Biography for
Fred MacMurray

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Date of Birth

30 August 1908, Kankakee, Illinois, USA

Date of Death

5 November 1991, Santa Monica, California, USA (pneumonia, pulmonary edema, Sepsis Syndrome, urinary tract infection, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia)

Birth Name

Fredrick Martin MacMurray

Nickname

Bud

Height

6' 2½" (1.89 m)

Mini Biography

Born to Maleta Martin and Frederick MacMurray (concert violinist). Fred sang and played in orchestras to earn tuition. He was educated at Carroll College, Wis. Fred played with a Chicago orchestra for more than a year. Then he joined an orchestra in Hollywood where he played, did some recording and played extra roles. He then joined a comedy stage band, California Collegians, and went to New York. There he joined "Three's A Crowd" revue on Broadway and on the road. After this show closed, he returned to California and worked in vaudeville. He played the vaudeville circuits and night clubs until cast for major role in "Roberta". Signed by Paramount in 1935.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Dave Curbow

Mini Biography

Born in Kankakee, Illinois, MacMurray was raised in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin from the age of 5, eventually graduating from Beaver Dam High School (currently the site of Beaver Dam Middle School), where he was a 3-sport star in football, baseball, and basketball. Fred retained a special place in his heart for his small-town Wisconsin upbringing, referring at any opportunity in magazine articles or interviews to the lifelong friends and cherished memories of Beaver Dam, even including mementos of his childhood in several of his films. In "Pardon my Past" Fred and fellow GI William Demarest are moving to Beaver Dam, WI to start a mink farm.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Mike Bischoff, Milwaukee, WI

Spouse

June Haver	(28 June 1954 - 5 November 1991) (his death) twin daughters (adopted)
Lillian Lamont	(20 June 1936 - 22 June 1953) (her death) 2 adopted children

Trivia

Personal friends with Walt Disney.

Interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, USA, in the Mausoleum, D1, Room 7.

Adopted twin daughters, Kathryn and Laurie (b. 1956), with Haver.

"The Untouchables" (1959). He was also the first choice to play the title role on TV's "Perry Mason" (1957).

At his insistence, all episodes of "My Three Sons" (1960) were filmed out of sequence during the show's entire run. He would do all of his scenes first, then leave until the next season. All kitchen scenes would be done together, then all scenes in the upstairs hallway would be filmed together, etc. This fact was well concealed until Dawn Lyn joined the cast as Dodie. Her upper front teeth grew in irregularly during the entire 1969-'70 season, from being barely visible in scenes with MacMurray to being plainly visible in scenes without him.

He was the likeness inspiration for the original Captain Marvel (the one that emerged when Billy Batson said "Shazam") for artist Charles Clarence Beck in 1940. The original publisher of the comic book character was Fawcett Publications.

Early in his career, he recorded a song called "If I Had A Talking Picture Of You."

Portrayed George Harvey, star reporter for the Hillsdale Morning Star, on NBC Radio's "Bright Star" (1952-1953).

Steve Douglas, MacMurray's character on "My Three Sons" (1960), was ranked #7 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" [20 June 2004 issue].

1987: First person to be named a Disney Legend.

1970s: He was most often seen doing commercials for a video teaching "Chisenbop," a Korean method of doing math on your fingers.

His daughter Susan was born in 1942. His son Robert was born in 1945.

He was a staunch supporter of the Republican Party who joined Bob Hope and James Stewart in campaigning for Richard Nixon in 1968.

Best remembered by the public for starring as father figures in Walt Disney movies.

When offered the job as the dad on "My Three Sons" (1960), he was given a dream contract in which he only had to work 65 days a year on the series. The supporting cast, as a result, often had to shoot their scenes opposite a prop person off camera instead of Fred. The popular series ran 12 seasons.

He and wife June Haver were once offered a husband-and-wife sitcom but Fred refused, afraid of putting his marriage in jeopardy by the pressures.

Met first wife Lillian ("Lily") Lamonte while performing on Broadway in "Roberta" in 1933. She was a dancer.

Played vaudeville with a stage band called "The California Collegians". The group was cast in a Broadway revue called "Three's a Crowd" in 1930 that showcased such star talent as Fred Allen, Clifton Webb and chanteuse Libby Holman. Holman sang the torch song "Something to Remember You By" to Fred in the show. The Collegians were also featured in the Broadway musical "Roberta", in which Fred also understudied the lead.

One of his first jobs in Los Angeles was playing in a pit orchestra for an L.A. theater.

Once studied art at the Chicago Art Institute.

Quite the high school athlete. He won ten letters for athletics and a scholarship to Carroll College in Wisconsin to play football. He played the saxophone for extra money while there.

Made his debut on stage playing the violin alongside his father, but the experience left him with a terrible case of stage fright. Later he overcame it and learned the piano, guitar and saxophone, which he played in his high school band.

Personal Quotes

A cowboy actor needs two changes of expression - hat on and hat off.

I once asked Barbara Stanwyck the secret of acting. She said, "Just be truthful - and if you can fake that you've got it made".

Carole Lombard was a wonderful girl. Swore like a man. Other women try, but she really did.

The two films I did with Billy Wilder, Double Indemnity (1944) and the The Apartment (1960), are the only two parts I did in my entire career that required any acting.

[on working with director Preston Sturges] At the end of this shoot, he said, "It's been a pleasure working with you" and I said, "I wish I could say the same about you." I don't like to be that way, but he was terrible, very cruel.

[on Barbara Stanwyck] I was lucky enough to make four pictures with Barbara. In the first I turned her in, in the second I killed her, in the third I left her for another woman and in the fourth I pushed her over a waterfall. The one thing all these pictures had in common was that I fell in love with Barbara Stanwyck -- and I did, too.

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