James Murray
A photograph of Murray published in Screenland (1927)
Born
James T. Murray

(1901-02-09)February 9, 1901
The Bronx, New York City, U.S.
DiedJuly 11, 1936(1936-07-11) (aged 35)
North River, New York City, U.S.
Resting placeCalvary Cemetery
OccupationActor
Years active1924–1936
Spouse(s)Lucille McNames (m. 1928; div.1930)
Marion Sayers
​
(m. 1933⁠–⁠1936)​

James T. Murray (February 9, 1901 – July 11, 1936) was an American film actor best known for starring in the 1928 film The Crowd.

Early life

Born in The Bronx, Murray was the second of seven children of Mary (née Casserly) and Christopher Murray.[1][2][3] His mother was a native of Ireland, as was his father, who by 1910 was employed in New York as an insurance inspector for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.[2]

Career

In 1923, Murray made his film debut as Captain John Alden in the Pilgrims, a three-reel production shot at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut and surrounding area locations.[4] In 1924, Murray moved to Hollywood with hopes of continuing an acting career. Over the next three years, Murray found film work, mostly as an extra. In 1927, Murray got his break when he was "discovered" by director King Vidor who was then in pre-production for his next film, The Crowd. Vidor saw Murray walking near the casting office on the M-G-M lot and thought Murray looked right for the lead role. Murray, however, failed to show up for a meeting arranged by Vidor, apparently thinking the prospective offer was a joke. Vidor tracked Murray down and eventually cast him as “the ordinary man as hero” John Sims. Upon its premiere in March 1928, The Crowd was a critical and financial success and Murray's performance was lauded by both the critics and the public. Shortly before working in Vidor's production, Murray also starred alongside Joan Crawford in Rose-Marie, released in February 1928.[5]

Following The Crowd, Murray appeared in the Warner Bros. comedy The Little Wildcat. Later that year, he starred opposite Lon Chaney in The Big City, followed by a supporting role in Chaney's final silent film Thunder in 1929. Thunder would also be Murray's last film for M-G-M in which he had a significant role. In 1929, Murray made the transition from silent to sound films in the part-talkie The Shakedown for Universal Pictures.

By 1930, Murray's once promising career had begun to falter due to his increasing alcoholism and alcohol related arrests. In August 1930, Murray was sentenced to six months in jail for appearing in court drunk on a previous drunk-driving charge.[6] After serving four months of hard labor, Murray was released and attempted to reignite his acting career. He stopped drinking for a time and, in February 1933, he signed a seven-year contract with First National Pictures and Warner Bros.[7] The same year, he married "Miss Florida" Marion Sayers. The marriage and Murray's sobriety proved to be short lived: Sayers was granted a divorce in November 1933 on the grounds that Murray drank excessively and forced Sayers to work to support him.[8]

By 1934, Murray was unable to secure acting work due to his alcoholism and began panhandling. Director King Vidor, who had cast Murray in The Crowd seven years earlier, was casting his film Our Daily Bread (1934), immediately thought of Murray for the lead role. Vidor had heard about Murray's plight and set about finding him. Vidor found a much heavier and unkempt Murray panhandling on the street and offered to buy him a drink. Vidor then offered Murray the lead role in Our Daily Bread, provided Murray pull himself together. Murray rejected the offer and reportedly stated "Just because I stop you on the street and try to borrow a buck you think you can tell me what to do. As far as I am concerned, you know what you can do with your lousy part."[9]

Murray appeared in a total of 36 films over the course of his 12-year film career. In the majority of his films in the sound era, particularly those made during the last few years of his career, he was cast in bit parts or as an uncredited extra. Murray's final onscreen appearance was as an uncredited “Earthquake Survivor” in the 1936 disaster drama San Francisco.

Death

On July 11, 1936, Murray drowned after falling or jumping from the North River pier in New York City.[10][11] The medical examiner determined that the cause was "asphyxia by submersion," without ruling on whether his death was an accident or suicide.[12] He was interred at the Calvary Cemetery in Woodside, Queens, New York.[10]

Decades later Vidor, haunted by Murray's decline and early death, wrote a screenplay titled The Actor, although his work never was produced.[13]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1924The PilgrimsJohn AldenShort film
1927Tillie the ToilerJiOne of Tillie's Admirers in RestaurantUncredited
In Old KentuckyJimmy Brierly
The LovelornCharlieLost film
1928Rose-MarieJim KenyonLost film
The Big CityCurlyLost film
The CrowdJohn "Johnny" Sims
The Little WildcatConrad BurtonLost film
1929ThunderTommyLost film
The ShakedownDave Roberts
Shanghai Lady'Badlands' McKinney
1930Hide-OutJimmy Dorgan
The Rampant AgeSandy Benton
Bright LightsConnie Lamont
1931Kick InBenny LaMarr
Hold 'er SheriffJimmy DaltonShort film
TrappedJimmy DareShort film
In Line of DutyCpl. Sherwood
1932The ReckoningTerry
Alaska LoveFreddie WatsonShort film
The Hollywood HandicapCharacterShort film
Bachelor MotherJoe Bigelow
Frisco JennyDan McAllister
1933Baby FaceBrakemanUncredited
High GearMark "High Gear" Sherroda.k.a. The Big Thrill
Air HostessTed Hunter
Central AirportEddie Hughes
Heroes for SaleBlind Soldier
Havana WidowsBank TellerUncredited
1934Now I'll TellHenchman with CurtisUncredited
1935$20 a WeekPeter Douglas
The DrunkardEdward Middleton
The InformerBit roleUncredited
Ship CafeGeraldUncredited
Skull and CrownMatt - Henchman
1936Rose-MarieBit PartUncredited
San FranciscoEarthquake SurvivorUncredited

References

  1. ↑ "New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949", New York Municipal Archives, New York. FamilySearch; retrieved October 23, 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910", original enumeration page, April 21, 1910, Borough of the Bronx, New York City, New York. FamilySearch; retrieved October 23, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1930", original enumeration page, April 11, 1930, Borough of the Bronx, New York City, New York. FamilySearch; retrieved October 23, 2017.
  4. ↑ "James Murray", biography, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), Turner Broadcasting System, a subsidiary of Time Warner, New York, N.Y; retrieved October 23, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Destined As Fine Actor, Couldn't Take His Success". The Milwaukee Journal. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. August 2, 1936. p. 7. Archived from the original on March 8, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Actor Appears In Court Drunk". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. August 30, 1930. p. 1. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Marion Sayers, Local Girl, Gets Credit For James Murray's Comeback in Films". St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Florida. February 4, 1933. p. 5. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Marion Murray Given Divorce". The Evening Independent. St. Petersburg, Florida. November 2, 1933. pp. 3–A. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  9. ↑ Thomson, David (2012). The Big Screen: The Story of the Movies. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-374-19189-4.
  10. 1 2 Wilson, Scott (206). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons (3 ed.). McFarland. p. 540. ISBN 0-786-47992-2.
  11. ↑ "Former Film Star Drowning Victim". Motion Picture Herald. Quigley Publishing Company: 32. July 1936.
  12. ↑ Roberts, Sam (May 15, 2005). "CITY LORE; A Pair of Dreamers". The New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
  13. ↑ Durgnat, Raymond; Simmon, Scott (1988). King Vidor, American. University of California Press. p. 86. ISBN 0-520-05798-8.
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