--- title: Robert Morse on Mad Men: Bert Cooper on His Favorite Memories description: The actor talks about the octopus print, the roller skating scene and the dream sequence canonical: https://time.com/3856275/robert-morse-mad-men-bert-cooper/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-14T13:30:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:01.332Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Robert Morse on the End of "Mad Men" og:description: The actor talks about the octopus print, the roller skating scene and more og:url: https://time.com/3856275/robert-morse-mad-men-bert-cooper/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7a5e8ef43dce8243/6987ef7d2dce01634c9e1cc9/3aa281dc-24ef-8871-debd-8d8f2c8ba33b_mad-men_wall_group_2087_v4.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 3aa281dc-24ef-8871-debd-8d8f2c8ba33b_Mad Men_Wall_Group_2087_V4 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Robert Morse on the End of "Mad Men" twitter:description: The actor talks about the octopus print, the roller skating scene and more twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7a5e8ef43dce8243/6987ef7d2dce01634c9e1cc9/3aa281dc-24ef-8871-debd-8d8f2c8ba33b_mad-men_wall_group_2087_v4.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Robert Morse: 'Everybody Wants to Know' How _Mad Men_ Will End by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley May 14, 2015 1:30 PM CUT  Robert Morse as Bertram Cooper on "Mad Men." Robert Morse as Bertram Cooper on "Mad Men."Frank Ockenfels 3/AMC by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley May 14, 2015 1:30 PM CUT Don Draper may be the star of _Mad Men_, but it’s very much an ensemble show, the kind that relies on minor characters to surprise the audience with an occasional big scene. Bertram Cooper, as played by Robert Morse, was a major player in the world of Sterling Cooper, though he didn’t get as much screen time as his partners—but when he did, it was a doozy, from punchy one-liners that put the youngsters in their place to the sweet musical number that closed out the first half of season 7\. Morse even returned as Bert in Don’s dream state on the road in a recent episode. We caught up with Morse ahead of the _Mad Men_ series finale to talk about the cast, the set and the memories. **TIME: Congratulations on seven seasons of** **_Mad Men_** **.** **Morse:** Thank you very much! I was brought up in that time, I’m probably the oldest person on _Mad Men_—I’m 83 years old now! So I go back to the days of the advertising business in New York when I was in Shubert Alley doing shows. I spent a lot of time over on Madison Avenue at different advertising agencies commercials, voiceovers, what have you. It was completely factual and nuanced, the way that Matt \[Weiner, the creator\] put all of this together and made the Cooper agency look exactly like it did in my youth. It’s very sad, saying goodbye to _Mad Men_, because they’re tearing down the office, everybody’s going their own way over to McCann, Pete’s going to Kansas, Joan being harassed by someone at McCann and sticking up for herself in those years, poor Betty with the cancer, and Don’s wandering now on the road in a car, looking for what? We won’t know until we see the last episode, which I haven’t seen either. I’m not being morose about it, but I do miss it. Maybe for younger people than me, in their 20s or 30s, they may not feel the depth of it like I do at my age, because it’s sort of over. It’s late in my time, it’s late in _Mad Men_’s time, and it’s come to a conclusion—and now what? **Your performance of “The Best Things in Life Are Free” last year had some resonance with** **_How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying_** **. Who at Sterling Cooper do you think was the most like J. Pierrepont Finch?** All of them! No, I can’t think of it that way, but I must say the set with all the secretaries did remind me of the look and the costuming in that same era of _How to Succeed_. Maybe I felt a little more like Rudy Vallee than J. Pierrepont Finch, as the older executive. But I didn’t see anybody lapping up to me like J. Pierrepont would have. **Did you have a favorite part of the set?** One of my favorite parts was the picture that Peggy took from my office. That was a Japanese print—I mean, Sodom and Gomorrah! Unbelievable. I was happy Peggy got it. I just saw \[Elizabeth Moss\] on Broadway, I forget the name of the play… **_The Heidi Chronicles_** **?