The actor Don Murray, who has died aged 94, made his big screen debut in 1956 opposite Marilyn Monroe in Bus Stop. His performance as the gangling, wide-eyed cowboy who falls for a saloon bar singer earned him an Oscar nomination as best supporting actor and a Bafta nomination as most promising newcomer. Monroe was superb as Chérie and Murray as Beauregard, besotted and eager to marry, made the perfect foil.
In 1957, his acting career thrived with two notable roles. In The Bachelor Party, he portrayed a married man who was dissatisfied with the questionable events at a bachelor party. In A Hatful of Rain, he played a Korean war veteran who struggled with a heroin addiction. The director, Fred Zinnemann, claimed it was the bleakest film he had ever made. Murray’s performance showcased his dedication that would become a defining aspect of his work. Unlike many actors, he allowed his personal values and political views to heavily influence his career choices.
Don was born and raised in a showbusiness environment, with his mother Ethel being a former Ziegfeld girl and his father Dennis working as a stage manager and choreographer. He started acting in high school and continued his education at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Don’s career began in summer stock before making his Broadway debut in 1951 at the age of 21. However, a year later, he declined to fight in the Korean War due to his religious beliefs and instead spent the next three years assisting refugees.
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In 1955, he came back to the stage in the production of Thornton Wilder’s play, The Skin of Our Teeth. He then appeared as Henry Antrobus in the television adaptation of the play. The director Joshua Logan saw his performance and, known for his ability to recognize attractive and gifted actors, cast Murray in Bus Stop. During this time, Murray became close friends with actress Hope Lange who also made her film debut in Bus Stop. Their friendship turned into a romantic relationship and they got married in 1956.
In 1957, he appeared in intense dramatic films, but in 1958 he portrayed a seemingly innocent cowboy seeking revenge in the western From Hell to Texas. He continued to stay in the western genre for These Thousand Hills and also took on the lead role in a televised adaptation of Billy Budd in 1959. That same year, he starred alongside James Cagney in Shake Hands With the Devil, which was the first movie filmed at Ardmore Studios in Ireland. In the film, he played an Irish revolutionary who becomes disillusioned with the extremism of his leader. In 1960, Murray returned to the western genre with One Foot in Hell.
Murray’s accomplishments allowed him to create a film of his preference. In addition to producing, he also collaborated as a writer (under the name Don Deer) and played a lead role in The Hoodlum Priest (1961). The movie centered on Father Charles Dismas Clark, who aided troubled youth and ex-convicts in St. Louis during the 1920s. This impactful film took a bold stance against capital punishment and advocated for the rehabilitation of criminals.
Afterwards came Otto Preminger’s most successful film, Advise and Consent (1962), a political thriller. Murray was part of a star-studded cast (including Henry Fonda, Charles Laughton, Walter Pidgeon, and Lew Ayres), playing a senator who is blackmailed and ultimately takes his own life due to a homosexual relationship during his time in the military in Hawaii. The film’s political scheme, the character’s suicide, and the inclusion of a gay theme were all highly debated during that time period.
A film called Escape from East Berlin (also known as Tunnel 28), directed by Robert Siodmak in Germany, was a docudrama based on a real-life event about a group of people who escaped to the west through a tunnel. Murray continued his interest in true stories by starring in One Man’s Way (1964), which was about a journalist who becomes an evangelist. In the often overlooked drama Baby the Rain Must Fall (1965), he played a supporting role alongside Steve McQueen. This powerful story of a troubled man faced challenges due to interference from the studio and a lack of courage upon its initial release.
Such committed movies became increasingly hard to find, and Murray made a couple of westerns before heading for Britain to take the lead as the Roman governor Justinian in a turgid costume romp, The Viking Queen (1967).
Following his role in Sweet Love, Bitter, a dark biographical film loosely based on jazz icon Charlie “Bird” Parker, and his appearance in the television series The Outcasts, Murray went on to write and star in Childish Things (1969). In this film, he portrayed an alcoholic former soldier who becomes involved in criminal activities but finds redemption through love. While Murray’s sincerity was evident, his decision to work with director John Derek resulted in a blend of exploitation and moral lessons. Taking matters into his own hands, Murray made his directorial debut with The Cross and the Switchblade (1970), a story about a passionate minister set in the streets of New York. The movie featured singer and occasional actor Pat Boone, who shared Murray’s religious beliefs. However, it did not perform well at the box office and faced criticism for its overly preachy tone.
In his 40s, Murray made the decision to primarily focus on commercial films. Some notable movies he appeared in during this time were Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972), Justin Morgan Had a Horse (1972), Cotter (1973), and the intense thriller Deadly Hero (1975), where he played a detective. He also took a break from acting to produce Damien’s Island (1976), a film about a priest who worked with leprosy patients and ultimately succumbed to the disease himself. However, Murray’s version of the true story was never released. He later returned to television, appearing in projects such as the mini-series How the West Was Won (1977), Rainbow (1978), where he portrayed Judy Garland’s father, and a three-year role in the soap opera Knots Landing (1979-82).
He worked occasionally in good TV movies such as Something in Common (1986) and, less often, in memorable films including Francis Ford Coppola’s undervalued Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), as father to Peggy Sue (Kathleen Turner), and a delightful romance by Alan Rudolph, Made in Heaven (1987). But after the lamentable Ghosts Can’t Do It (1989), directed by John Derek, Murray did not appear on screen for five years, and later appeared infrequently and only in supporting roles.
In 2001, he played a prominent part in Island Prey alongside Olivia Hussey. After not directing for 30 years, he returned to the director’s chair to create Elvis Is Alive, a comedic film about a Presley impersonator in Paris who could possibly be the genuine article. Murray also acted in this film, while his son Sean contributed to the music. In 2017, he was enticed out of retirement in Santa Barbara to star in the revived television show, Twin Peaks.
Murray has two children, Christopher and Patricia, from his initial marriage that resulted in divorce. He also has three children, Colleen, Sean, and Michael, from his second marriage to Bettie Johnson in 1962.
Source: theguardian.com
