Michael Murphy (actor)

For other people named Michael Murphy, see Michael Murphy (disambiguation).

Michael Murphy
Murphy in 2006
Born	Michael George Murphy (1938-05-05) May 5, 1938 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1963–present
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Spouse	Wendy Crewson ​ ​ (m. 1988; div. 2009)​
Children	2

Michael George Murphy (born May 5, 1938) is an American film, television and stage actor. He often plays unethical or morally ambiguous characters in positions of authority, including executives, politicians, law enforcement agents, lawyers, judges, academics, doctors and clerics. He is also known for his frequent collaborations (more than any other performer) with director Robert Altman, having appeared in twelve film and television productions directed by Altman in a period spanning 1963 to 2004, including his leading titular role in the HBO cable miniseries Tanner '88.

Murphy has had roles in films M*A*S*H (1970), Brewster McCloud (1970), McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971), What's Up, Doc? (1972), Phase IV (1974), Nashville (1975), The Front (1976), An Unmarried Woman (1978), The Class of Miss MacMichael (1978), Manhattan (1979), Strange Behavior (1981), The Year of Living Dangerously (1982), Cloak & Dagger (1984), My Letter to George (1985), Salvador (1986), Shocker (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Kansas City (1996), Private Parts (1997), Magnolia (1999), Silver City (2004), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), Away from Her (2006), White House Down (2013), and Fall (2014). Murphy's performance in Fall earned him a nomination for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Lead Performance in a Drama Film. His work on the Canadian television series, This is Wonderland, earned him two Gemini Awards for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series in 2004 and 2005, and a third nomination in 2006.

Early life

Murphy was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Georgia Arlyn (née Money), a teacher, and Bearl Branton Murphy, a salesman. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, Murphy attended the University of Arizona and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

He taught English and drama at University High School before pursuing an acting career.

Career

Murphy is best known for his performances as Jill Clayburgh's adulterous husband Martin in Paul Mazursky's An Unmarried Woman (1978), as Woody Allen's morally ambiguous best friend Yale in Manhattan (1979), as The Mayor of Gotham City in Batman Returns (1992), as ethically enigmatic lawyer Alan Kligman, Esq. in Magnolia (1999), as the "mutant" Angel's human father (and crusading cure-developer) Warren Worthington II in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), and as the star of Garry Trudeau and Robert Altman's 1988 miniseries Tanner '88.

Murphy worked frequently with Altman, including as Captain Ezekiel Bradbury "Me Lay" Marston V, in M*A*S*H (1970), as Det. Lt. Frank Shaft in Brewster McCloud (1970), as John Triplette in Nashville (1975), and as the eponymous, fictitious former U.S. Congressman and presidential aspirant, Jack Tanner, in Tanner '88, a role he later reprised in the 2004 Sundance Channel follow-up miniseries Tanner on Tanner. Other Altman films and television series in which Murphy appeared include the World War II TV series Combat! (in which Murphy appeared, twice, in 1963, on the show's second of five seasons), Countdown (1968), That Cold Day in the Park (1969), McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1988) and Kansas City (1996).

Other notable film roles include Count Yorga, Vampire (1970), What's Up, Doc? (1972), The Thief Who Came to Dinner (1973), The Front (1976), The Great Bank Hoax (1977), The Class of Miss MacMichael (1978), The Year of Living Dangerously (1983), Cloak & Dagger (1984), My Letter to George (1986), Salvador (1986), Private Parts (1997), Silver City (2004), According to Greta (2009), White House Down (2013) and They Came Together (2014).

Though usually cast in supporting roles and character parts, Murphy has also had leading turns in theatrical films including Phase IV (1974), Strange Behavior (1981), Hot Money (1983), Shocker (1989), The Island (1998) and the 2014 film Fall—in an acclaimed performance that garnered him a nomination for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Lead Performance in a Drama Film in 2015—as well as his having had starring turns in television films like Bell, Book and Candle (1976), 3 by Cheever: O Youth and Beauty! (1979), Countdown to Looking Glass (1984), Tailspin: Behind the Korean Airliner Tragedy (1989), The Ultimate Lie (1996), Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story (1996) and In the Dark (2003).

In addition to his starring turns in the HBO Films original productions Tanner '88, Tailspin: Behind the Korean Airliner Tragedy, and Countdown to Looking Glass, Murphy has also appeared in other films for the cable giant, including the historical biopics Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster (1992), Truman (1995) and Live from Baghdad (2002).

