Robert Morse
Encyclopedia
Robert Morse is an American
actor
and singer. Morse is best known for his appearances in musicals and plays
on Broadway
. He has also acted in movies and television
shows. His best known role is that of J. Pierrepont Finch in the 1961 Broadway musical, and 1967 film How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
. He is currently known for his recurring role as Bertram Cooper on the show Mad Men
.
. After serving in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War
, Morse appeared on Broadway as an actor.
on Broadway in 1955 opposite Ruth Gordon
and reprised the role in the 1958 film adaptation
, this time opposite Shirley Booth
. That same year, he won the Theatre World Award
and was nominated for the Tony Award
for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
for Say, Darling
. Morse had to lobby David Merrick for a role in Take Me Along, as there was a question if he could, at 28, play a convincing 16 year old. He could and did. What was considered the final step toward full stardom was his performance as J. Pierrepont Finch in the Pulitzer Prize-winning How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
it won him the Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
in 1962. He also starred in the 1967 movie version
In 1964, Morse co-starred in the comedy Quick, Before It Melts. In 1965, Morse appeared in the black comedy
The Loved One
, a movie based on the Evelyn Waugh
novel
that satirized the funeral
business in Los Angeles
, in particular the Forest Lawn Cemetery
. In 1967, he co-starred in A Guide for the Married Man
opposite Walter Matthau. In 1968, he appeared in the comedy Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?
opposite Doris Day
. In the same year, he appeared 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
).
Morse was in the original Broadway cast of Sugar
, a 1972 musical stage adaptation of Some Like It Hot
, for which he was nominated for another Tony. He won a Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show
for his portrayal of Truman Capote
in Tru
(1989). In 1992, he recreated his performance for the PBS series American Playhouse
and won the Emmy Award
as Best Actor in a Miniseries or Special. In 2002, Morse was cast in the role of The Wizard
in the San Francisco run of the musical Wicked
, but quit the show before it opened on Broadway. He was replaced by Joel Grey
.
Morse joined other performers, including Marlo Thomas
, in creating the 1972 Free to Be... You and Me children's album.
He also provided the voice for the cartoon character Howler in Hanna Barbera's Pound Puppies
.
Morse has appeared in numerous TV shows, beginning in 1955 with the soap opera
The Secret Storm
and including mysteries, comedies, and variety shows. He had featured roles in the 1993 miniseries
Wild Palms
and the 2000 medical drama City of Angels. In 1995, Robert portrayed Grandpa in the Fox
telefilm Here Come the Munsters
.
Beginning in 2007, Morse took on a recurring role in the AMC
dramatic series Mad Men
as Bertram Cooper, a partner in the advertising agency Sterling Cooper, for which role he was nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding guest actor in 2008, 2010 and again in 2011.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and singer. Morse is best known for his appearances in musicals and plays
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. He has also acted in movies and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
shows. His best known role is that of J. Pierrepont Finch in the 1961 Broadway musical, and 1967 film How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert, based on Shepherd Mead's 1952 book of the same name....
. He is currently known for his recurring role as Bertram Cooper on the show Mad Men
Mad Men
Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
.
Early life
Morse was born on May 18, 1931 in Newton, MassachusettsNewton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
. After serving in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, Morse appeared on Broadway as an actor.
Career
He created the role of Barnaby in The MatchmakerThe Matchmaker
The Matchmaker is a play by Thornton Wilder.The play has a long and colorful history. John Oxenford's 1835 one-act farce A Day Well Spent had been extended into a full-length play entitled Einen Jux will er sich machen by Austrian playwright Johann Nestroy in 1842...
on Broadway in 1955 opposite Ruth Gordon
Ruth Gordon
Ruth Gordon Jones , better known as Ruth Gordon, was an American actress and writer. She was perhaps best known for her film roles such as Minnie Castevet, Rosemary's overly solicitous neighbor in Rosemary's Baby, as the eccentric Maude in Harold and Maude and as the mother of Orville Boggs in the...
and reprised the role in the 1958 film adaptation
The Matchmaker (film)
The Matchmaker is a 1958 American comedy film directed by Joseph Anthony. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes is based on the 1955 play of the same name by Thornton Wilder.-Plot:...
