George Murphy
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Jul 4, 1902
- Died
- May 3, 1992 (aged 89)
- Place of birth
- New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Credits
- 63
George Murphy was an American dancer and stage, screen, and television actor, as well as a United States Senator. Murphy was a song-and-dance leading man in many big-budget Hollywood musicals from 1930 to 1952. He was the president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1944 to 1946, and was awarded an honorary Oscar in 1951. Murphy served from 1965 to 1971 as U.S. Senator from California, the first notable U.S. actor to be elected to statewide office in California, predating Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger. He is the only United States Senator represented by a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In movies, Murphy was known as a song-and-dance man and appeared in many big-budget musicals such as Broadway Melody of 1938, Broadway Melody of 1940 and For Me and My Gal. He made his movie debut shortly after talking pictures had replaced silent movies in 1930, and his career continued until he retired as an actor in 1952, at the age of 50. During World War II, he organized entertainment for American troops.
In 1951, he was awarded an honorary Academy Award. He was never nominated for an Oscar in any competitive category.
He was the president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1944 to 1946. He was also a vice president of Desilu Productions and of the Technicolor Corporation. He was director of entertainment for presidential inaugurations in 1953, 1957 and 1961.
Known for
They Died with Their Boots On
1941Movie
Cavalryman (uncredited)
Battleground
1949Movie
'Pop' Stazak
That's Entertainment!
1974Movie
(archive footage) (uncredited)
For Me and My Gal
1942Movie
Jimmy K. Metcalf
Border Incident
1949Movie
Jack Bearnes
That's Entertainment! III
1994Movie
(archive footage) (uncredited)
Filmography
Cole Porter in Hollywood: Begin the Beguine
2003Movie
Frank Capra's American Dream
1997Movie
Self (archive footage)
That's Entertainment! III
1994Movie
(archive footage) (uncredited)
That's Dancing!
1985Movie
From 'Broadway Rhythm' (archive footage)
That's Entertainment!
1974Movie
(archive footage) (uncredited)
The Merv Griffin Show
1962TV
Self
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958TV
The Thin Man
1957TV
MGM Parade
1955TV
Host
1955 Motion Picture Theatre Celebration
1955Movie
The Hoaxters
1952Movie
Narrator (voice)
Walk East on Beacon
1952Movie
Inspector James 'Jim' Belden
Talk About a Stranger
1952Movie
Robert Fontaine Sr.
It's a Big Country
1951Movie
Mr. Patrick Callaghan
No Questions Asked
1951Movie
Police Insp. Matt Duggan
Battleground
1949Movie
'Pop' Stazak
Border Incident
1949Movie
Jack Bearnes
Big City
1948Movie
Patrick O'Donnell
Tenth Avenue Angel
1948Movie
Steve Abbutt
Cynthia
1947Movie
Larry Bishop
The Arnelo Affair
1947Movie
Theodore 'Ted' Parkson
Up Goes Maisie
1946Movie
Joseph Morton
Having Wonderful Crime
1945Movie
Jake Justus
Step Lively
1944Movie
Gordon Miller
Show Business
1944Movie
George Doane
Broadway Rhythm
1944Movie
Johnny Demming
Twenty Years After
1944Movie
(archive footage)
This Is the Army
1943Movie
Jerry Jones
Bataan
1943Movie
Lt. Steve Bentley
Show-Business at War
1943Movie
Self
The Powers Girl
1943Movie
Jerry Hendricks
The Navy Comes Through
1942Movie
Lt. Thomas L. 'Tom' Sands
For Me and My Gal
1942Movie
Jimmy K. Metcalf
The Mayor of 44th Street
1942Movie
Joe Jonathan
Rise and Shine
1941Movie
Jimmy McGonagle
They Died with Their Boots On
1941Movie
Cavalryman (uncredited)
Ringside Maisie
1941Movie
Francis X. 'Skeets' / 'Skeeter' Maguire
Tom, Dick and Harry
1941Movie
Tom
A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob
1941Movie
Claudius "Coffee Cup" Cup
Little Nellie Kelly
1940Movie
Jerry Kelly
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
1940Movie
Self
Public Deb No. 1
1940Movie
Alan Blake
Two Girls on Broadway
1940Movie
Eddie Kerns
Broadway Melody of 1940
1940Movie
King Shaw
Rhumba Rhythm at the Hollywood La Conga
1939Movie
Himself (uncredited)
Hollywood Hobbies
1939Movie
Self (uncredited)
Risky Business
1939Movie
Dan Clifford
Hold That Co-ed
1938Movie
Rusty Stevens
Letter of Introduction
1938Movie
Barry Paige
Little Miss Broadway
1938Movie
Roger Wendling
You're a Sweetheart
1937Movie
Hal Adams
The Women Men Marry
1937Movie
Bill Raeburn
Broadway Melody of 1938
1937Movie
Sonny Ledford
London by Night
1937Movie
Michael Denis
Top of the Town
1937Movie
Ted Lane
Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)
1936Movie
Self
Violets in Spring
1936Movie
Charlie Hall
Woman Trap
1936Movie
Keat Shevlin
The Public Menace
1935Movie
Edward Joseph "Red" Foster
After the Dance
1935Movie
Jerry Davis
I'll Love You Always
1935Movie
Carl Brent
Jealousy
1934Movie
Larry O'Roarke
Kid Millions
1934Movie
Jerry Lane