Murphy had starring turns in two major primetime series: as Dr. Art Armstrong on the ABC family drama Two Marriages (1983-1984), and as jaded veteran reporter Andy Omart on the short-lived CBS newspaper drama Hard Copy (1987).

He has appeared extensively in Canadian film and television, including co-starring on the legal dramady series This Is Wonderland, as longtime judicial veteran Judge Maxwell Fraser. For his work on the show, Murphy was nominated for three Gemini Awards, winning twice, successively, in 2004 and 2005, and nominated for a third in 2006. He was cast as monolithic casino executive Jimmy Molloy on the American ESPN competitive poker drama Tilt (2005), as veteran law enforcement superior, Chief Ed Wycoff, on the Canadian CTV police drama The Bridge (2010), and as George Kelly, the father of ex-soldier-turned-thief Ethan Kelly (played by Cole Hauser) in the third season of the Canadian-British-American DirecTV police drama Rogue in 2015.

His guest-starring turns on television span more than half of a century, including guest appearances on series Bonanza, Ben Casey, Hogan's Heroes, The Sixth Sense, Premiere, Baretta, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Judging Amy, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Family Law, 12 O'Clock High, Lifestories, Here Comes the Brides, LAX, Person of Interest and L.A. Law.

He has appeared in Canadian television films and miniseries Sleeping Dogs Lie (1998), The Life and Crimes of William Palmer (1998), H₂O (2004), Hunt for Justice (2005), Playing House (2006) and The Quality of Life (2008), as well as a number of theatrically released features including Folks! (1992), Tart (2001), Childstar (2004), Away from Her (2006), The Trotsky (2008) and Indian Horse (2017). Murphy's guest-starring turns on Canadian television series include E.N.G., Living in Your Car, Bury the Lead, Michael: Every Day and Street Legal.

Murphy has also been a narrator of documentary films, including several dozen episodes of the PBS historical documentary series The American Experience, as well as the public television travel series Weekends with Yankee, and a variety of various American- and Canadian-produced documentary films.

Personal life

Murphy was married to Canadian actress Wendy Crewson from 1988 until their divorce in January 2009. They have two children.

Murphy resides in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
1967	Double Trouble	Morley	Film debut
	Countdown	Rick
1968	The Legend of Lylah Clare	Mark Peter Sheehan
1969	That Cold Day in the Park	The Rounder
	The Arrangement	Father Draddy
1970	The Lawyer	Intern in Legal Office	Uncredited
	Count Yorga, Vampire	Paul
	M*A*S*H	Capt. Ezekiel Bradbury "Me Lay" Marston V
	Brewster McCloud	Det. Lt. Frank Shaft
1971	McCabe & Mrs. Miller	Eugene Sears
1972	Screwball Comedies... Remember Them?	Self	Short film
	What's Up, Doc?	Mr. Smith
1973	The Thief Who Came to Dinner	Ted
1974	Phase IV	Dr. James R. Lesko
1975	Nashville	John Triplette
1976	The Front	Alfred Miller
1977	The Great Bank Hoax	Reverend Everett Manigma
1978	An Unmarried Woman	Martin Benton
	The Class of Miss MacMichael	Martin Best
1979	Manhattan	Yale Pollack
1981	Strange Behavior	Chief John Brady	AKA Dead Kids, Small Town Massacre, Shadowlands and Human Experiments
1982	The Year of Living Dangerously	Pete Curtis
1983	Hot Money	Burt / Tom	AKA Getting Centred, Never Trust an Honest Thief, Dinheiro Vivo, Zen Business, El gran robo, Going for Broke and The Great Madison County Robbery
1984	Talk to Me	Ross
	Cloak & Dagger	Rice
1985	My Letter to George	Reverend Wilson	AKA Mesmerized and Shocked
1986	Salvador	U.S. Ambassador Thomas Kelly
1989	Shocker	Det. Lt. Don Parker
1992	Folks!	Ed
	Batman Returns	The Mayor
1994	Clean Slate	Dr. Anthony Doover
1995	Bad Company	William V. "Smitty" Smithfield	Uncredited
1996	Kansas City	Henry Stilton
1997	Private Parts	Roger Erlick
1998	The Island	President John F. Kennedy	AKA Norma Jean, Jack & Me
1999	Magnolia	Alan Kligman, Esq.
2000	The Art of War	Politician	Uncredited cameo
	Enlisted: The Story of "M*A*S*H"	Self
2001	Tart	Mike Storm
2004	Childstar	Reed Harrison
	Silver City	U.S. Senator Judson Pilager
	Tricks	Arthur
2005	Heights	Jesse
2006	X-Men: The Last Stand	Warren Worthington II
	Away From Her	Aubrey
2008	A War in Hollywood	Alfred Miller	Uncredited; archive footage from The Front
2009	The Trotsky	Frank McGovern
	According to Greta	Joseph
2011	Mulroney: The Opera	Col. Robert R. McCormick
2013	White House Down	Vice President Alvin Hammond
2014	Altman	Self
	Fall	Father Sam Ryan
	They Came Together	Roger
2016	Close Encounters with Vilmos Zsigmond	Self
2017	Indian Horse	Father Quinney
2018	Two Plains & a Fancy	Rancher
2019	Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese	The Politician, Fmr. U.S. Congressman Jack Tanner
2024	Robert Altman: America's Rebel Director	John Triplette	Uncredited; archive footage from Nashville
	Cruel, Usual, Necessary: The Passion of Silvio Narizzano	Self

