Murray Hamilton
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Mar 24, 1923
- Died
- Sep 1, 1986 (aged 63)
- Place of birth
- Washington, North Carolina, USA
- Credits
- 123
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Murray Hamilton (March 24, 1923 – September 1, 1986) was an American actor. He is best known for his role as Mayor Larry Vaughn in the 1975 film "Jaws" and its sequels, "Jaws 2" and "Jaws: The Revenge". Hamilton also starred in several other well-known films such as "The Graduate", "The Hustler" and "The Amityville Horror". He had a long career in both film and TV and appeared in over 70 films and TV series.
Early life
Hamilton was born in Washington, North Carolina. He displayed an early interest in performing during his days at Washington High School just before America's entry into World War II. Bad hearing kept him from enlisting, so he moved to New York City as a 19-year-old to find a career on stage.
Career
In an early role, he performed on stage with Henry Fonda in the wartime story Mister Roberts as a replacement for David Wayne, playing Ensign Pulver. In 1960, he was onstage again with Fonda in Critic's Choice; Howard Taubman of The New York Times called him "properly obnoxious as the director". Hamilton was teamed once more with Fonda in 1968 for the drama film The Boston Strangler.
Hamilton's best-known performance is as Larry Vaughn, the mayor of Amity, in the Steven Spielberg thriller Jaws (1975). Hamilton reprised the role in the sequel, Jaws 2 in 1978. He had agreed to reprise the role again in Jaws: The Revenge, but died in 1986, before production began. He was just 63 years old. Hamilton complained in a newspaper article about being typecast, stating "After I was first cast as a heavy on The Untouchables, I couldn't ever persuade them [producers] that I could also do something else." While comic roles were rare for Hamilton during his Hollywood career, he had one opposite Andy Griffith in the 1958 military comedy No Time for Sergeants, as well as an appearance in Steven Spielberg's raucous comedy 1941, released in 1979. He also appeared in a comedic guest spot on Mama's Family in the second-season episode "Mama Cries Uncle" as Uncle Roy. He was more often cast in dramatic works, such as the science-fiction drama Seconds (1966), which starred Rock Hudson. In his most high-profile performances, Hamilton appeared with Paul Newman in The Hustler (1961), playing Findley, a wealthy billiards player who gambles for high stakes, and with Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate (1967) as Mr. Robinson, husband of the seductress Mrs. Robinson. In 1975, Hamilton appeared again with Newman in The Drowning Pool. He also worked with Robert Redford in a pair of films, The Way We Were (1973) and Brubaker (1980). In early 1982 he appeared as a judge presiding over an impromptu court case on an episode of Bret Maverick. Death
Hamilton died of lung cancer at age 63, and is interred at Oakdale Cemetery in his native Washington, North Carolina. He and his wife, Terri DeMarco Hamilton (of The DeMarco Sisters), had a son, David. CLR
Known for
Filmography
Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story
2025Movie
Self
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
1987Movie
Self (archive footage)
The Last Days of Patton
1986Movie
Gen. Hobart "Hap" Gay
Whoops Apocalypse
1986Movie
Jack 'Kill the Commies' Preston (Former US President)
Blacke's Magic
1986TV
The Golden Girls
1985TV
Big Daddy
Hail to the Chief
1985TV
Senator Sam Cotton
Murder, She Wrote
1984TV
Bud Michaels
Too Scared to Scream
1984Movie
Jack Oberman
Cover Up
1984TV
Summer Girl
1983Movie
Jack Reardon
Mama's Family
1983TV
Mazes and Monsters
1982Movie
Lt. John Martini
Hysterical
1982Movie
The Mayor
Matt Houston
1982TV
All the Way Home
1981Movie
Joel Lynch
Bret Maverick
1981TV
Brubaker
1980Movie
Deach
Swan Song
1980Movie
Jack McCauley
1941
1979Movie
Claude Crumn
The Amityville Horror
1979Movie
Father Ryan
B. J. and the Bear
1979TV
Rutherford T. Grant
A Last Cry for Help
