Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 â€" November 5, 1991) was
an American actor and singer who appeared in more than 100 films and a
successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a
half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s.His career as a major movie
leading man began in 1935, but his most renowned role was in director
Billy Wilder's 1944 film noir Double Indemnity, with costars Barbara
Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson. From 1959 through the 1960s,
MacMurray appeared in numerous Disney films, including The
Absent-Minded Professor, The Happiest Millionaire and The Shaggy Dog.
In 1960, he turned to television as Steve Douglas, the widowed
patriarch on My Three Sons, which ran on ABC from 1960 to 1965 and CBS
from 1965 to 1972.Fred Martin MacMurray was born in Kankakee,
Illinois, the son of Maleta (née Martin) and Frederick Talmadge
MacMurray, both natives of Wisconsin. His aunt, Fay Holderness, was a
vaudeville performer and actress. Before MacMurray was two years old,
his family moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where his father was a music
teacher. They then relocated within the state to Beaver Dam, where his
mother was born in 1880. He later attended school in Quincy, Illinois
before earning a full scholarship to Carroll College (now Carroll
University) in Waukesha, Wisconsin. At Carroll, MacMurray played the
saxophone in numerous local bands. He did not graduate from the
college.MacMurray, as a featured vocalist, recorded in 1930 with the
Gus Arnheim Orchestra on "All I Want Is Just One Girl" on the Victor
label. and with George Olsen on "I'm In The Market For You" and "After
a Million Dreams". Before signing with Paramount Pictures in 1934, he
appeared on Broadway in Three's a Crowd (1930â€"31) and alongside
Sydney Greenstreet and Bob Hope in Roberta (1933â€"34). In his early
career, MacMurray played clarinet and tenor sax with the Gus Arnheim
Orchestra (1930â€"31).
an American actor and singer who appeared in more than 100 films and a
successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a
half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s.His career as a major movie
leading man began in 1935, but his most renowned role was in director
Billy Wilder's 1944 film noir Double Indemnity, with costars Barbara
Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson. From 1959 through the 1960s,
MacMurray appeared in numerous Disney films, including The
Absent-Minded Professor, The Happiest Millionaire and The Shaggy Dog.
In 1960, he turned to television as Steve Douglas, the widowed
patriarch on My Three Sons, which ran on ABC from 1960 to 1965 and CBS
from 1965 to 1972.Fred Martin MacMurray was born in Kankakee,
Illinois, the son of Maleta (née Martin) and Frederick Talmadge
MacMurray, both natives of Wisconsin. His aunt, Fay Holderness, was a
vaudeville performer and actress. Before MacMurray was two years old,
his family moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where his father was a music
teacher. They then relocated within the state to Beaver Dam, where his
mother was born in 1880. He later attended school in Quincy, Illinois
before earning a full scholarship to Carroll College (now Carroll
University) in Waukesha, Wisconsin. At Carroll, MacMurray played the
saxophone in numerous local bands. He did not graduate from the
college.MacMurray, as a featured vocalist, recorded in 1930 with the
Gus Arnheim Orchestra on "All I Want Is Just One Girl" on the Victor
label. and with George Olsen on "I'm In The Market For You" and "After
a Million Dreams". Before signing with Paramount Pictures in 1934, he
appeared on Broadway in Three's a Crowd (1930â€"31) and alongside
Sydney Greenstreet and Bob Hope in Roberta (1933â€"34). In his early
career, MacMurray played clarinet and tenor sax with the Gus Arnheim
Orchestra (1930â€"31).
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