Biography

George Murphy

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After giving up college, George Murphy decided to become a dancer. Starting in 1927, he worked with his wife and partner Julie Johnson on Broadway. In 1934, after his wife retired from show business, he worked with Shirley Temple, in Hollywood, as well as Eleanor Powell, Fred Astaire, and Ronald Reagan. A Republican since 1939, in 1945 he became president of the Screen Actors Guild. He retired from the silver screen in 1952, became a TV producer and in 1964 was elected as Senator of California.
- IMDb mini biography by: Stephan Eichenberg <eichenbe@fak-cbg.tu-muenchen.de>

During the Broadway run of their hit show "Roberta" in 1934, Murphy advised his co-star Bob Hope to check out a pretty singer at the Vogue Club, "Dolores Reade". Hope was immediately smitten and married her after a brief courtship. The marriage lasted until Hope's death at age 100 in 2003.
He was elected to the U.S. Senate in a special election held following the death of Senator Clair Engle (Democrat of California) from a malignant brain tumor in 1964. Murphy's opponent in this election was former JFK press secretary Pierre Salinger, who was trounced by a huge margin. During Murphy's term (1965-1971) he contracted throat cancer. He battled this successfully, but, sadly, because of the cancer it was necessary to remove his larynx, causing him to be unable to speak above a whisper for the remainder of his life.
(1944-1946) President of Screen Actors Guild (SAG).
Awarded a special Oscar in 1950.
Was married twice. His first wife, Juliette Henkel (known on stage as dancer Julie Johnson) teamed with him in Broadway musicals before she retired to raise a family and later died in 1973. George was survived by his second wife, Betty.

Two members of my profession who are not urgently needed by my profession, Mr. Ronald Reagan and Mr. George Murphy, entered politics, and they've done extremely well. Since there has been no reciprocal tendency in the other direction, it suggests to me that our job is still more difficult than their new one. - Peter Ustinov
[on Nancy Carroll] Nancy herself wasn't too easy to work with. She was potentially one of the great stars, but she never quite made it -- maybe because she used stage tricks instead of her God-given talents ... She seemed to enjoy making others uncomfortable.

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