Watch George Murphy Videos. Free Celebrity Videos Online. Pictures. Bio. Filmography. OVGuide.

Biography: George Murphy

A Yankee Doodle dandy born on the fourth of July, actor George Murphy was the son of an Olympic track coach. He tried the Navy at age 15, but soon returned home to complete his high school and college education. He never finished college, choosing instead to pursue a dancing career. In 1927, Murphy and his partner-wife Julie Johnson made it to Broadway; by the early 1930s Mrs. Murphy had retired and George had become a star solo dancer. He made his screen bow in support of Eddie Cantor, Ethel Merman, and Ann Sothern in Kid Millions (1934). Never a major star, Murphy was an agreeable presence in several big-budget musicals of the 1930s and 1940s, and later essayed straight dramatic parts in such films as Border Incident (1949) and Battleground (1949). He also crossed paths with two of his future fellow Republican politicos, dancing with Shirley Temple in Little Miss Broadway (1938) and playing the father of Ronald Reagan (nine years Murphy's junior!) in This Is the Army (1943). Like Reagan, Murphy was a Democrat until becoming involved in intra-Hollywood politics. Changing to Republicanism in 1939, Murphy worked to cement relationships between local government and the movie industry, and in 1945 he served the first of two terms as President of the Screen Actors Guild (Reagan was, of course, one of his successors). After his last film, an odd MGM second feature about mob mentality titled Talk About a Stranger (1952), Murphy retired from show business to devote his full time to political and business activities. He was instrumental in getting Desilu Studios, the TV factory created by Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, off the ground in the late 1950s, serving for several years on its board of directors. Murphy became one of the first actors to throw his hat into the political arena in 1964 when he was elected to the U.S. Senate. Despite throat surgery which prevented him from speaking above a hoarse whisper, Murphy remained active in Republican circles into the 1970s, helping smooth the path to several elections of increasing importance for his old pal Ronald Reagan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide less

Find videos of George MurphyFree George Murphy videos

Movies (43)
Videos

Talk About a Stranger (1952)
Tags: Drama Mystery
Length: 65min
Young Robert Fontaine, Jr. (Billy Gray) lives with his hard-working father (George Murphy) and mother (Nancy Davis), who is soon to give birth to a second child, on their northern California citrus farm. He's lonely on the farm and has been saving to...
Find Videos

Battleground (1949)
Cast: Marshall Thompson William Wellman
Tags: War Combat Films War Epic
Length: 118min
Incoming MGM production head Dore Schary ramrodded Battleground into the studio's schedule over the virulent protests of MGM boss Louis Mayer. The result was an award-winning box-office hit, as well as the beginning of the end of Mayer's power. This...
Find Videos

Walk East on Beacon (1952)
Cast: Finlay Currie
Tags: Spy Film Action Drama Mystery
Length: 98min
Louis de Rochemont, former March of Time producer whose "docudrama" films proved so popular in the 1940s, offers more of the same in Walk East on Beacon. Based on an article written (or ghostwritten) by J. Edgar Hoover, the film concerns the efforts...
Find Videos

The Big City (1948)
Cast: Stanley Donen Robert Preston
Tags: Musical Drama Romantic Comedy Domestic Comedy
Length: 103min
MGM's all-purpose title The Big City was deployed once more for this treacly 1948 drama. To prevent orphaned Midge (Margaret O'Brien) from being sent to an institution, Protestant minister Andrews (Robert Preston), Jewish cantor Feldman (Danny Thomas)...
Find Videos

Border Incident (1949)
Tags: Crime Drama Drama
Length: 92min
As far removed from a "typical" MGM picture as it was possible to get back in 1949, Border Incident is a gritty, realistic crime melodrama. The story concerns the efforts by both the Mexican and American governments to stop the smuggling of Mexican...
Find Videos

No Questions Asked (1951)
Tags: Crime Thriller Thriller
Length: 81min
Barry Sullivan plays an eager young lawyer who is willing to sacrifice any and all scruples on the upward climb. He is put on retainer by a gangster, and soon is ankle-deep in an insurance racket. When he wants to pull out, Sullivan is framed for a...
Find Videos

Up Goes Maisie (1946)
Cast: Ann Sothern
Tags: Comedy
Length: 89min
MGM's first "Maisie" entry in two years, Up Goes Maisie once more stars Ann Sothern as eternally stranded showgirl Maisie Revere. Our heroine manages to secure a job as secretary to inventor Joseph Morton (George Murphy), who has developed a...
Find Videos

The Arnelo Affair (1947)
Cast: Dean Stockwell Arch Oboler
Tags: Mystery Crime Romance
Length: 86min
On the whole, the films of producer-writer-director Arch Oboler seldom came up to the lofty standards of his radio work, but each of his movie projects had a few meritorious moments. One of the better Oboler film efforts was The Arnelo Affair,...
Find Videos

Tenth Avenue Angel (1948)
Cast: Angela Lansbury
Tags: Drama
Length: 74min
Filmed in 1946, Tenth Avenue Angel is yet another treacly vehicle for little Margaret O'Brien. The juvenile star is cast as Flavia Mills, an 8-year-old tenement dweller who insinuates herself into the lives of several down-and-outers, among them...
Find Videos

Cynthia (1947)
Cast: Elizabeth Taylor S.Z. Sakall George Murphy Mary Astor Robert Z. Leonard
Tags: Romance Family Drama Comedy Romantic Comedy
Length: 98min
Fifteen-year-old Elizabeth Taylor receives her first screen kiss in the innocuous MGM confection Cynthia. Taylor plays the title character, a sickly, sheltered young lady who is never permitted the companionship of other teenagers. Frustrated though...
Find Videos

George Murphy

Biography: George Murphy

Searching for videos...

Related Clips

Share This Page

Video Search