'The Comeback' Star Robert Michael Morris Dies at 77

Actor Robert Michael Morris, who was best known for starring on HBO's "The Comeback" with Lisa Kudrow, died Tuesday, Deadline reports. He was 77.

Morris played Mickey Deane, a gay hairstylist to Valerie Cherish (Kudrow), a '90s sitcom star trying to make a career resurgence that's documented on a reality show.

Deadline reports Morris started his acting career as a member of the Catholic University Repertory Company before focusing on academics. After teaching theater in high schools and colleges for a number of years, he moves to New York City where he stared in commercials and off-Broadway, including "Cary Churchill Cloud Nine," directed by Tommy Tune in 1981.

He later went back to teaching but in 2005, former college student Michael Patrick King urged him to audition for "The Comeback." King and Kudrow, who created the comedy, wrote the Micky role with Morris in mind.

After his stint in "The Comeback," Morris appeared in several sitcoms, including "Will & Grace," "Arrested Development," "How I Met Your Mother," "2 Broke Girls," and more recently "The Middle."

"The Comeback" was revived in 2014, picking up nearly 10 years where the first season left off. Morris reprised his lovable Micky role in the excellent second installment.

Both King and Kudrow have responded to Morris' passing.

"Robert Michael Morris was an inspiration to write for and to be around," King told Deadline. "His creativity was only matched by the joy and gratefulness he felt for each day he got to live his life as an artist."

Kudrow took to Twitter to share her condolences.

Watch a highlight video of Morris and Kudrow on "The Comeback" below.