Profile Text
Morse in 2015, kathclick /bigstock.com
Birth Name: Robert Alan Morse
Date of Birth: May 18, 1931
Place of Birth: Newton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Date of Death: April 20, 2022
Place of Death: Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish
Robert Morse was an American actor and singer. He played the lead role in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying on both stage and screen, as well as in many other acclaimed Broadway roles. He also starred in the films The Matchmaker (1958), The Cardinal (1963), Honeymoon Hotel , Quick, Before It Melts ; The Loved One , Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma’s Hung You in the Closet and I’m Feelin’ So Sad ; A Guide for the Married Man , Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? , The Boatniks , Hunk (1987), and The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez ; on the shows That’s Life , Monchhichis , Pound Puppies , both in voice performance; City of Angels , Mad Men , and The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story ; and in the made-for-tv special Jack Frost , as the voice of the title character.
Robert was the son of May (Silver), a pianist, and Charles Morse, who worked at a record store, and managed a movie theatre chain. His father was born in Massachusetts, of German Jewish descent. His mother was born in New York, to Russian Jewish parents.
He was married to Elizabeth Cosby Roberts, until his death. He had three children, including actress Robin Morse, with his former wife Carole D’Andrea; and two children, including actress Allyn Morse, with Elizabeth.
Robert’s paternal great-great-uncle, his great-grandfather’s brother, was politician and clothier Leopold Morse, who served as a Democratic Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts, from March 4, 1877 to March 3, 1885, and again, from March 4, 1887 to March 3, 1889. The Morse family were among New Hampshire’s earliest Jewish settlers.
Robert’s paternal grandfather was Jacob/Jake Charles Morse (the son of Charles Morse and Sarah Strauss/Straus). Jacob was born in New Hampshire, to German Jewish parents. Robert’s great-grandfather Charles was born in Wachenheim, Rhineland-Palatinate, the son of Jacob/Yakob Maas/Morse and Charlotte Mehlinger. Sarah was born in Baden, the daughter of Jacob Strauss and Betat.
Robert’s paternal grandmother was Josephine Gans (the daughter of Louis Gans and Esther/Hester/Esta Sturman). Josephine was born in New York, to a German Jewish father and an English Jewish mother.
Robert’s maternal grandfather was named Benjamin Joseph Silver. Benjamin’s father was evidently born in Austria.
Robert’s maternal grandmother was named Ida Heiman.
Sources: Genealogy of Robert Morse – https://www.geni.com
Marriage record of Robert’s parents – https://www.familysearch.org
Genealogy of Robert’s father – https://www.fanta-levey.com
Robert’s father on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Marriage records of Robert’s paternal grandparents, Jacob/Jake Charles Morse and Josephine Gans – https://www.familysearch.org https://www.familysearch.org
Robert’s mother on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org