Film In movies, Murphy was known as a song-and-dance man and appeared in many big-budget musicals such as
Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937),
Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940) and
For Me and My Gal (1942). He made his movie debut shortly after talking pictures had replaced silent movies in 1930, and his career continued until he retired as an actor in 1952, at the age of 50. During World War II, he organized entertainment for American troops. He was the president of the
Screen Actors Guild from 1944 to 1946. He was also a vice president of
Desilu Productions and of the
Technicolor Corporation. He was director of entertainment for presidential inaugurations in 1953, 1957 and 1961.
United States Senator Murphy entered politics in 1952 by joining the leadership of the
California Republican Party, having also directed the entertainment for the
Eisenhower-
Nixon inauguration that same year. In
1964, he was elected as a Republican to the Senate, having defeated
Pierre Salinger, the former presidential press secretary in the
Kennedy White House, who had been appointed several months earlier to serve the remainder of the late
Clair Engle's unexpired term. Murphy served from January 1, 1965, to January 1, 1971. He took his seat two days early, when Salinger resigned to allow Murphy to gain an edge in seniority; Murphy was then appointed by Democratic
Governor Pat Brown to serve the remaining two days of Salinger's term. (In turn, Murphy resigned two days before his term expired, extending the same courtesy to his successor.) Murphy was in demand for a time to assist other Republican candidates seeking office. In 1966, he hosted a fundraising dinner in
Atlanta, for U.S. Representative
Howard "Bo" Callaway, the first Republican candidate for
Governor of Georgia since
Reconstruction. In the
election, Callaway outpolled Democrat
Lester Maddox, but did not get a majority, and the state legislature elected Maddox. In 1967 and 1968, Murphy was the chairman of the
National Republican Senatorial Committee. During his Senate term, Murphy developed
throat cancer, and part of his
larynx had to be removed. For the rest of his life, he was unable to speak above a whisper. Murphy voted in favor of the
Voting Rights Act of 1965, as well as the
Civil Rights Act of 1968. In
1970, Murphy ran for re-election; he was challenged by
Democrat John V. Tunney. Murphy's surgery and staunch support for the lingering
Vietnam War worked against him, as did reports that he had continued to receive a salary from
Technicolor after taking office. Murphy lost his seat to Tunney by 618,941 votes. Tunney's successful Senate race in 1970 was reportedly the inspiration for the 1972
Robert Redford film
The Candidate. ==Personal life and death==