George Murphy
American actor and politician
Who was George Murphy?
George Lloyd Murphy (July 4, 1902 – May 3, 1992) was an American actor and politician. Murphy was born in New Haven, Connecticut, of Irish Catholic extraction, the son of Michael Charles "Mike" Murphy, athletic trainer and coach, and the former Nora Long. He was educated at Trinity-Pawling School, Peddie School and Yale University in his native New Haven. He was the president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1944 to 1946, and was awarded an honorary Oscar in 1951. In movies, Murphy was known as a song-and-dance man and appeared in many big-budget musicals such as Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937), Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940) and For Me and My Gal (1942).
Historical significance
Murphy was a song-and-dance leading man in many big-budget Hollywood musicals from 1930 to 1952. Murphy served from 1965 to 1971 as U.S. Senator from California, the first notable American actor to be elected to statewide office in California, predating Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who each served two terms as governor. He is the only United States senator represented by a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
