Robert Morse’s daring show ‘That’s Life’ lives on in a Cinefamily salute

Robert Morse has had a remarkable career, making his Broadway debut opposite Ruth Gordon in “The Matchmaker” 60 years ago, earning his first Tony Award in 1962 for the musical “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” and his second in 1990 for his dramatic turn in “Tru.”

Younger audiences may know him best for his quirky, Emmy Award-nominated turn as advertising giant Bertram Cooper, who sported bow ties and no shoes on “Mad Men.”

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But fans are probably not familiar with what Morse calls one of his favorite acting experiences: the 1968-69 ABC series “That’s Life,” a daring, innovative, Emmy-nominated hourlong comedy-variety series. Each week “That’s Life” charted the ups and downs of a young couple, Robert (Morse) and Gloria (E.J. Peaker), in the form of a Broadway-style musical.

The series left the air after 26 episodes, and “That’s Life” disappeared from view. It wasn’t released on VHS or DVD because the clearances for music are cost-prohibitive.

It’s too bad. The series is fun and groovy, Morse is adorably winsome and Peaker (from the 1969 film version of “Hello, Dolly!”) makes a perfect partner for him.

On Monday, the Cinefamily theater in Los Angeles is presenting an evening of excerpts from “That’s Life” and a question-answer session with Morse conducted by screenwriter Larry Karaszewski (“Ed Wood,” “The People vs. Larry Flynt,” “Big Eyes”), who has been friends with Morse for years.

Karaszewski, who loves old-time variety shows and Christmas specials, saw a 30-second commercial for “That’s Life” on YouTube and decided to do more research into the show.

“The more I looked, the less I found,” Karaszewski said. “It seemed to be one of the shows that was forgotten. I asked Bobby, ‘What is the deal with this?’ It is one of the things he is most proud of.”

The late Marvin Marx, a writer-producer who worked with Jackie Gleason on the Great One’s various series including the original “The Honeymooners,” came up with the idea of doing a musical chronicling the life of a young couple.

“He approached my agent, Martin Baum, and said he had this idea for a show called ‘That’s Life,’” Morse said. “I said I would love to do a musical every week, and we did it. We started it in Los Angeles and then we moved to New York.”

The series also boasted talents such as writer Bob Ellison, producer Lee Miller, director Stan Harris and production designer Robert Randolph, a “How to Succeed” alum.

“That’s Life,” which was filmed before a live audience, featured new songs, standards and even pop hits of the day, such as Friend & Lover’s “Reach Out of the Darkness.”

“We had a wonderful choreographer, Tony Mordente, who was in ‘West Side Story,”’ Morse said.

The series also attracted terrific guest stars, including Ethel Merman, Goldie Hawn, Liza Minnelli, Leslie Uggams and even the easy-listening vocal group the Doodletown Pipers.

Thanks to his reputation, Marx was able to attract some of the best comics of the day: George Burns, Rodney Dangerfield, Guy Marks, Jackie Vernon, Alan King, Paul Lynde and Sid Caesar. They would fashion their routines around the plot of the week.

Despite its star power and reviews, “That’s Life” never caught on. Morse believes that the 10 p.m. Tuesday time slot was too late. And it had strong competition: “The NBC Tuesday Night Movie” and “CBS News Hour/60 Minutes.”

But just as so many series that attempt something different, “That’s Life” might simply have been ahead of its time.

The Cinefamily program will feature a “greatest hits” clips package that mixes comedy and musical numbers. After the Q&A with Morse, Karaszewski will screen a combination of the show’s two Christmas episodes, which feature hysterically funny bits with Lynde and Dangerfield and poignant Christmas carols.

susan.king@latimes.com

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Where: Cinefamily at Silent Movie Theatre, 611 N. Fairfax Ave., L.A.

When: 7:30 p.m. Monday

Tickets: $12

Info: www.cinefamily.org