George Murphy
George Lloyd Murphy (July 4, 1902 – May 3, 1992) was an American actor and politician. 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 American actor to be elected to statewide office in California, predating Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who each served two terms as governor.[1] He is the only United States Senator represented by a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
For other uses, see George Murphy (disambiguation).
George Murphy
May 3, 1992 (aged 89)
Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
2
Mike Murphy
Nora Long
Early life[edit]
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.[2] He was educated at Trinity-Pawling School, Peddie School and Yale University in his native New Haven.[3]
Personal life and death[edit]
Murphy was married to his ballroom dancing partner, Juliette "Julie" Henkel-Johnson, from December 18, 1926, until her death, in 1973. They had two children: Dennis Michael Murphy and Melissa Elaine Murphy.
He was married to Bette Blandi from 1982 until his death in 1992;[13] she died in 1999.
Murphy subsequently moved to Palm Beach, Florida, where he died at the age of 89, from leukemia.
Legacy[edit]
Murphy's move from the screen to California politics paved the way for the successful transitions of actors such as Ronald Reagan and later Arnold Schwarzenegger. Reagan once famously referred to George Murphy as his own "John the Baptist".
Fellow Republicans praised Murphy's ability to speak at fundraising dinners and so consequently backed his bid to become the chairman of the Senate Republican Campaign Committee.[14]
During his tenure in the Senate, Murphy created the candy desk by placing a supply of confectionery on his desk on the U.S. Senate floor. After 1971, the candy-desk duties were bequeathed to a string of successors; as of 2023, the keeper of the candy desk is Indiana Republican Todd Young.
Murphy was the subject of a song by Tom Lehrer included on his album That Was the Year That Was with the same name, which criticized Murphy's comments about Mexicans working in the US.[15]