Don Murray

Don Murray

Biography: Donald Patrick "Don" Murray (July 31, 1929-February 2, 2024) was an American actor. Murray was born in Hollywood, California. He attended East Rockaway High School (class of 1947) in East Rockaway, New York where he played football and track, was a member of the student government and glee club and joined the Alpha Phi Chapter of the Omega Gamma Delta Fraternity. From high school he went on to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Murray had a long and varied career in films and television, including his role as Sid Fairgate in the long-running prime-time soap opera Knots Landing from 1979 to 1981. He was nominated for an Academy Award as best supporting actor in Bus Stop (1956) in which he co-starred with Marilyn Monroe. He starred as a blackmailed United States senator in Advise & Consent (1961), a film version of a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Allen Drury that was directed by Otto Preminger and cast Murray opposite Henry Fonda and Charles Laughton. He also co-starred with Steve McQueen in the film Baby the Rain Must Fall (1965) and played the ape-hating Governor Breck in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972). In addition to acting, Murray directed a film based on the book The Cross and the Switchblade (1970) starring Pat Boone and Erik Estrada, and he scripted two episodes of Knots Landing ("Hitchhike" parts 1 & 2) in 1980. Murray starred with Otis Young in the ground breaking ABC western television series The Outcasts (1968-69) featuring an interracial bounty hunter team in the post-Civil War West. Murray decided to leave Knots Landing after two years to concentrate on other projects, although some sources say he left over a salary dispute. The character's death was notable at the time because it was considered rare to "kill off" a star character. The death came in the second episode of season three, following up on season two's cliffhanger in which Sid's car careered off a cliff. To make viewers off doubt the character would actually die, Murray was listed in the newly created credit sequence for season three; the character survived the plunge off the cliff (thus temporarily reassuring viewers), but died shortly afterwards in hospital. Although he effectively distanced himself from the series after his exit in 1981, Murray later contributed an interview segment for Knots Landing: Together Again, a non-fiction reunion special made in 2005. Murray was the first husband of actress Hope Lange. They had two children, including actor Christopher Murray.

Place of Birth: Not available

Birthday: July 31, 1929

Deathday: February 02, 2024

Popularity:

7.36

Known For

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes

1972-06-29

The Borgia Stick
The Borgia Stick

1967-02-25

Bus Stop
Bus Stop

1956-08-31

Ghosts Can't Do It
Ghosts Can't Do It

1989-10-17

Besuch bei Don Murray
Besuch bei Don Murray

2000-01-01

Winterset
Winterset

1959-10-26

Hollywood Legenden
Hollywood Legenden

2004-01-01

The Viking Queen
The Viking Queen

1967-03-25

Daughter of the Mind
Daughter of the Mind

1969-12-09

Made in Heaven
Made in Heaven

1987-11-06

Fred Zinnemann - Der Mann, der 'High Noon' machte
Fred Zinnemann - Der Mann, der 'High Noon' machte

2007-01-01

Marilyn Monroe: I Want to Be Loved
Marilyn Monroe: I Want to Be Loved

2010-02-10

Marilyn Monroe: Death of an Icon
Marilyn Monroe: Death of an Icon

2010-02-10

A Hatful of Rain
A Hatful of Rain

1957-07-17

Radioactive Dreams
Radioactive Dreams

1986-09-19

Advise & Consent
Advise & Consent

1962-06-06

Hollywood Uncensored
Hollywood Uncensored

1987-12-01

License to Kill
License to Kill

1986-12-16

These Thousand Hills
These Thousand Hills

1959-05-07

Endless Love
Endless Love

1981-07-17

Happy Birthday, Wanda June
Happy Birthday, Wanda June

1971-12-09

The Girl on the Late, Late Show
The Girl on the Late, Late Show

1974-04-01

Deadly Hero
Deadly Hero

1975-12-14

From Hell to Texas
From Hell to Texas

1958-04-29

The Hoodlum Priest
The Hoodlum Priest

1961-03-26

Baby, the Rain Must Fall
Baby, the Rain Must Fall

1965-01-12

Kid Rodelo
Kid Rodelo

1966-01-01

I Am The Cheese
I Am The Cheese

1983-11-11

Quarterback Princess
Quarterback Princess

1983-12-03

Shurtleff on Acting
Shurtleff on Acting

1994-07-14

Justin Morgan Had a Horse
Justin Morgan Had a Horse

1972-02-06

One Foot in Hell
One Foot in Hell

1960-09-11

Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen
Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen

1981-02-13

The Sex Symbol
The Sex Symbol

1974-09-17

Scorpion
Scorpion

1986-12-01

The Bachelor Party
The Bachelor Party

1957-04-09

Island Prey
Island Prey

2001-01-01

Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend
Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend

1986-04-19

Hearts Adrift
Hearts Adrift

1996-08-07

The Plainsman
The Plainsman

1966-08-01

Escape from East Berlin
Escape from East Berlin

1962-10-22

The Intruders
The Intruders

1970-11-10

A Man Is Ten Feet Tall
A Man Is Ten Feet Tall

1955-10-02

Rainbow
Rainbow

1978-11-06

Crisis in Mid-Air
Crisis in Mid-Air

1979-02-13

One Man's Way
One Man's Way

1964-02-26

Shake Hands with the Devil
Shake Hands with the Devil

1959-06-24

Marilyn, divine et fragile
Marilyn, divine et fragile

1996-12-31

Promise
Promise

2021-04-06

Hollywood's Hidden Secrets
Hollywood's Hidden Secrets

1987-01-01

The Boy Who Drank Too Much
The Boy Who Drank Too Much

1980-02-06

Childish Things
Childish Things

1969-07-01

The Stepford Children
The Stepford Children

1987-03-15

Alan Ladd: The True Quiet Man
Alan Ladd: The True Quiet Man

1999-03-04

Internet Love
Internet Love

1998-07-03

Police Story: Confessions of a Lady Cop
Police Story: Confessions of a Lady Cop

1980-04-28

Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood

1960-01-10

My Dad Can't Be Crazy... Can He?
My Dad Can't Be Crazy... Can He?

1989-09-14

Peggy Sue Got Married
Peggy Sue Got Married

1986-10-10

Riots & Revolutions: Confronting the Times
Riots & Revolutions: Confronting the Times

2008-11-04

Tab Hunter Confidential
Tab Hunter Confidential

2015-03-15

A Girl Named Sooner
A Girl Named Sooner

1975-06-18

Thursday's Child
Thursday's Child

1983-02-01

Sweet Love, Bitter
Sweet Love, Bitter

1967-01-30

A Touch of Scandal
A Touch of Scandal

1984-11-27

Stillwatch
Stillwatch

1987-02-10

Marilyn Monroe: The Mortal Goddess
Marilyn Monroe: The Mortal Goddess

1994-10-17

Return of the Rebels
Return of the Rebels

1981-10-17

Marilyn
Marilyn

1963-04-18

Fugitive Family
Fugitive Family

1980-10-01

Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker

1991-10-28

Cotter
Cotter

1973-01-01

If Things Were Different
If Things Were Different

1980-01-16

Something in Common
Something in Common

1986-11-02

Twentieth Century Fox: The First 50 Years
Twentieth Century Fox: The First 50 Years

1997-01-21

Do Not Pick Up Hitchhikers
Do Not Pick Up Hitchhikers

2017-12-05

T.J. Hooker - Blood Sport
T.J. Hooker - Blood Sport

1986-05-21

Gold of Rio Bravo: Sheriff Kelly's Story
Gold of Rio Bravo: Sheriff Kelly's Story

2025-01-15