Bob Martwick, discoverer of Morris the Cat, dies

CHICAGO (AP) — Bob Martwick, who discovered and handled Morris the Cat, died Sunday. He was 75.

A lifelong pet lover and one-time owner of a kennel in suburban Lombard, Ill., Martwick found the original Morris at a shelter in nearby Hinsdale in the 1960s, when Starkist Seafood was looking for a cat to star in television advertisements for its Nine Lives cat food.

The original Morris died in the 1970s, but Martwick also served as handler for the second Morris. In all, Martwick spent 27 years touring the nation with the two finicky orange cats.

Martwick also helped discover Spuds MacKenzie, the bull terrier who pitched beer for Anheuser-Busch.