, this time opposite Shirley Booth
Shirley Booth
Shirley Booth was an American actress.Primarily a theatre actress, Booth's Broadway career began in 1925. Her most significant success was as Lola Delaney, in the drama Come Back, Little Sheba, for which she received a Tony Award in 1950...
. That same year, he won the Theatre World Award
Theatre World Award
The Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:...
and was nominated for the Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. The award has been presented since 1949.-1950s:* 1951: Eli Wallach – The Rose Tattoo* 1952: John Cromwell – Point of No Return...
for Say, Darling
Say, Darling
Say, Darling is a three-act comic play by Abe Burrows and Marian and Richard Bissell about the creation of a Broadway musical. Although the play featured nine original songs with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Styne, all of the songs were presented as either rehearsal or...
. Morse had to lobby David Merrick for a role in Take Me Along, as there was a question if he could, at 28, play a convincing 16 year old. He could and did. What was considered the final step toward full stardom was his performance as J. Pierrepont Finch in the Pulitzer Prize-winning How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert, based on Shepherd Mead's 1952 book of the same name....
it won him the Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical is awarded to the actor who was voted as the best actor in a musical play, whether a new production or a revival...
in 1962. He also starred in the 1967 movie version
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (film)
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is a 1967 American musical comedy film based on the 1961 stage musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the book written by Shepherd Mead...
In 1964, Morse co-starred in the comedy Quick, Before It Melts. In 1965, Morse appeared in the black comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
The Loved One
The Loved One (film)
The Loved One is a 1965 black comedy film about the funeral business in Los Angeles, which is based on The Loved One: An Anglo-American Tragedy , a short satirical novel by Evelyn Waugh...
, a movie based on the Evelyn Waugh
Evelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh , known as Evelyn Waugh, was an English writer of novels, travel books and biographies. He was also a prolific journalist and reviewer...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
that satirized the funeral
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...
business in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, in particular the Forest Lawn Cemetery
Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries
Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries is an American corporation that owns and operates a chain of cemeteries and mortuaries in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties in Southern California. The company was founded by a group of San Francisco businessmen in 1906. Dr...
. In 1967, he co-starred in A Guide for the Married Man
A Guide for the Married Man
A Guide for the Married Man is a 1967 American bedroom farce comedy film starring Walter Matthau, Robert Morse, and Inger Stevens. It was directed by Gene Kelly. It features a large number of cameos, including Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Terry-Thomas, Jayne Mansfield, Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner, Joey...
opposite Walter Matthau. In 1968, he appeared in the comedy Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?
Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?
Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? is a 1968 American comedy film with Doris Day, directed by Hy Averback. Although it is set in New York City during the major blackout of November 9, 1965, in which 25 million people scattered throughout seven northeastern states and Ontario, Canada lost...
opposite Doris Day
Doris Day
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
. In the same year, he appeared in the television series That's Life
That's Life (1968 TV series)
That's Life is a musical comedy series which appeared on the ABC television network from 1968-69 and starred Robert Morse and E. J. Peaker as Bobby and Gloria Dickson....
, which attempted to blend the musical genre with a situation comedy centered on newlyweds "Robert" and "Gloria" (played by E. J. Peaker
E. J. Peaker
E.J. Peaker is an American actress. Peaker is best known for her appearances in the movie Hello Dolly! and in the TV musical series That's Life.-Biography:...
).
Morse was in the original Broadway cast of Sugar
Sugar (musical)
Sugar is a musical with a book by Peter Stone, music by Jule Styne, and lyrics by Bob Merrill. It is based on the film Some Like It Hot, which was adapted by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond from a story by Robert Thoeren and Michael Logan...