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
1963	Combat!	1st Tanker / Soldier in Hospital	2 episodes
1964, 1965	Ben Casey	Dr. J. Wells Savage / Dr. Paul Galloway / Andy Andrews	3 episodes
1965	The Man from U.N.C.L.E.	Intern	1 episode
	Dr. Kildare	Doctor at Meeting	1 episode
	Hogan's Heroes	Corporal Walter Comminsky (uncredited)	1 episode
1966	12 O'Clock High	Sergeant Marven	1 episode
1968	Bonanza	Will Holt	1 episode
	Premiere	William Smith	1 episode
	Here Come the Brides	Ethan Weems	1 episode
1972	The Sixth Sense	David Ford	1 episode
	The Crooked Hearts	Officer Frank Adamic	TV movie
1974	The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman	Quentin Lerner	TV movie
	I Love You...Good-bye	Alec Shield	TV movie
1975	Salty	Stock	1 episode
	Baretta	Mike Parsons	1 episode
1976	The Making of "The Front"	Self	TV movie
	Bell, Book and Candle	Alex Brandt	TV movie
1978	Midday with Bill Boggs	Self/Guest	1 episode
1979	3 by Cheever: O Youth and Beauty!	Cash Bentley	TV movie
1981	Tomorrow Coast to Coast	Self/Guest	1 episode
1982	The Rules of Marriage	Alan Murray	TV movie
1983-1984	Two Marriages	Dr. Art Armstrong	10 episodes
1984	Countdown to Looking Glass	Bob Calhoun	TV movie
1987	Hard Copy	Andy Omart	11 episodes
1988	The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial	Captain Blakely	TV movie
	Tanner '88	Fmr. U.S. Congressman Jack Tanner	Miniseries
1989	Tailspin: Behind the Korean Airliner Tragedy	Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Richard Burt	TV movie
1990	Lifestories	Frank Brody	1 episode
	E.N.G.	Steve Kurtz	1 episode
1992	Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster	U.S. EPA Administrator William K. Reilly	TV movie
	Screen One	U.S. EPA Administrator William K. Reilly	1 episode
1993	L.A. Law	Bobby Lewis	1 episode
1995	The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies	John Triplette / Yale Pollack (uncredited - archive footage from Nashville and Manhattan)	TV movie
	Truman	Dinner Speaker (uncredited cameo)	TV movie
1996	Robert Altman: Giggle and Give In	Self	TV special
	Special Report: Journey to Mars	Dean Rumplemeyer	TV movie
	The Ultimate Lie	Malcolm McGrath	TV movie
1997	Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story	Pete Louganis	TV movie
1998	The Irish in America: Long Journey Home	Narrator	Miniseries
	The Life and Crimes of William Palmer	Smith	Miniseries
	Indiscretion of an American Wife	Russell Burton	TV movie
	Sleeping Dogs Lie	Edgar Tratt	TV movie
2000	The Only Living Boy in New York	Rudy	TV movie
	Altman on His Own Terms	Self	TV movie
	Twentieth Century Fox: The Blockbuster Years	Martin Benton (archive footage from An Unmarried Woman)	TV movie
	Judging Amy	Judge Alistair McNeil	1 episode
	Family Law	Ian Lumberg	1 episode
2001	Law & Order	Nolan Tinsdale	1 episode
	The Day Reagan Was Shot	White House Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Deaver	TV movie
2002	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Judge Peter Blakemore	1 episode
	Woody Allen: A Life in Film	Yale Pollack (uncredited - archive footage from Manhattan)	TV movie
	Live from Baghdad	Tom Johnson	TV movie
2002-2020	The American Experience	Narrator	35 episodes
2003	Bury the Lead	Arthur	1 episode
	Footsteps	Robbie Lowendahl	TV movie
	In the Dark	George Speller	TV movie
2004	LAX	Emmet	1 episode
	American Masters – Julia! America's Favorite Chef	Narrator	TV movie
	Behind the Scenes: Tanner on Tanner	Self	TV movie
	Tanner on Tanner	Fmr. U.S. Congressman Jack Tanner	Miniseries
	What's Happened Since '88	Self	TV movie
	The Path to 9/11	U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen	Miniseries
	H2O	U.S. Ambassador Conrad	Miniseries
2004-2006	This Is Wonderland	Judge Maxwell Fraser	39 episodes
2005	Tilt	Jimmy Molloy	9 episodes
	Mayday	Captain Randall Williams	TV movie
	Hunt for Justice	General Salinski	TV movie
2006	Playing House	Hubbard	TV movie
	The Wind in the Willows	Judge	TV movie
2008	80th National Board of Review Awards	Self	TV special
	Caring for Your Parents	Narrator	TV movie
	Depression: Out of the Shadows	Narrator	TV movie
	The Quality of Life	Charles Greenborne	TV movie
2009	China Rises	Narrator	TV movie
2010	The Bridge	Chief Ed Wycoff	13 episodes
	Living in Your Car	Frank	1 episode
2011	Michael: Every Day	Stanley Dyer	1 episode
	Person of Interest	U.S. Congressman Jim Hallen	1 episode
	India Reborn	Narrator	TV movie
	Angle of Attack: How Naval Aviation Changed the Face of War	Narrator	TV movie
2012	Great Scot Beer	Randy	TV movie
2014	Pop Culture Beast's Halloween Horror Picks	John Brady (uncredited - archive footage from Strange Behavior)	1 episode
2015	3rd Canadian Screen Awards	Self/Nominee/Presenter	TV special
	Rogue	George Kelly	10 episodes
2018-2019	Weekends with Yankee	Narrator	26 episodes
2019	Street Legal	Henry Czernik	2 episodes

