George Murphy
Biography
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.
Personal Details
Also Known As
Movies (46)
Cole Porter in Hollywood: Begin the Beguine
2003
Frank Capra's American Dream
as Self (archive footage)
1997
That's Entertainment! III
as (archive footage)
1994
That's Dancing!
as From 'Broadway Rhythm' (archive footage)
1985
That's Entertainment!
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
1974
1955 Motion Picture Theatre Celebration
1955
The Hoaxters
as Narrator (voice)
1952
Walk East on Beacon
as Inspector James 'Jim' Belden
1952
Talk About a Stranger
as Robert Fontaine Sr.
1952
It's a Big Country
as Mr. Patrick Callaghan
1951
No Questions Asked
as Police Insp. Matt Duggan
1951
Battleground
as 'Pop' Stazak
1949
Border Incident
as Jack Bearnes
1949
Big City
as Patrick O'Donnell
1948
Tenth Avenue Angel
as Steve Abbutt
1948
Cynthia
as Larry Bishop
1947
The Arnelo Affair
as Theodore 'Ted' Parkson
1947
Up Goes Maisie
as Joseph Morton
1946
Having Wonderful Crime
as Jake Justus
1945
Step Lively
as Gordon Miller
1944
Show Business
as George Doane
1944
Broadway Rhythm
as Johnny Demming
1944
Twenty Years After
as (archive footage)
1944
This Is the Army
as Jerry Jones
1943
Bataan
as Lt. Steve Bentley
1943
Show-Business at War
as Self
1943
The Powers Girl
as Jerry Hendricks
1943
The Navy Comes Through
as Lt. Thomas L. 'Tom' Sands
1942
For Me and My Gal
as Jimmy K. Metcalf
1942
The Mayor of 44th Street
as Joe Jonathan
1942
Rise and Shine
as Jimmy McGonagle
1941
They Died with Their Boots On
as Cavalryman (uncredited)
1941
Ringside Maisie
as Francis X. 'Skeets' / 'Skeeter' Maguire
1941
Tom, Dick and Harry
as Tom
1941
A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob
as Claudius "Coffee Cup" Cup
1941
Little Nellie Kelly
as Jerry Kelly
1940
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
as Self
1940
Public Deb No. 1
as Alan Blake
1940
Two Girls on Broadway
as Eddie Kerns
1940
Broadway Melody of 1940
as King Shaw
1940
Rhumba Rhythm at the Hollywood La Conga
as Himself (uncredited)
1939
Hollywood Hobbies
as Self (uncredited)
1939
Risky Business
as Dan Clifford
1939
Hold That Co-ed
as Rusty Stevens
1938
Letter of Introduction
as Barry Paige
1938
Little Miss Broadway
as Roger Wendling
1938
