Born in New Haven, Connecticut. The son of a noted track coach who prepared the US team for the 1912 Olympics, he ran away from home at 15 after his father's death to join the Navy but later returned, completed his high school education, and enrolled at Yale. He dropped out of college in his junior year and after trying several itinerant occupations, among them toolmaking and coal loading, began dancing for a living in restaurants, cocktail lounges, and nightclubs. His show business career picked up momentum after he formed a duo act with his girlfriend, and later wife, Julie Johnson (née Juliette Henkel). By 1927 they had reached Broadway, where, after a string of successes together, Murphy became established on his own as a hoofer and light actor. In Hollywood from the mid-30s, he tap-danced and smiled his way through numerous screen musicals and light romances but gradually moved into rather bland straight dramatic roles. Some of his notable screen credits include KID MILLIONS (1934), BROADWAY MELODY OF 1938 (1937), LITTLE MISS BROADWAY (1938), RISKY BUSINESS (1939), BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940 (1940), TOM DICK AND HARRY (1941), FOR ME AND MY GAL (1942), STEP LIVELY, BATAAN and THIS IS THE ARMY (all 1943), BATTLEGROUND (1949), and his last feature film, WALK EAST ON BEACON! (1952). He hosted the 1955-1956 TV series "M-G-M Parade." A former Democrat, Murphy joined the Republican party in 1939 and became active in politics and industry affairs. During the mid-40s he served two terms as President of the Screen Actors Guild. In 1947 he was among the founders of the Hollywood Republican Committee and in the following years became identified with the party's conservative wing. In 1950 he was awarded a special honorary Oscar® "for services in interpreting the film industry to the country at large." Retiring from the screen in 1952, he became a public relations spokesman for MGM and later performed similar duties for Desilu and Technicolor. Meanwhile, he continued his political activity and in 1953-54 served as chairman of the Republican National Convention. In 1964 he was elected US senator from California, defeating Democratic candidate Pierre Salinger, but hampered by a throat operation for cancer which left his voice a whisper, he lost his bid for a second term. Autobiography: Say -- Didn't You Use to Be George Murphy? (1970).  Honorary Award 1950: "For his services in interpreting the film industry to the country at large." Winner presented a Statuette 1 Honorary Award