Robert Morse...I Believe In You!

Miss Jones: What's your name?
J. Pierpont Finch: Finch, F-I-N-C-H. J. Pierpont Finch.
Miss Jones: Well, why haven't I seen you before?
J. Pierpont Finch: Well, ma'am, I'm not supposed to deliver the executive mail. That's his job. Bud Frump, F-R-U-M-P.

Happy Robert Morse Day!

Today on the occasion of Robert Morse's Birthday, I am celebrating him. I'm a huge fan. Always have been. In my humble opinion, if he had never done anything beyond The Matchmaker and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, those two performances would have secured him in my Hall of Fame of great movie appearances. I was lucky enough to also see him in his Tony Award winning performance as Truman Capote in TRU. Sheer brilliance! I also love him on the cast album of Sugar.
Robert, this is my birthday gift  to you! Thanks for the enjoyment you've given me through your performances over the years! And we are now lucky because of your  recurring role as Bertram Cooper on the show Mad Men.
 
J. B. Biggley: I like the way you thinch, Fink.
[Long pause]
J. Pierpont Finch: That's "think, Finch."

With that impish, gap-toothed grin, nervous bundle of energy
Robert Morse grabs you no matter the medium.

Vandergelder Hay and Feed apprentice Barnaby Tucker (l.) and chief clerk Cornelius Hackl (r); near-insufferable characters in the film Hello, Dolly!,  are brought to appealing life by Robert Morse and Tony Perkins in The Matchmaker

He created the role of Barnaby Tucker in The Matchmaker on Broadway in 1955 opposite Ruth Gordon and re-prised the role in the 1958 film adaptation, this time opposite Shirley Booth. That same year, he won the Theatre World Award and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for Say, Darling. Morse had to lobby David Merrick for a role in Take Me Along, as there was a question if he could, at 28, play a convincing 16 year old. He could and did. What was considered the final step toward full stardom was his performance as J. Pierrepont Finch in the Pulitzer Prize-winning How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying it won him the Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical in 1962. He also starred in the 1967 movie version

In 1964, Morse co-starred in the comedy Quick, Before It Melts. In 1965, Morse appeared in the black comedy The Loved One, a movie based on the Evelyn Waugh novel that satirized the funeral business in Los Angeles, in particular the Forest Lawn Cemetery. In 1967, he co-starred in A Guide for the Married Man opposite Walter Matthau. In 1968, he appeared in the comedy Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? opposite Doris Day. In the same year, he appeared in the television series That's Life, which attempted to blend the musical genre with a situation comedy centered on newlyweds "Robert" and "Gloria"
(played by E. J. Peaker).

Morse was in the original Broadway cast of Sugar, a 1972 musical stage adaptation of Some Like It Hot, for which he was nominated for another Tony. He won a Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show for his portrayal of Truman Capote in Tru (1989). In 1992, he recreated his performance for the PBS series American Playhouse and won the Emmy Award as Best Actor in a Miniseries or Special. In 2002, Morse was cast in the role of The Wizard in the San Francisco run of the musical Wicked, but quit the show before it opened on Broadway. He was replaced by Joel Grey.
Morse joined other performers, including Marlo Thomas, in creating the 1972 Free to Be... You and Me children's album.

 He also provided the voice for the cartoon character Howler in Hanna Barbera's Pound Puppies. Another famous role he played was Jack in the 1979 animated Rankin/Bass special Jack Frost. In The First Easter Rabbit,yet another Rankin/Bass Production, he was the voice of the main character, Stuffy. Morse has appeared in numerous TV shows, beginning in 1955 with the soap opera The Secret Storm and including mysteries, comedies, and variety shows. He had featured roles in the 1993 miniseries Wild Palms and the 2000 medical drama City of Angels. In 1995, Robert portrayed Grandpa in the Fox telefilm Here Come the Munsters.
 Beginning in 2007, Morse took on a recurring role in the AMC dramatic series Mad Men as Bertram Cooper, a partner in the advertising agency Sterling Cooper, for which role he was nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding guest actor in 2008, 2010 and again in 2011.
(Source:Wikipedia)

     Thank you Robert Morse for the gifts you have given and continue to give to the world!

Your devoted fan,

NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED.  FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY!

May 31
7:30pm

CHICO'S HOUSE OF JAZZ, 631 Lake Ave., Asbury Park, NJ 07712

RICHARD SKIPPER: AT LAST!

ReVision Theatre and the City of Asbury Park couldn't have a better summer kickoff! After introducing ReVision Theatre to the great City of Asbury Park 5 years ago, Richard Skipper returns in "Richard Skipper: At Last". Richard is the perfect start to the musical summer of 2012 in Asbury Park. For more information visit www.revisiontheatre.org or call us at 732-455-3059. To purchase $15.00 General Admission tickets please visit http://revisiontheatre.tix.com.
This show is not to be missed! Musical Direction by: Rich Siegel

Please do what YOU can to be more aware that words and actions DO HURT...but they can also heal and help!    
                 

Tomorrow's blog will be..YOU TELL ME! I'm open to suggestions!!


Thank you, to all the mentioned in this blog!

  

Here's to an INCREDIBLE tomorrow for ALL...with NO challenges!

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TILL TOMORROW...HERE'S TO AN ARTS FILLED DAY

Richard Skipper, Richard@RichardSkipper.com                            

This Blog is dedicated to EVERYONE who has EVER had a connection with Robert Morse on ANY Level!!  THANK YOU! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!