‘Mad Men’ star Robert Morse dies at 90

Two-time Tony Award winner Robert Morse, best known for his role as Bertram Cooper in AMC’s Mad Men, has passed away aged 90.

Robert Morse has been a celebrated actor for Broadway and TV audiences for almost 60 years. Since his 1961 breakthrough portraying J. Pierrepont Finch in the Broadway stage adaptation of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, Morse has received and won, multiple nominations for his acting roles.

Morse was nominated for 5-Tony awards throughout his career, winning two. One for his role as J. Pierrepont Finch, and another in 1990, for playing Truman Capote in the play Tru. Though Morse’s work in theatre is critically celebrated, Morse’s role as Bertram Cooper in the hit AMC drama Mad Men was the actor’s most recognisable feat, earning the actor 5 Emmy nominations.

In Mad Men‘s cutthroat, complex examination of a leading advertising agency in the ’60s, Morse played the founder of the company (Bertram Cooper), whose surname is found in the agency’s name, Sterling Cooper. A highlight of Morse’s role in Mad Men includes the performance number ‘The Best Things in Life Are Free’, which exemplifies the actors’ experience as a Broadway performer. This was Morses’ final appearance in the universally acclaimed drama. Morse brought a memorably charming, off-kilter spin to his Bertram Cooper role, helping the actor stand out amidst the suit-clad power dynamics scattered across the ensemble.

Over the course of Morse’s career, the actor appeared in almost 100 TV, theatre, or film productions. The cause of Morse’s death has not been publically revealed. Writer and producer Lary Karaszewski, a friend of Morse’s, expressed his love for the late actor and his family on Twitter, following the news. Karczewski is best known for his work in 2016s American Crime Story and 1996s The People vs. Larry Flynt.

“My good pal Bobby Morse passed away at age 90. A huge talent and a beautiful spirit. Sending love to his son Charlie & daughter Allyn. Had so much fun hanging with Bobby over the years – filming People v OJ & hosting so many screenings (How To Succeed, Loved One, That’s Life)”

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