Philip Bruns (May 2, 1931 – February 8, 2012) was an American television and movie actor and writer. He portrayed George Shumway, the father of Mary Hartman on the 1970s comedic series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, and Morty Seinfeld, the father of Jerry Seinfeld, in the 1990 second episode of Seinfeld. Early life Bruns was born on May 2, 1931 at a farm near Pipestone, Minnesota, the youngest of three children of Margie Evelyn Solon (née Trigg) and Henry Phillip Bruns. His ancestry was German and Irish. He played high school football. He graduated with a Bachelor's Degree from Augustana College in South Dakota. He earned his Master's Degree from the Yale School of Drama in New Haven, Connecticut. He also studied at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in London, England. Career Bruns appeared in dozens of films, TV commercials, and on and Off-Broadway plays (winning an Obie Award for "Mr. Simian" in the 1963-64 season). He played the Warlock in Werner Liepolt's "The Young Master Dante" at The American Place Theater in 1968. He appeared for three seasons on The Jackie Gleason Show and played the father, George Shumway, on the 1970s comedic series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. He appeared as Morty Seinfeld in the sitcom Seinfeld, in a first-season episode entitled "The Stake Out", but was replaced in the role by Barney Martin after showrunners Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld decided they wanted the character of Morty Seinfeld to be harsher, as they thought Bruns was too laid-back for the role. Films in which Bruns appeared include A Thousand Clowns (1965), Jenny (1970), The Out-of-Towners (1970), The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971), Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972), Harry and Tonto (1974), The Great Waldo Pepper (1975), Nickelodeon (1976), Corvette Summer (1978), The Stunt Man (1980), My Favorite Year (1982), Flashdance (1983), Amazon Women on the Moon (1987), Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988), Dead Men Don't Die (1991), The Opposite Sex and How to Live with Them (1993), Love Bites (1993), Pentathlon (1994), The Trigger Effect, and Ed (1996). He wrote The Character Actor's Do's, Don't and Anecdotes''', which was published in early November 2008. On television Bruns appeared in such dramas and comedies as Sanford and Son, Seinfeld, The Rat Patrol, Here's Lucy, Maude, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Secrets of Isis, The Streets of San Francisco, The Rookies, Kojak, Delvecchio, The