George Murphy | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 1964 | |
| United States Senator from California | |
| In office January 1, 1965 – January 1, 1971 | |
| Preceded by | Pierre Salinger |
| Succeeded by | John V. Tunney |
| President of the Screen Actors Guild | |
| In office 1944–1946 | |
| Preceded by | James Cagney |
| Succeeded by | Robert Montgomery |
| Personal details | |
| Born | George Lloyd Murphy July 4, 1902 New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | May 3, 1992 (aged 89) Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouses | Julie Henkel-Johnson
(m. 1926; died 1973)Betty Duhon Blandi (m. 1982) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Mike Murphy Nora Long |
| Education | Yale University (BA) |
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.
- ^ In 1944, Democrat Jimmie Davis (1899–2000)—popularizer of "You Are My Sunshine"—was elected to his first term as Governor of Louisiana. In 1948 Grand Ole Opry star Roy Acuff won the Republican nomination for Governor of Tennessee but was defeated in the general election. Helen Gahagan Douglas served in the House of Representatives from 1945 to 1951.