- Born
- Birth nameChristopher Patrick Murray
- Height6′ 0¾″ (1.85 m)
- A scion of Hollywood's Golden Age, and familiar to young audiences worldwide as Dean Rivers, the comically inept headmaster of Pacific Coast Academy, in Nickelodeon's Zoey 101 (2005), Mr Murray has fashioned a respectable career in Film, Television and on Stage over the past four decades.
Known for his distinct voice and laid back, wise guy attitude, he's co starred with several icons of the Entertainment Industry, including Sean Connery, Bette Davis, Alan Bates, Laurence Fishburne, Glenda Jackson, Denzel Washington, Julia Roberts, David Duchovny and Angela Lansbury.
The son of two-time Emmy Award-winning film and television actress Hope Lange (Peyton Place (1957), The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (1968), Pocketful of Miracles (1961)) and Academy Award®-nominated leading man Don Murray (Bus Stop (1956), Advise & Consent (1962)), Murray was raised in a show business family. His roots in the entertainment industry go back another generation, with his maternal grandfather, John George Lange, a conductor for Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., maternal grandmother, Minette Buddecke, a New York stage actress, paternal grandmother, Ethel Murray (Cook), a Ziegfeld dancer, and paternal grandfather, Dennis Aloisius Murray, a noted Broadway stage manager and performer.
Notable recent TV roles includes series such as Twin Peaks (2017), Aquarius (2015), Scandal (2012), Parks and Recreation (2009), Mad Men (2007), NCIS (2003), Zoey 101 (2005), Saving Grace (2007), The West Wing (1999), and Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990), as well as made-for-television movies including Sacrifices of the Heart (2007), A Place Called Home (2004), and Route 9 (1998)
Film credits include Smokin' Aces (2006) with Ben Affleck and Jeremy Piven, The Man (2005) with Eugene Levy and Samuel L. Jackson, Just Cause (1995) with Sean Connery and Laurence Fishburne, The Pelican Brief (1993) with Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington, Virtuosity (1995) also with Washington and Russell Crowe and Dante's Peak (1997) with Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton. His first film role was as a background actor in the Academy Award®-winning picture All the President's Men (1976) with Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman.
On stage, Murray has appeared in productions of "Jesus Christ, Superstar", "A Patriot For Me"", "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof", "The Best Man", "The Deal", "Romeo & Juliet", "King Lear" and "Mr. Roberts".
- IMDb mini biography by: Pat Lange
- Parents
- Son of Don Murray and Hope Lange.
- Stepson of Alan J. Pakula. (Murray had roles in Pakula's All the President's Men (1976), See You in the Morning (1989) and The Pelican Brief (1993)).
- Attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, a prestigious liberal arts school, to study medicine. Dropped out halfway through his Junior year to join a Theater Repertory company in the Berkshires (MA).
- Studied with Wynn Handman of the American Place Theater in New York City, where he was a classmate of Chris Cooper, Tom Wright and Hunt Block. Took the spot vacated by Christopher Walken, who had dropped out to film The Deer Hunter (1978).
- Was a High School All-State Baseball player in Arizona (The Orme School). Turned down a chance to play at Arizona State because he wanted to be a doctor.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
