Robert Michael Morris, the late-blooming TV actor best known for his supporting role on HBO’s “The Comeback,” died Tuesday. He was 77.
“Comeback” star Lisa Kudrow tweeted the news on Tuesday, along with her tribute to the actor as “an example of what a truly good soul looks like.”
Morris was a high school and college teacher who began his showbiz career in earnest when his former student Michael Patrick King created “The Comeback” and wrote a part for his old teacher: Mickey, the flamboyant hairdresser and buddy of Kudrow’s self-absorbed TV star Valerie Cherish.
We lost Robert Michael Morris today.He left us with many wonderful gifts, most importantly, an example of what a truly good soul looks like.
— Lisa Kudrow (@LisaKudrow) May 30, 2017
“Robert Michael Morris was an inspiration to write for and to be around,” King said in a statement. “His creativity was only matched by the joy and gratefulness he felt for each day he got to live his life as an artist.”
The show debuted in 2005 and lasted only a season but developed a cult following that led to a brief second season in 2014.
In the interim, Morris made guest appearances on a host of other shows, including “Will & Grace,” “Arrested Development,” “Brothers & Sisters” and “How I Met Your Mother.”
He also had a recurring role on the 2010-11 comedy “Running Wilde” as Will Arnett’s nanny.
His last credited appearance was in a November episode of the ABC sitcom “The Middle.”