George Lloyd Murphy (1902 – 1992) starred in numerous Hollywood musicals as a lead song and dance man. He is relatively unknown today compared to other Hollywood icons of his era, but in his day, Murphy was one of the best known figures of the silver screen. In an acting and dancing career that kicked off in 1930 and lasted into the 1950s, he starred in over 45 musicals, including Little Miss Broadway opposite Shirley Temple. After he hung up his dancing shoes, Murphy got into politics, and ended up in the US Senate.
From Pennsylvania’s Coal Mines to Broadway
George Murphy was born in Connecticut, the son of a respected University of Pennsylvania track coach who coached the US team to first place in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. Murphy went to Yale for undergrad, but dropped out in his junior year. He then slummed around doing various odd jobs, including coal miner in Pennsylvania, before he headed to New York City, where he worked as a messenger for a Wall Street firm. In NYC, Murphy gravitated towards the stage. He started off small, as the male half of a dance duo that performed in cabarets, rich debutante coming out parties, and night clubs.
Murphy made his Broadway debut in a musical comedy in 1927, and followed that up with three more Broadway shows by 1934. That year, he relocated to the West Coast, and made his Hollywood debut in the 1934 movie, Kid Millions. He was fortunate in that he excelled as a song and dance man in an era when song and dance movies were a big deal. By the 1950s, he had starred in over 45 films, many of them MGM musicals, in which he danced and acted opposite stars such as Judy Garland in Little Nellie Kelly, and Shirley Temple in Little Miss Broadway. He also worked with Ronald Reagan, with whom he formed a close friendship and political alliance, in This is the Army.
From Dancing to Politics
During his acting career, George Murphy became active in Hollywood politics, and he served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild in the 1940s. He became known as “Hollywood’s Ambassador of Good Will”, and in 1950 he won a special Oscar for his services in presenting the movie industry to the country at large. In 1952, Murphy retired from acting and started a new career as a public relations executive, working for MGM and others in the film industry.
A Republican, Murphy was in charge of the entertainment for President Eisenhower’s 1953 and 1957 inaugurations, and was a higher up in California’s Republican Party in the 1950s. He ran for the Senate in 1964, and beat JFK’s former press secretary, Pierre Salinger. Murphy served a single term, then was defeated in his 1970 reelection bid, weakened by an ethical scandal about getting paid as a consultant for Technicolor, even as he served in the US Senate. He subsequently moved to Palm Beach, Florida, where he died in 1992 of leukemia.
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Some Sources & Further Reading
History Halls – The Men Who Made Ancient Athens: Solon
New York Times, May 5th, 1992 – George Murphy, Singer and Actor Who Became Senator, Dies at 89
Time Magazine – Top 10 Actors Turned Politicians: George Murphy
