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Robert Morse was an actor who starred on Broadway and on the big screen in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.”
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Acting career
Morse was a rising star of Broadway when he was cast as J. Pierrepont Finch in the Broadway musical “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” He won the 1962 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. Morse reprised his role in the 1967 film adaptation. He continued his stage career, winning a second Tony in 1990 for playing Truman Capote in the one-man show “Tru,” and originating the role of the Wizard in the San Francisco tryout of “Wicked,” before it went to Broadway. Morse was also frequently seen on TV, from early roles on anthology shows through recent years. On “Mad Men,” he had a prominent role as ad agency senior partner Bert Cooper, and he played journalist Dominick Dunne in “American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson.” Morse did voice work for a number of cartoons, including “Monchhichis,” “Pound Puppies,” and “Teen Titans Go!”
Morse on his farewell scene in “Mad Men”
“It brings tears to my eyes when I think of it. What a lovely tie-in to the character’s passing, trying to give advice to Don: ‘Hey, I gotta go now, but the best things in life are free.’ I got goosebumps. As simple as it was, it was one of the lovely moments of my life.” —from a 2015 interview for Time
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Tributes to Robert Morse
Full obituary: The New York Times
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