Robert Morse, Mad Men star and Emmy-winning actor, dies at 90

Robert Morse, the beloved Tony- and Emmy-winning actor who memorably played Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency founder Bertram Cooper across seven seasons of the AMC drama Mad Men, died Wednesday at the age of 90.

Morse's talent agent, David Shaul, confirmed to EW that the star died "peacefully at home yesterday after a short illness."

The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story writer Larry Karaszewski first announced the news of Morse's passing on Twitter, six years after the pair worked together on the actor's portrayal of investigative journalist and producer Dominick Dunne.

Though his work on stage brought him immense critical and industry success, Morse is perhaps best known to contemporary audiences for his supporting performance on 58 episodes of the 1960s-set corporate drama Mad Men, in which he acted opposite stars Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss as they navigated personal and professional hurdles while working at the Sterling Cooper ad firm. His turn as Cooper earned Morse five Emmy nominations between 2008 and 2014. He previously won his first and only Emmy for the American Playhouse presentation of his stage performance as Truman Capote in Jay Presson Allen's 1989 work Tru.

AMC 'Mad Men' actor Robert Morse has died at 90.

After delivering notable performances on stage (including his first Tony-nominated role in The Matchmaker) and on TV (including on two episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents), Morse won his first Tony Award for his work in the 1961 musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. The production — which followed Morse's aspiring professional, J. Pierrepont Finch (a part later revived by Daniel Radcliffe), as he traversed a step-by-step guide on how to rise through the business sector — ran for roughly 1,400 shows and won seven Tonys, as well as the Pulitzer Prize. He would go on to star in the 1967 film version of the project, and win another Tony 22 years later for Tru.

Morse's final screen credit was a voice role as Santa Claus on several episodes of the beloved animated series Teen Titans, the last of which aired in 2021.

The actor first married dancer Carole Ann D'Andrea, though they later divorced after having three children: Robin, Andrea, and Hilary. He subsequently married Elizabeth Roberts, an advertising executive, with whom he had a daughter, Allyn, and a son, Charles.

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