Fred MacMurray

Frederick Martin MacMurray, Jr. (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was a Hollywood actor who appeared in over one hundred movies, during a career that lasted from the 1930s to the 1970s. His most famous role was that of the father in the 1960s TV series My Three Sons. He was typecast for decades as a lovable, friendly fellow, and he capitalized on this by starring in a number of live-action comedies for Walt Disney during the later part of his career, with his biggest hits being The Shaggy Dog and The Absent-Minded Professor. MacMurray's early film work is largely overlooked by many film historians and critics, but in his heyday, he worked with some of Hollywood's greatest talents including director Preston Sturges and actors Marlene Dietrich, Carole Lombard, Barbara Stanwyk and Claudette Colbert. Early in his acting career, he also appeared on Broadway in Three's a Crowd in 1930, and in the original production of Roberta (on which the movie was based) in 1933 with Sydney Greenstreet and Bob Hope.

Related Topics:
August 30 - 1908 - November 5 - 1991 - Hollywood - 1930s - 1970s - 1960s - TV - My Three Sons - Walt Disney - The Shaggy Dog - The Absent-Minded Professor

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Born on August 30, 1908 in Kankakee, Illinois to Maleta Martin and Frederick MacMurray Sr., his mother and the newborn accompanied his father, a concert violinist, around the country before finally settling in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin at the age of 5. During his childhood in Beaver Dam he earned the nickname "Bud." While attending Beaver Dam High School he became one of the most popular teenagers in town and was known for his athleticism. MacMurray received 12 varsity letters in 3 years of high school. He was considered one of the best fullbacks and punters in the State of Wisconsin and earned a full scholarship to attend Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin. In college he participated in numerous local bands, playing the saxophone, but after one semester at Carroll he left for Chicago to look for professional gigs.

Related Topics:
Kankakee, Illinois - Beaver Dam, Wisconsin - Beaver Dam High School - Carroll College - Waukesha, Wisconsin

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In spite of his "nice guy" image, MacMurray often stated that the best film roles he ever played were two in which he was cast against type by Billy Wilder. He played the role of Walter Neff, an insurance salesman who plots with a wealthy heiress to murder her husband, in the film noir classic Double Indemnity (1944). In 1960, he played a slimy, two-timing corporate executive in Wilder's Oscar-winning comedy The Apartment.

Related Topics:
Billy Wilder - Film noir - Double Indemnity - 1944 - 1960 - Oscar - The Apartment

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A shrewd investor, MacMurray was one of the wealthiest people in Hollywood, as well as one of the most politically conservative. On his death in 1991, Fred MacMurray was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. He was survived by his wife, June Haver, who died in 2005, and their two adopted daughters.

Related Topics:
Holy Cross Cemetery - Culver City, California - June Haver

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During the 1940s, the Fawcett Comics character Captain Marvel was modeled in some ways after MacMurray. The same image was later used in the creation of the 1990s character The Gentleman, from Astro City.

Related Topics:
Fawcett Comics - Captain Marvel - Astro City

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He is a Disney Legend.

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