, a 1972 musical stage adaptation of Some Like It Hot
Some Like It Hot
Some Like It Hot is an American comedy film, made in 1958 and released in 1959, which was directed by Billy Wilder and starred Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and George Raft. The supporting cast includes Joe E. Brown, Pat O'Brien and Nehemiah Persoff. The film is a remake by Wilder and I....
, for which he was nominated for another Tony. He won a Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play presented since 1947, is awarded to actors in productions of new or revival plays.-1940s:*1947 - José Ferrer – Cyrano de Bergerac / Fredric March – Years Ago...
and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...
for his portrayal of Truman Capote
Truman Capote
Truman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...
in Tru
Tru (play)
Tru is a play by Jay Presson Allen.Adapted from the words and works of Truman Capote, it is set in the writer's New York City apartment at 870 United Nations Plaza the week before Christmas 1975...
(1989). In 1992, he recreated his performance for the PBS series American Playhouse
American Playhouse
American Playhouse is an anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service in the United States.It premiered on January 12, 1982 with The Shady Hill Kidnapping, written and narrated by John Cheever and directed by Paul Bogart...
and won the Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
as Best Actor in a Miniseries or Special. In 2002, Morse was cast in the role of The Wizard
Wizard (Oz)
The Wizard of Oz, known during his reign as The Great and Powerful Oz, is the epithet of Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs, a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by American author L...
in the San Francisco run of the musical Wicked
Wicked (musical)
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...
, but quit the show before it opened on Broadway. He was replaced by Joel Grey
Joel Grey
Joel Grey is an American stage and screen actor, singer, and dancer, best known for his role as the Master of Ceremonies in both the stage and film adaptation of the Kander & Ebb musical Cabaret. He has won the Academy Award, Tony Award and Golden Globe Award...
.
Morse joined other performers, including Marlo Thomas
Marlo Thomas
Margaret Julia “Marlo” Thomas is an American actress, producer, and social activist known for her starring role on the TV series That Girl . She also serves as National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
, in creating the 1972 Free to Be... You and Me children's album.
He also provided the voice for the cartoon character Howler in Hanna Barbera's Pound Puppies
Pound Puppies
Pound Puppies is a toyline sold by Tonka in the 1980s. It later inspired an animated TV special, an animated TV series, and a feature film. Shipments of the toys over five years generated sales of $300 million in 35 countries....
.
Morse has appeared in numerous TV shows, beginning in 1955 with the soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
The Secret Storm
The Secret Storm
The Secret Storm is a soap opera which ran on CBS from February 1, 1954 to February 8, 1974. The series was created by Roy Winsor, who also created the long-running soap operas Search for Tomorrow and Love of Life...
and including mysteries, comedies, and variety shows. He had featured roles in the 1993 miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
Wild Palms
Wild Palms
Wild Palms is a six-hour mini-series, which first aired in May 1993 on the ABC network in the United States. Written by Bruce Wagner, who was also the executive producer, Wild Palms was a sci-fi drama about the dangers of brainwashing through technology and drugs...
and the 2000 medical drama City of Angels. In 1995, Robert portrayed Grandpa in the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
telefilm Here Come the Munsters
Here Come the Munsters
Here Come the Munsters is a telefilm that aired on Fox October 31, 1995. It starred Edward Herrmann, Christine Taylor and Veronica Hamel. It included cameos from original Munsters surviving cast members Yvonne De Carlo, Al Lewis, Butch Patrick, and Pat Priest...
.
Beginning in 2007, Morse took on a recurring role in the AMC
AMC (TV network)
AMC is a cable television specialty channel that primarily airs movies, along with a limited amount of original programming. The letters originally stood for American Movie Classics; however since 2002, the full name has been deemphasized as a result of a major shift in programming...
dramatic series Mad Men
Mad Men
Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
as Bertram Cooper, a partner in the advertising agency Sterling Cooper, for which role he was nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding guest actor in 2008, 2010 and again in 2011.