1979Movie
Ralph Muir
Donovan's Kid
1979Movie
Henry Carpenter
Jaws 2
1978Movie
Mayor Larry Vaughn
Casey's Shadow
1978Movie
Tom Patterson
Killer on Board
1977Movie
Dr. Ned Folger
Damnation Alley
1977Movie
Gen. Landers
Murder at the World Series
1977Movie
Harvey Murkison
Alice
1976TV
Rich Man, Poor Man
1976TV
Sid Gossett
Ellery Queen
1975TV
The Drowning Pool
1975Movie
J.Hugh Kilbourne
Jaws
1975Movie
Vaughn
After the Fall
1974Movie
Mickey
Kojak
1973TV
Harry Harmon
The Way We Were
1973Movie
Brooks Carpenter
Needles and Pins
1973TV
Murdock's Gang
1973Movie
Harold Talbot
Police Story
1973TV
Hawkins
1973TV
Frank Guilfoyle
Barnaby Jones
1973TV
Clete Belford
Incident on a Dark Street
1973Movie
Edmund Schilling
Deadly Harvest
1972Movie
Sheriff Bill Jessup
The Streets of San Francisco
1972TV
The Failing of Raymond
1971Movie
Sgt. Manzak
The Harness
1971Movie
Roy Kern
McMillan & Wife
1971TV
A Tattered Web
1971Movie
Sgt. Joe Marcus
Cannon
1971TV
Cannon
1971Movie
Virgil Holley
Vanished
1971TV
Nick McCann
Night Gallery
1970TV
McCloud
1970TV
Donald Yates, Adrian Becker
Medical Center
1969TV
Robert Jennings
If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium
1969Movie
Fred Ferguson
The Brotherhood
1968Movie
Jim Egan
Danger Has Two Faces
1968Movie
Colonel Jack Forbes
The Boston Strangler
1968Movie
Det. Frank McAfee
No Way to Treat a Lady
1968Movie
Inspector Haines
Sergeant Ryker
1968Movie
Capt. Appleton
The Graduate
1967Movie
Mr. Robinson
A Bell for Adano
1967Movie
Sgt. Leonard Borth
Judd, for the Defense
1967TV
The Invaders
1967TV
Lewis Dunhill
Seconds
1966Movie
Charlie Evans
Mission: Impossible
1966TV
The Man Who Never Was
1966TV
Jack Forbes
An American Dream
1966Movie
Arthur Kabot
Inherit the Wind
1965Movie
E.K. Hornbeck
The F.B.I.
1965TV
Mike Kessler, Emory Hale, Richard Mills, Doug McElroy
Run for Your Life
1965TV
Dr. Raphael
The Cardinal
1963Movie
Lafe
Kraft Suspense Theatre
1963TV
Capt. Appleton
The Fugitive
1963TV
Mel Starling, Joe Steelman
13 Frightened Girls
1963Movie
Wally Sanders
Papa's Delicate Condition
1963Movie
Mr. Harvey
The Eleventh Hour
1962TV
The Farmer's Daughter
1962Movie
Nordick
Target: The Corruptors!
1961TV
Dr. Kildare
1961TV
Dr. Haldore Mattern, Lt. Dan Hargrave
The Hustler
1961Movie
Findley
The DuPont Show of the Week
1961TV
Bob Fay
The Defenders
1961TV
Miles Morgan, D.A. Sid Morgan, District Attorney, Bryan Phelps, Tark Bennett
Route 66
1960TV
Escape to Sonoita
1960Movie
Marsh
Tall Story
1960Movie
Coach Sandy Hardy
The Twilight Zone
1959TV
Mr. Death
The FBI Story
1959Movie
Sam Crandall
Men Into Space
1959TV
Love and Marriage
1959TV
Steve Baker
Anatomy of a Murder
1959Movie
Alphonse Paquette
Houseboat
1958Movie
Capt. Alan Wilson
Naked City
1958TV
D.A. Thomas Stevenson, Matt Orman
No Time for Sergeants
1958Movie
Irving S. Blanchard
Too Much, Too Soon
1958Movie
Charlie Snow
Darby's Rangers
1958Movie
Sims Delancey
The Real McCoys
1957TV
Perry Mason
1957TV
John Davis 'Johnny' Hale
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957TV
Jeanne Eagels
1957Movie
Chick O'Hara
The Spirit of St. Louis
1957Movie
Bud Gurney
The Big Slide
1956Movie
Chick Tolliver
The Girl He Left Behind
1956Movie
Sgt. Clyde
Wire Service
1956TV
Ed Holley, Frank Lunt
Toward the Unknown
1956Movie
Maj. Bromo Lee
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955TV
Marsh
Gunsmoke
1955TV
Jake Buley, Webb Cutter, Calhoun
The Millionaire
1955TV
Chris Daniels
The Wonderful World of Disney
1954TV
Henry Carpenter
Inner Sanctum
1954TV
Letter to Loretta
1953TV
Mike Finn
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951TV
E.K. Hornbeck, Sgt. Leonard Borth
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951TV
The Whistle at Eaton Falls
1951Movie
Al Webster
Bright Victory
1951Movie
Pete Hamilton
Lux Video Theatre
1950TV
Suspense
1949TV
Snow Pearson
Studio One
1948TV
Joe Bristol
The Philco Television Playhouse
1948TV
Something for the Boys
1944Movie
Soldier (uncredited)
Reckless Age
1944Movie
Member of Soldier Quartet
Song of the Open Road
1944Movie
Crop Corps Kid (uncredited)