George Murphy
Known for: Acting
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.
Filmography
Series
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
1962
Series
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958
Series
MGM Parade
Host
1955
Series
The Thin Man
1957
Film
Show Business
George Doane
1944
Film
They Died with Their Boots On
Cavalryman (uncredited)
1941
Film
Battleground
'Pop' Stazak
1949
Film
That's Entertainment! III
(archive footage)
1994
Film
That's Entertainment!
(archive footage) (uncredited)
1974
Film
Step Lively
Gordon Miller
1944
Film
That's Dancing!
From 'Broadway Rhythm' (archive footage)
1985
Film
Frank Capra's American Dream
Self (archive footage)
1997
Film
This Is the Army
Jerry Jones
1943
Film
Border Incident
Jack Bearnes
1949
Film
Ringside Maisie
Francis X. 'Skeets' / 'Skeeter' Maguire
1941
Film
Woman Trap
Keat Shevlin
1936
Film
Twenty Years After
(archive footage)
1944
Film
It's a Big Country
Mr. Patrick Callaghan
1951
Film
Bataan
Lt. Steve Bentley
1943
Film
Broadway Melody of 1940
King Shaw
1940
Film
Little Miss Broadway
Roger Wendling
1938
Film
Tenth Avenue Angel
Steve Abbutt
1948
Film
The Women Men Marry
Bill Raeburn
1937
Film
Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)
Self
1936
Film
For Me and My Gal
Jimmy K. Metcalf
1942
Film
Letter of Introduction
Barry Paige
1938
Film
The Mayor of 44th Street
Joe Jonathan
1942
The Hoaxters
Narrator (voice)
1952
Film
Jealousy
Larry O'Roarke
1934
Film
Broadway Melody of 1938
Sonny Ledford
1937
Film
London by Night
Michael Denis
1937
Film
Up Goes Maisie
Joseph Morton
1946
Film
The Powers Girl
Jerry Hendricks
1943
Film
Tom, Dick and Harry
Tom
1941
Film
I'll Love You Always
Carl Brent
1935
Film
Cynthia
Larry Bishop
1947
Film
You're a Sweetheart
Hal Adams
1937
Film
Kid Millions
Jerry Lane
1934
Film
No Questions Asked
Police Insp. Matt Duggan
1951
Film
Show-Business at War
Self
1943
Film
Hollywood Hobbies
Self (uncredited)
1939
Film
The Navy Comes Through
Lt. Thomas L. 'Tom' Sands
1942
Film
Broadway Rhythm
Johnny Demming
1944
Film
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
Self
1940
Film
After the Dance
Jerry Davis
1935
Film
The Public Menace
Edward Joseph "Red" Foster
1935
Film
Hold That Co-ed
Rusty Stevens
1938
Film
Big City
Patrick O'Donnell
1948
Film
A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob
Claudius "Coffee Cup" Cup
1941
Film
Two Girls on Broadway
Eddie Kerns
1940
Film
Public Deb No. 1
Alan Blake
1940
Film
Walk East on Beacon
Inspector James 'Jim' Belden
1952
Film
Little Nellie Kelly
Jerry Kelly
1940
Film
Rise and Shine
Jimmy McGonagle
1941
Film
The Arnelo Affair
Theodore 'Ted' Parkson
1947
Film
Rhumba Rhythm at the Hollywood La Conga
Himself (uncredited)
1939
Film
Top of the Town
Ted Lane
1937
Violets in Spring
Charlie Hall
1936
Film
Risky Business
Dan Clifford
1939
Film
Talk About a Stranger
Robert Fontaine Sr.
1952
Film
Having Wonderful Crime
Jake Justus
1945
Cole Porter in Hollywood: Begin the Beguine
2003
1955 Motion Picture Theatre Celebration
1955