NEW YORK—Actor Robert Morse, a two-time Tony Award winner, has died. He was 90.
Morse died at his home Wednesday after a brief illness, said David Shaul of BRS/Gage Talent Agency.
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 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.
Reviewing his career, Morse told The New York Times in 1989: “Things change. I never got a chance to be in a play or picture where I played a father, or had a family, or where I could feel or show something. The wild child in me never had a chance to grow up.”
He said he had successfully battled alcohol and drug abuse, but added, “I don’t think drinking got in the way of my work. I did my job. It was the other 22 hours I had a problem with.”
Still, he said of his career, “I didn’t think it was going to end or not end. I just plowed on. One day you hear ‘We love you, Bobby.’ The next day you’re doing voiceovers.”
He is survived by five children, a son Charlie and four daughter, Robin, Andrea, Hilary, and Allyn.
