Trivia

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).

Upon his election to the Senate, singer/satirist Tom Lehrer good-naturedly saluted him in the song "George Murphy" as "at last we've got a senator who can really sing and dance." Lehrer went on to say that "we can't expect America to win against its foes without someone in the Senate who can really tap his toes." If Murphy had any thoughts on this joking tribute, they weren't recorded for posterity.

Ran for re-election in 1970, but was defeated by another "celebrity" candidate, Congressman John V. Tunney, son of former heavyweight boxing champion Gene Tunney. Tunney was also defeated for re-election, after serving only one term, by former San Francisco State University President S.I. Hayakawa.

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.

Served as director of entertainment for U.S. presidential inaugurations in 1952, 1956, and 1960.

Graduated from the Peddie School prior to going on to Yale.

2 children, Dennis and Melissa