Ken Murray

Person Details

Birthday: 1903-07-14 18:13:45

Death: 1988-10-12 18:13:45

Aliases: No known aliases

Gender: Male

Place of birth: New York City, New York, USA

Homepage:

Movie Involvements: 20

TV Involvements: 4

Most Famous Work

Biography

Ken Murray (born Kenneth Abner Doncourt, July 14, 1903 – October 12, 1988) was an American comedian, actor, radio and television personality and author. After finding success on the vaudeville stage, Murray moved to Hollywood and made his film debut in the 1929 romantic drama Half Marriage, followed by a role in Leathernecking in 1930. Murray was the host of a weekly radio variety show (The Ken Murray Show) on NBC 1932-33 and on CBS 1936–37. He later was the original host (1945-57) of Queen for a Day, on the Mutual Broadcasting System radio show, which was simulcast on KTSL (now KCBS-TV), Channel 2 in Los Angeles. During World War II, Murray was one of the many celebrities to volunteer at the Hollywood Canteen. In 1947, he produced Bill and Coo, a feature film using trained birds and other animals as actors. Bill and Coo won a special Academy Award for "novel and entertaining use of the medium of motion picture" and "artistry and patience" . He was also the host of The Ken Murray Show, a weekly music and comedy show on CBS Television that ran from 1950 to 1953. The show was the first to win a Freedom Foundation Award. Murray also guest starred on several television series, including The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford and The Bing Crosby Show. Murray produced and co-starred as "Smiling Billy Murray" in a 1953 film, The Marshal's Daughter, a western that featured his protege Laurie Anders in the title role, her sole film performance. In 1962, Murray portrayed the top hat wearing, cigar chewing, drunken Doc Willoughby in John Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance starring John Wayne and James Stewart, arguably his most memorable screen role. Paired off for most of the picture with Edmond O'Brien as an alcoholic newspaper editor, he drunkenly rolls over the gunshot corpse of villain Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin) with his boot, looks around off-handedly, and says "Dead" to the surrounding crowd of euphoric Mexicans. In 1964, Murray played Whipsaw, the operator of a stagecoach depot in the episode "Little Cayuse" of the television series Death Valley Days, hosted by Stanley Andrews. He and his partner take in a Cayuse orphan (Larry Domasin), who demonstrates his loyalty to the men during an Indian attack. In 1965, Murray played a THRUSH financier and owner of a caribbean casino in The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. In 1966, Murray was cast as Melody Murphy in the Walt Disney film Follow Me, Boys! starring Fred MacMurray, Vera Miles and Kurt Russell.

Most Famous Work

Average

Acting

Year	Character	Movie/Tv
1997	Self (archive footage)	Frank Capra's American Dream 1997-01-01 Movie
1976	Souvenir Salesman	Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood 1976-07-26 Movie
1968	Grover	The Power 1968-02-21 Movie
1966	Melody Murphy	Follow Me, Boys! 1966-12-01 Movie
1965	Self	Hollywood My Home Town 1965-12-31 Movie
1964	N/A	The Bing Crosby Show 1964-09-14 TV Show
	Self - Film Narrator	The Hollywood Palace 1964-01-04 TV Show
1963	N/A	Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre 1963-10-04 TV Show
	Himself	The Judy Garland Show 1963-09-29 TV Show
	Charles P. Banner	Burke's Law 1963-09-20 TV Show
	N/A	The Greatest Show on Earth 1963-09-17 TV Show
	Self - Host	Hollywood Without Make-Up 1963-07-01 Movie
	Mr. Hurley	Son of Flubber 1963-01-16 Movie
1962	Doc Willoughby	The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 1962-04-13 Movie
1957	Self	The Lux Show 1957-09-26 TV Show
1953	'Smiling Billy' Murray	The Marshal's Daughter 1953-06-25 Movie
1952	Self	This Is Your Life 1952-10-01 TV Show
1950	Self - Mystery Guest	What's My Line? 1950-02-02 TV Show
	N/A	The Ken Murray Show 1950-01-07 TV Show
1949	Ken Murray	Red Light 1949-09-30 Movie
1948	Self	The Ed Sullivan Show 1948-06-20 TV Show
	Ken Murray	Bill and Coo 1948-03-28 Movie
1946	N/A	Peeks at Hollywood 1946-01-26 Movie
1942	Malcolm Hammond	Juke Box Jenny 1942-03-27 Movie
1941	Jerry Traynor	Swing It Soldier 1941-11-07 Movie
	Self	Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1 1941-08-15 Movie
1940	Barney Nelson	A Night at Earl Carroll's 1940-12-06 Movie
1938	Nap Sisler	Swing, Sister, Swing 1938-12-16 Movie
1937	Don King	You're a Sweetheart 1937-12-26 Movie
1933	Mac	From Headquarters 1933-11-16 Movie
	N/A	A Preferred List 1933-10-06 Movie
	Jim McGuire	Disgraced! 1933-07-07 Movie
1932	Peter Sturgis	Crooner 1932-08-20 Movie
	Spencer B. Dazy	Ladies of the Jury 1932-02-02 Movie
1930	Frank	Leathernecking 1930-09-12 Movie
1929	Charles Turner	Half Marriage 1929-10-12 Movie
Year	Character	Movie/Tv