James Murray(1901-1936)
- Actor
Sometimes the early tragic death of a Hollywood actor can lead to
immortality, as in the cases of icons
James Dean and
Marilyn Monroe--and, to a somewhat lesser
extent, little Bobby Driscoll, who died a
Skid Row bum in the streets, a victim of drug addiction. Not so for
actor James Murray, whose death occurred in a similar fashion to
Driscoll. Long forgotten, the young and highly insecure Murray was
plucked from obscurity and given the chance of a lifetime, only to
crumble ever so quickly.
He was born on February 9, 1901, in the Bronx, NY. After
appearing in The Pilgrims (1924), a
three-reeler made at Yale University in 1923 in which he played John
Alden, he trekked 3000 miles to Hollywood to pursue that elusive
Hollywood dream. On the road west, he lived a simple, rather nomadic
existence as a dishwasher, coal-shoveler and boxcar rider.
John started off as most do in L.A.--taking bit parts and extra work, waiting for
that big break. Director King Vidor was
looking to cast the somber hero of his next silent picture,
The Crowd (1928). He spotted Murray,
who was working as an extra at MGM, near the studio casting office and
arranged a meeting with him. Murray didn't show up, either not taking
the director seriously or not believing that Vidor was, in fact, King
Vidor. Murray was hunted down, given a screen test and the novice actor
was hired on the spot, considered by both Vidor and MGM executive
Irving Thalberg to be one of the best
natural actors they had ever had the good fortune to encounter. As John
Sims, a common everyday kind of family man just trying to survive the
game of life, Murray was frighteningly real and heart-wrenching,
carrying the hugely demanding role without a hitch. He so invested
himself in the part that many feel he never shook off the depressing
character. The film was judged too heavy and raw for audiences to
escape in, but the critics were enamored of the film and, especially
Murray, and today it is considered a major masterpiece.
Murray managed to turn in solid work in the next few years, never matching his
excellence in "The Crowd" but certainly turning in credible
performances. Such films as
The Big City (1928) with
Lon Chaney,
Thunder (1929)--also with
Chaney--The Shakedown (1929),
Bachelor Mother (1932) and
Heroes for Sale (1933) served him
well.
Too much too soon, perhaps, for he was ill-prepared to handle the
daily pressures of stardom and his inner demons quickly took over. He
turned to the bottle for solace and release. By the early 1930s he was
a chronic alcoholic who could barely hold down an acting job. He turned
into a derelict, living on the streets and begging for change.
By coincidence, he tried to panhandle Vidor in 1934, who offered him an
acting job in his next film,
Our Daily Bread (1934), but the
actor vehemently refused to accept any charity. In 1936 Murray's body
was fished out of the Hudson River, having drowned after either jumping
from, falling from--or being thrown off of--a pier. He was only 35.
Vidor was so haunted by Murray's tragic death that it provided the
basis for a script he wrote which the director hoped would turn into a
film called "The Actor" in 1979. Unfortunately, the project never got
off the ground.
immortality, as in the cases of icons
James Dean and
Marilyn Monroe--and, to a somewhat lesser
extent, little Bobby Driscoll, who died a
Skid Row bum in the streets, a victim of drug addiction. Not so for
actor James Murray, whose death occurred in a similar fashion to
Driscoll. Long forgotten, the young and highly insecure Murray was
plucked from obscurity and given the chance of a lifetime, only to
crumble ever so quickly.
He was born on February 9, 1901, in the Bronx, NY. After
appearing in The Pilgrims (1924), a
three-reeler made at Yale University in 1923 in which he played John
Alden, he trekked 3000 miles to Hollywood to pursue that elusive
Hollywood dream. On the road west, he lived a simple, rather nomadic
existence as a dishwasher, coal-shoveler and boxcar rider.
John started off as most do in L.A.--taking bit parts and extra work, waiting for
that big break. Director King Vidor was
looking to cast the somber hero of his next silent picture,
The Crowd (1928). He spotted Murray,
who was working as an extra at MGM, near the studio casting office and
arranged a meeting with him. Murray didn't show up, either not taking
the director seriously or not believing that Vidor was, in fact, King
Vidor. Murray was hunted down, given a screen test and the novice actor
was hired on the spot, considered by both Vidor and MGM executive
Irving Thalberg to be one of the best
natural actors they had ever had the good fortune to encounter. As John
Sims, a common everyday kind of family man just trying to survive the
game of life, Murray was frighteningly real and heart-wrenching,
carrying the hugely demanding role without a hitch. He so invested
himself in the part that many feel he never shook off the depressing
character. The film was judged too heavy and raw for audiences to
escape in, but the critics were enamored of the film and, especially
Murray, and today it is considered a major masterpiece.
Murray managed to turn in solid work in the next few years, never matching his
excellence in "The Crowd" but certainly turning in credible
performances. Such films as
The Big City (1928) with
Lon Chaney,
Thunder (1929)--also with
Chaney--The Shakedown (1929),
Bachelor Mother (1932) and
Heroes for Sale (1933) served him
well.
Too much too soon, perhaps, for he was ill-prepared to handle the
daily pressures of stardom and his inner demons quickly took over. He
turned to the bottle for solace and release. By the early 1930s he was
a chronic alcoholic who could barely hold down an acting job. He turned
into a derelict, living on the streets and begging for change.
By coincidence, he tried to panhandle Vidor in 1934, who offered him an
acting job in his next film,
Our Daily Bread (1934), but the
actor vehemently refused to accept any charity. In 1936 Murray's body
was fished out of the Hudson River, having drowned after either jumping
from, falling from--or being thrown off of--a pier. He was only 35.
Vidor was so haunted by Murray's tragic death that it provided the
basis for a script he wrote which the director hoped would turn into a
film called "The Actor" in 1979. Unfortunately, the project never got
off the ground.