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Ben Murphy

 
Actor: Ben Murphy
 
  • Born: Mar 06, 1942 in Jonesboro, Arkansas
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '70s-'80s
  • Major Genres: Drama, Action
  • Career Highlights: The Letters, The Cradle Will Fall, Sidecar Racers
  • First Major Screen Credit: Alias Smith and Jones (1971)

Biography

Born in Arkansas and raised in Memphis and Chicago, American actor Ben Murphy worked his way through college by driving a pie truck. Eventually he'd attend eight colleges, from the University of Illinois to the University of the Americas in Mexico City, where by his own admission his sole interests were acting and womanizing. A stint at the Pasadena Playhouse led to Murphy's first film role, a one line bit in The Graduate (1967). He was signed to a Universal contract in 1967, appearing in several of the studios' series, including as a semiregular hitch on The Name of the Game. When a midseason cancellation on ABC in 1970 required Universal to come up with a quickie replacement, the studio slapped together a derivation of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid titled Alias Smith and Jones, with Ben Murphy and Pete Deuel in the leads. Much was made at the time of Murphy's resemblance to Paul Newman (one of the stars of Butch Cassidy), though everyone involved with Alias Smith and Jones pooh-poohed the idea that Murphy's looks alone won him the part. After Smith and Jones left the air, Murphy tried his luck with feature films, with results ranging from the tolerable to the tepid: Heat Wave (1974), Sidecar Racers (1975) and Time Walker (1982) were typical titles in the Murphy manifest. He periodically returned to television, where work was more satisfying if not more secure. Ben Murphy was a regular on a whole slew of short-lived TV weeklies, including Griff (1973), The Gemini Man (1976) (for which Murphy dropped several pounds and, it is said, his highly abrasive attitude), The Chisholms (1979), The Winds of War (1983), Lottery$ (1984), Berrenger's (1985), and Dirty Dozen: The Series (1988). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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Wikipedia: Ben Murphy
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Ben Murphy
Born March 6, 1942 (1942-03-06) (age 67)
Jonesboro, Arkansas, U.S.
Occupation actor
Spouse(s) Jeanne Davis (1978-1981)

Benjamin E. Murphy (born March 6, 1942, in Jonesboro, Arkansas) is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the ABC television series Alias Smith and Jones, co-starring as Kid Curry, first with Pete Duel and later with Roger Davis.

He also appeared in a supporting role in The Name of the Game, a series featuring a rotating leading cast including Tony Franciosa, Gene Barry, and Robert Stack. After Alias Smith and Jones, Murphy joined Lorne Greene in the 1973 ABC crime drama Griff. He played detective S. Michael "Mike" Murdock, assistant to Greene's character, Wade "Griff" Griffin, a Los Angeles retired police officer turned private eye. The series had some notable guest stars but folded after thirteen weeks.

In 1985, he co-starred as Department store heir, Paul Berrenger, on the short-lived drama, Berrenger's. His character was at odds with his former wife, Gloria (Andrea Marcovicci) and his own father, Simon (Sam Wanamaker) due to his romance with executive, Shane Bradley (Yvette Mimieux).

Murphy also starred in in his own series Gemini Man, in which he played a character who could disappear through the use of a watch. However, the show did not run beyond a single season. Murphy has since appeared in guest-starring parts, the most recent having been a murder suspect in CBS's Cold Case.

Though born in Arkansas, Murphy grew up in Hinsdale, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. An alumnus of Benet Academy in Lisle, Illinois, he attended eight different colleges before determining to pursue an acting career.

Filmography

Year Title Role
1967 The Graduate uncredited
1968 The Virginian recurring guest star
1968 It Takes a Thief guest star
1968 Yours, Mine, and Ours
1968 The Outsider guest star
1968-1971 The Name of the Game co-star of series
1969 The Thousand Plane Raid
1970 Medical Center guest star
1970 The Mod Squad guest star
1971-1973 Alias Smith and Jones co-star of series
1971 The Merv Griffin Show as himself
1971 The Dick Cavett Show as himself
1972 The Meaning of the Pledge
1973 The Letters co-star
1973 Runaway! co-star
1973 Love American Style recurring guest star
1973-1974 Griff co-star
1974 Heatwave co-star
1974 This Is the West That Was star
1975 Sidecar Racers star
1975 Marcus Welby, M.D. guest star
1976 Riding with Death star
1976 Gemini Man star
1976 Bridger co-star
1976 Battle of the Network Stars star/athlete
1979 Fantasy Island guest star
1979 Love Boat guest star
1979 Sweepstakes guest star
1979 The Chisholms co-star
1980 The Chisholms co-star
1980 Secret War of Jackie's Girls co-star
1981 Unit 4 co-star
1982 Trapper John, M.D. guest star
1982 Time Walker star
1983 Fantasy Island guest star
1983 Uncommon Valor co-star
1983 The Winds of War co-star
1983 The Love Boat guest star
1983 Matt Houston guest star
1983 Guiding Light guest star
1983 The Cradle Will Fall co-star
1983-1984 Lottery! co-star
1983 Merv Griffin Show as himself
1983 Battle of the Network Stars star/athlete
1984 The Love Boat guest star
1984 Finder of Lost Loves guest star
1984 Hotel guest star
1984 The Love Boat recurring guest star
1985 Berrenger's co-star
1985 MacGruder and Loud guest star
1985 Gidget's Summer Reunion co-star
1985 Scarecrow and Mrs. King guest star
1985 Murder She Wrote guest star
1986 Stark: Mirror Image guest star
1988 Dirty Dozen, The Series star
1989 The Twilight Zone guest star
1990 Shades of L.A. guest star
1991 Life Goes On guest star
1991 In the Heat of the Night guest star
1992 FBI: The Untold Stories guest star
1993-1995 Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman recurring guest star
1995 High Sierra Search and Rescue guest star
1996 Silk Stalkings guest star
1997-2004 JAG recurring guest star
1998 Air America guest star
1999 E! Mysteries and Scandals as himself
1999 Pacific Blue guest star
1999 Impulse Body Spray (commercial)
2000 Hanging Up co-star
2001 To Protect and Serve co-star
2001 The District guest star
2002 Granada Plus as himself
2003 The Drew Carey Show guest star
2003 Navy NCIS guest star
2004 Judging Amy guest star
2005 Freezerburn co-star
2006 Cold Case guest star
2007 McBride guest star

External links


 
 

 

Copyrights:

Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ben Murphy" Read more

 

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