** Thank you very much. My wife does that often, finishes my sentences when I can’t remember. Yes, _The Heidi Chronicles_. I love Peggy, I thought her roller skating scene was exquisite, with who playing the piano… **Roger!** Thank you. Would you marry me? Yes, Roger, with the cigarette in his mouth as the piano player. He looked like Billy Joel. **Who was your favorite scene partner over the years?** Everybody I worked with. I was absolutely in awe of Jon Hamm. Such a professional and a sweet guy. I think we all looked up to him in a sense. **Was there a character you wish Bert had been in more scenes with?** Probably Peggy. I loved Joan. We had a great time. **Bert is good to her.** Bert is good to Joan, absolutely. **Was there a lot of talk among the cast about how the show will end?** Oh, there still is. Everybody wants to know. Everybody has an idea, just like the people out there that love this show. Do you have your idea? **I don’t know…** Neither do I. There _is_ riding off into the distance. And I loved his exit from McCann Erickson, when he got up and he thinks, “I can’t take this. Oh my God. This is an organization, this is an oil company. I loved the Sterling Cooper operation with old Bert Cooper and everybody, but this is too much.” And he just gets up and leaves—he’s on the road again when I appear in the car with him. **Were you excited to go back for that scene?** Of course. It was a wonderful idea from Matt to do that. Jack Kerouac, _On the Road_, whither thou goest? That’s what we’re all wondering: Whither thou goest, Jon Hamm, in thy little tiny car in the night? **What was your favorite scene to shoot?** One of my favorites was with Vincent Kartheiser’s character, when he comes busting into the office in the first season and says Jon isn’t who he says he is, and I walk over to him and say, “Who cares?” A wonderful little scene. And with Joan, the scene where I say everyone can see the receptionist out front, and she’s black…that’s the way I think it happened back then. Hard for you to believe that, but it’s true. I lived it. **And of course you had the wonderful “The Best Things in Life Are Free” scene.** It brings tears to my eyes when I think of it. What a lovely tie-in to the character’s passing, trying to give advice to Don: “Hey, I gotta go now, but the best things in life are free.” I got goosebumps. As simple as it was, it was one of the lovely moments of my life. ### The 10 Best Outfits From Mad Men  Betty’s floral dress Her outfit for lunch with future husband Henry is quintessential Betty, with soft colors and a fitted silhouette. Carin Baer—AMC  Joan’s pen necklace There are few television accessories as iconic as Joan's pen, always dangling over her chest and eventually insulted by a snarky young copywriter who sees its placement as a power play. Michael Yarish—AMC  Megan’s metallic dress Megan has all the glamour Peggy lacks, with a more fashion-forward sensibility than Betty. Michael Yarish—AMC  Trudy’s floral dress Trudy’s garden party outfit is put to good use when she and Pete impress guests with a mean performance of the Charleston. Carin Baer—AMC  Peggy’s pantsuit Peggy may not be a style icon, but she was well suited for ladder climbing in a loud vest and trouser set at a pivotal moment in her professional ascent. Jaimie Trueblood—AMC  Megan’s Zou Bisou Bisou dress Megan surprises Don and her party guests with a performance as sultry as her little black dress. Ron Jaffe—AMC  Joan’s accordion-playing dress Dresses are like armor for Joan, who wears this form-fitting number while entertaining her husband’s colleagues on the accordion—despite their marital problems. Carin Baer—AMC  Sally’s go-go boots Sally tries on a very grown-up look for an awards ceremony with Don and Megan, and finds herself in a grown-up situation when she witnesses Roger in a compromising position with Megan’s mother. AMC  Roger’s blue suit Roger always looks sharp in a suit, but his sartorial gifts look even more impressive when surrounded by hippies on the farm where his daughter joined a commune. Michael Yarish—AMC  Betty’s Italian dress For a trip to Italy with Don, Betty gives herself a makeover more befitting of her days as a model than her life as a Westchester mom. 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