LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Tony award winner and actor Robert Morse, who played Bert Cooper on the AMC TV series ``Mad Men,'' has died. He was 90.
Larry Karaszewski, the writer, producer, and vice president on the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, tweeted, ``My good pal Bobby Morse has 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).''
Morse played J. Pierrepont Finch in the production of ``How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,'' which debuted in October 1961 and ran through 1965, collecting seven Tony Awards and the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Morse won a Tony award for best actor in musical for his performance in the production.
Morse also played the role of Finch in the 1967 film version of ``How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,'' based on the best-selling book by Shepherd Mead.
Morse won another Tony award for best actor in a play in 1990 for his role as Truman Capote in ``Tru.'' He won an Emmy award for his live performance in the PBS American Playhouse version of ``Tru'' three years later.
For his role on ``Mad Men'' as the co-founder of Sterling Cooper, he received five Emmy award nominations.
Morse was born on May 18, 1831, in Newton, Mass., and his father owned a chain of movie theaters. His mother studied piano at the New England Conservatory of Music.
He served in the military in the Korean War and trained at the American Theater Wing in New York in the 1950s. He worked as a rehearsal singer on ``Name That Tune.'' After an agent heard him sing, Morse landed a role as a wounded soldier in the production of ``The Proud and the Profane'' in 1956.
He made his Broadway debut in 1955 in ``The Matchmaker'' with Ruth Gordon. Morse also played Barnaby Tucker in the 1958 Paramount film version of ``The Matchmaker,'' written by Thorton Wilder.
Morse is one of four actors to win the best acting Tony awards for play and musical, joining Rex Harrison, Christopher Plummer and Zero Mostel.
He was married for 20 years to actress and dancer Carole D'Andrea and then to Elizabeth Roberts.