Theatre

• Take Her, She's Mine, playing "Alex Loomis", Valley Music Theatre, Los Angeles, CA – 1964 (stage acting debut)
• Our Town, playing "Sam Craig" and "Baseball Player", Huntington Hartford Theatre, Los Angeles, CA; ANTA Playhouse, New York City, NY; The Plumstead Playhouse (at The Coconut Grove Playhouse), Coconut Grove, FL – 1969-1970
• Rat's Nest, director, Vandam Theatre (then known as Grove Street Theatre), New York City, NY – 1978 (stage directorial and producorial debut)
• The Hotel Play, playing "Psychiatrist", La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, New York City, NY – 1981
• Playing in Local Bands, playing "Michael", Yale Repertory Theatre, New Haven, CT – 1983
• Curse of the Starving Class, director, Portland Stage Company, Portland, ME – 1985
• Goodbye Freddy, playing "Hank", Manhattan Punch Line Theatre, New York City, NY; INTAR Theatre, New York City, NY – 1985
• Near the End of the Century, playing "Richard", George Street Playhouse, New Brunswick, NJ – 1992

Accolades

• Magnolia — Winner — National Board of Review Award for Best Acting by an Ensemble (1999)
• Magnolia — Winner — Awards Circuit Community Award for Best Cast Ensemble (1999)
• Magnolia — Winner — Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Ensemble (2000)
• Magnolia — Winner — Online Film & Television Association Award for Best Ensemble (2000)
• Magnolia — Nominee — Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble (2000)
• Magnolia — Winner — Satellite Award - Special Achievement Award - Outstanding Motion Picture Ensemble (2000)
• Magnolia — Nominee — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture (2000)
• This is Wonderland — Winner — Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series (2004)
• This is Wonderland — Winner — Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series (2005)
• This is Wonderland — Nominee — Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series (2006)
• Fall — Nominee — Canadian Screen Award for Best Lead Performance in a Drama Film (2015)
• Mid-Lifetime Achievement Award — Winner — Maine International Film Festival (2015)

External links

• Michael Murphy at IMDb