and landed some roles in Hollywood comedies in the 1960s. “I consider myself an actor — shyly,” he told the Los Angeles Times in 1964. “I love acting. It’s a great use of body and mind. ... With all humility, you hope that you are doing something worthwhile.”
More recently, he played the autocratic and eccentric leader of an advertising agency in “Mad Men,” AMC’S hit drama that debuted in 2007.
The role of Bert Cooper earned him five Emmy nominations as best guest actor in a drama series.
“He radiated a wicked joy; it was impossible to watch him without instantly sharing his giddy delight,” wrote playwright Paul Rudnick. Jason Alexander tweeted: “His work was infused with joy and it was joyous to be with him.”
Morse was already well-established on Broadway, with two Tony nominations to his credit, when he became nationally famous at age 30 as the star of Abe Burrows and Frank Loesser’s smash 1961 Broadway satire of corporate life, “How to Succeed ... .” The show won the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony for best musical and ran for more than three years.
“Tru,” a one-man show based on Capote’s writings, revived Morse’s stage career in 1989.
In 1993, the televised version of “Tru” (PBS) won Morse an Emmy for best actor in a miniseries or special.
In 2007, he came full circle when he was cast as the eccentric head of an advertising agency in the AMC series “Mad Men,” set in the same era as “How to Succeed.”
“I was quite elated when Matt called me and said, ‘We’d love you to do this show,’ ” Morse told The Times in 2014, referring to the show’s creator, Matthew Weiner. “I said I’d be happy to be Bertram Cooper, chairman of the board, and sit behind a desk. It looked like the road company of ‘How to Succeed.’ ”
Although Bertram Cooper was a straight dramatic role, Morse got to return to his musical-comedy roots in his last episode, aired in the spring of 2014, when the character died — and then reappeared, in a fantasy song-and-dance sequence, to croon the old standard “The Best Things in Life Are Free.”
“What a send-off!” Morse said. “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 was born May 18, 1931, in Newton, Mass., and made his Broadway debut in 1955 in “The Matchmaker.”
He is survived by five children, a son Charlie and four daughters, Robin, Andrea, Hilary and Allyn.