Acting · New Haven, Connecticut, USA · Born July 4, 1902
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.
Cole Porter in Hollywood: Begin the Beguine
2003
MovieFrank Capra's American Dream
1997
as Self (archive footage)
MovieThat's Entertainment! III
1994
as (archive footage)
MovieThat's Dancing!
1985
as From 'Broadway Rhythm' (archive footage)
MovieThat's Entertainment!
1974
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
TVThe Merv Griffin Show
1962
as Self
TVWestinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958
TVThe Thin Man
1957
TVMGM Parade
1955
as Host
1955 Motion Picture Theatre Celebration
1955
The Hoaxters
1952
as Narrator (voice)
MovieWalk East on Beacon
1952
as Inspector James 'Jim' Belden
MovieTalk About a Stranger
1952
as Robert Fontaine Sr.
MovieIt's a Big Country
1951
as Mr. Patrick Callaghan
MovieNo Questions Asked
1951
as Police Insp. Matt Duggan
MovieBattleground
1949
as 'Pop' Stazak
MovieBorder Incident
1949
as Jack Bearnes
MovieBig City
1948
as Patrick O'Donnell
MovieTenth Avenue Angel
1948
as Steve Abbutt
MovieCynthia
1947
as Larry Bishop
MovieThe Arnelo Affair
1947
as Theodore 'Ted' Parkson
MovieUp Goes Maisie
1946
as Joseph Morton
MovieHaving Wonderful Crime
1945
as Jake Justus
MovieStep Lively
1944
as Gordon Miller
MovieShow Business
1944
as George Doane
MovieBroadway Rhythm
1944
as Johnny Demming
MovieTwenty Years After
1944
as (archive footage)
MovieThis Is the Army
1943
as Jerry Jones
MovieBataan
1943
as Lt. Steve Bentley
MovieShow-Business at War
1943
as Self
MovieThe Powers Girl
1943
as Jerry Hendricks
MovieThe Navy Comes Through
1942
as Lt. Thomas L. 'Tom' Sands
MovieFor Me and My Gal
1942
as Jimmy K. Metcalf
MovieThe Mayor of 44th Street
1942
as Joe Jonathan
MovieRise and Shine
1941
as Jimmy McGonagle
MovieThey Died with Their Boots On
1941
as Cavalryman (uncredited)
MovieRingside Maisie
1941
as Francis X. 'Skeets' / 'Skeeter' Maguire
MovieTom, Dick and Harry
1941
as Tom
MovieA Girl, a Guy, and a Gob
1941
as Claudius "Coffee Cup" Cup
MovieLittle Nellie Kelly
1940
as Jerry Kelly
MovieA New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
1940
as Self
MoviePublic Deb No. 1
1940
as Alan Blake
MovieTwo Girls on Broadway
1940
as Eddie Kerns
MovieBroadway Melody of 1940
1940
as King Shaw
MovieRhumba Rhythm at the Hollywood La Conga
1939
as Himself (uncredited)
MovieHollywood Hobbies
1939
as Self (uncredited)
MovieRisky Business
1939
as Dan Clifford
MovieHold That Co-ed
1938
as Rusty Stevens
MovieLetter of Introduction
1938
as Barry Paige
MovieLittle Miss Broadway
1938
as Roger Wendling
MovieYou're a Sweetheart
1937
as Hal Adams
MovieThe Women Men Marry
1937
as Bill Raeburn
MovieBroadway Melody of 1938
1937
as Sonny Ledford
MovieLondon by Night
1937
as Michael Denis
MovieTop of the Town
1937
as Ted Lane
MovieScreen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)
1936
as Self
Violets in Spring
1936
as Charlie Hall
MovieWoman Trap
1936
as Keat Shevlin
MovieThe Public Menace
1935
as Edward Joseph "Red" Foster
MovieAfter the Dance
1935
as Jerry Davis
MovieI'll Love You Always
1935
as Carl Brent
MovieJealousy
1934
as Larry O'Roarke
MovieKid Millions
1934
as Jerry Lane
