Robert Alan Morse (May 18, 1931 – April 20, 2022) was an American actor. Known for his gap-toothed boyishness, he started his career acting in Broadway musicals and plays and then expanded into film and television. For his roles on Broadway, Morse won two Tony Awards; the first for Best Actor in a Musical for playing J. Pierrepont Finch in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1961), a role he reprised in the 1967 film adaptation; the second for Best Actor in a Play for portraying Truman Capote in the one-man play Tru (1988), a role he reprised in the 1992 television production, earning him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. Morse was also Tony-nominated for Say, Darling (1959), Take Me Along (1960), and Sugar (1973). Morse acted in his final stage role in the Broadway revival of the newspaper comedy The Front Page from 2016 to 2017.
Morse acted in the films The Matchmaker (1958), The Cardinal (1963), The Loved One (1965), and A Guide for the Married Man (1967). Known for his television roles, he played Robert Dickson in the ABC comedy series That's Life (1968-1969), for which he was nominated for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series, and voiced lead roles in three Rankin/Bass animated productions (1976-1979). Morse attained a career resurgence playing Bertram Cooper in the critically acclaimed AMC drama series Mad Men (2007-2015). The role earned him nominations for five Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. He portrayed Dominick Dunne in the series The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016).
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 theater chain. 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, and studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. He received an uncredited role in The Proud and Profane (1956), a film starring William Holden and Deborah Kerr. Morse served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War aboard the destroyer USS Black.
1954-1967: Breakthrough and acclaim
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 films and television shows. Morse made his television debut in the soap opera The Secret Storm in 1954. His first film role was uncredited in the romantic drama The Proud and Profane (1956). In 1955, he made his Broadway debut playing Barnaby Tucker in the Thornton Wilder comedic play The Matchmaker, a role which he reprised in the 1958 film of the same name directed by Joseph Anthony. Morse also played Bobby in the Otto Preminger directed drama film The Cardinal (1963). During this time, he took television roles in The Alcoa Hour, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Naked City, The Play of the Week, and The Jonathan Winters Show. Morse returned to Broadway playing Ted Snow in the comedic show Say, Darling. Critic John Chapman of The New York Daily News, described Morse's performance as being "splendid". He would go on to receive a Theatre World Award, as well as his first Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play.
The following year, he played Richard Miller in the musical Take Me Along (1959) based on the Eugene O'Neill play Ah, Wilderness!. Morse acted alongside Jackie Gleason and Walter Pidgeon. For his role, Morse received his second Tony nomination, this time for Best Actor in a Musical.
Morse gained stardom for portraying the young 1960s businessman J. Pierrepont Finch in the 1961 Broadway production, Frank Loesser and Abe Burrows musical, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. The production earned raves with New York Times critic Howard Taubman, writing that Robert Morse played Finch "with unfailing bravura and wit", pronouncing Finch, as portrayed by Morse, "a rumpled, dimpled angel with a streak of Lucifer." The production received numerous accolades including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and seven Tony Awards. He went on to receive his third Tony Award nomination and first win for Best Actor in a Musical. Although he was not named on the award, he contributed to the Grammy Award-winning cast album.
He reprised the role in the 1967 film adaptation of the same name. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times praised the film adaptation, citing it as successfully re-creating "just about everything that was conducive to the stage success." Crowther especially noted his performance, writing "Seeing Mr. Morse in close-ups, as those wily expressions cross on his face and those wicked designs of Pal Joey gleam in his Horatio Alger-character eyes, is better than seeing him on the stage". In 1964, Morse co-starred in the comedy film Quick, Before It Melts. The following year, he appeared in the black comedy film The Loved One, a film based on the Evelyn Waugh novel of the same name which satirized the funeral business in Los Angeles, particularly Forest Lawn Cemetery. In 1967, he co-starred in Gene Kelly's A Guide for the Married Man and in Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad, which had been filmed two years previously.
In 1968, he appeared in the comedy Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? opposite Doris Day. That same year, he acted in the television series That's Life, which attempted to blend the musical genre with a situation comedy centered on newlyweds "Robert" and "Gloria" (played by E. J. Peaker). The series was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series. Additionally, he guest-starred on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. In 1970, he starred in the lead role in the Walt Disney comedy The Boatniks. Morse didn't appear in another feature film for the next 17 years. During this time, he appeared in episodes of Night Gallery, Love, American Style, and Alias Smith and Jones.
Morse was in the original Broadway cast of Sugar, a 1972 musical stage adaptation of Some Like It Hot. T.E. Killam of Time "Morse captures the tremor, tenderness, coquettishness and vulnerability of a girl's first love. Morse is an enormously personable stage presence, and he knows it." For the role, he won the Drama Desk Award and was again nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Morse joined other performers, including Marlo Thomas, in creating the 1972 Free to Be... You and Me children's album. He provided the voice for the cartoon character Howler in Hanna-Barbera's Pound Puppies. For Rankin/Bass, he voiced Jack in the 1979 animated special Jack Frost as well as the main character Stuffy in The First Easter Rabbit. Morse appeared in dozens of TV shows, including Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone. He also appeared on CBS Radio Mystery Theater.
He starred in the 1976 musical So Long, 174th Street, which was based on the play Enter Laughing. It received poor reviews and closed quickly, becoming Morse's last Broadway role for more than a decade. In 1987, Morse appeared in the film The Emperor's New Clothes, which starred Sid Caesar and was part of the Cannon Movie Tales series. Morse made his return to Broadway portraying author and socialite Truman Capote in the one man show Tru (1989), earning rave reviews for his performance as well as the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show. In 1992, he recreated his Tru performance for the series American Playhouse and won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. In 1999, Morse was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame for his long career as a stage actor.