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Fred MacMurray

Actor

Fred MacMurray

Born August 30, 1908 in Kankakee, Illinois, USADied November 5, 199188 films

Fredrick Martin 'Fred' MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor and musician. He was educated at Carroll College, Wisconsin, and played with a Chicago orchestra for more than a year. Then he joined an orchestra in Hollywood where he played, did some recording and played extra roles. He then joined a comedy stage band, California Collegians, and went to New York. There he joined "Three's A Crowd" revue on Broadway and on the road. After this show closed, he returned to California and worked in vaudeville. He played the vaudeville circuits and night clubs until cast for major role in "Roberta". Signed by Paramount in 1935.

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He was raised in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin from the age of 5, eventually graduating from Beaver Dam High School (currently the site of Beaver Dam Middle School), where he was a 3-sport star in football, baseball, and basketball. He retained a special place in his heart for his small-town Wisconsin upbringing, referring at any opportunity in magazine articles or interviews to the lifelong friends and cherished memories of Beaver Dam, even including mementos of his childhood in several of his films. In 'Pardon my Past' (1945), he and fellow GI William Demarest are moving to Beaver Dam, WI to start a mink farm.

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The best way into Fred MacMurray's work
The Apartment posterFirst watchThe Apartment19608.2as Jeff D. SheldrakeBud Baxter is a minor clerk in a huge New York insurance company, until he discovers a quick way to climb the corporate ladder.View film

Essential films

Ranked by acclaim and reach
Double Indemnity poster8.1Double Indemnity1944The Caine Mutiny poster7.2The Caine Mutiny1954Remember the Night poster7.4Remember the Night1940The Absent-Minded Professor poster6.5The Absent-Minded Professor1961There's Always Tomorrow poster7.2There's Always Tomorrow1956Pushover poster6.6Pushover1954The Shaggy Dog poster6.2The Shaggy Dog1959Alice Adams poster6.7Alice Adams1935

Filmography

88 films as actor
  1. 1978The SwarmClarence
  2. 1975Beyond the Bermuda TriangleHarry Ballinger
  3. 1974The Chadwick FamilyNed Chadwick
  4. 1973Charley and the AngelCharley Appleby
  5. 1967The Happiest MillionaireAnthony Biddle
  6. 1966Follow Me, Boys!Lemuel Siddons
  7. 1964Kisses for My PresidentThad McCloud
  8. 1963Son of FlubberNed Brainard
  9. 1962Bon Voyage!Harry Willard
  10. 1961The Absent-Minded ProfessorNed Brainard
  11. 1960The ApartmentJeff D. Sheldrake
  12. 1959The Oregon TrailNeal Harris
  13. 1959Face of a FugitiveJim Larsen (aka Ray Kincaid)
  14. 1959The Shaggy DogWilson Daniels
  15. 1959Good Day for a HangingMarshal Ben Cutler
  16. 1958Day of the BadmanJudge Jim Scott
  17. 1957QuantezGentry
  18. 1956Gun for a CowardWill Keough
  19. 1956There's Always TomorrowClifford Groves
  20. 1955At GunpointJack Wright
  21. 1955The Rains of RanchipurThomas "Tom" Ransome
  22. 1955The Far HorizonsCpt. Meriwether Lewis
  23. 1954Woman's WorldSid Burns
  24. 1954PushoverPaul Sheridan
  25. 1954The Caine MutinyLt. Thomas 'Tom' Keefer
  26. 1953The MoonlighterWes Anderson
  27. 1953Fair Wind to JavaCaptain Boll
  28. 1951Callaway Went ThatawayMike Frye
  29. 1951A Millionaire for ChristyPeter Ulysses Lockwood
  30. 1950Never a Dull MomentChris Hayward
  31. 1950BorderlineJohnny Macklin
  32. 1949Father Was a FullbackGeorge Cooper
  33. 1948Family HoneymoonGrant Jordan
  34. 1948An Innocent AffairVincent Doane
  35. 1948The Miracle of the BellsWilliam 'Bill' Dunnigan
  36. 1948On Our Merry WayAl
  37. 1947SingaporeMatt Gordon
  38. 1947The Egg and IBob MacDonald
  39. 1947Suddenly It's SpringPeter Morely
  40. 1946SmokyClint Barkley
  41. 1945Pardon My PastEddie York / Francis Pemberton
  42. 1945Murder, He SaysPete Marshall
  43. 1945Captain EddieEddie Rickenbacker
  44. 1945Where Do We Go from Here?Bill Morgan
  45. 1944Practically YoursDaniel Bellamy
  46. 1944Double IndemnityWalter Neff
  47. 1944And the Angels SingHappy Morgan
  48. 1944Standing Room OnlyLee Stevens
  49. 1943The Last Will and Testament of Tom SmithNarrator Prolog (uncredited)
  50. 1943Above SuspicionRichard Myles
  51. 1943Flight for FreedomRandy Britton
  52. 1943No Time for LoveJim Ryan
  53. 1942The Forest RangersDon Stuart
  54. 1942Take a Letter, DarlingTom Verney
  55. 1942Star Spangled RhythmFrank
  56. 1942The Lady Is WillingCorey McBain
  57. 1941New York TownVictor Ballard
  58. 1941Dive BomberJoe Blake
  59. 1941One Night In LisbonDwight Houston
  60. 1941VirginiaStonewall Elliott
  61. 1940Rangers of FortuneGil Farra
  62. 1940Too Many HusbandsBill Cardew
  63. 1940Little Old New YorkCharles Brownne
  64. 1940Remember the NightJack Sargent
  65. 1939Honeymoon in BaliBill Burnett
  66. 1939Invitation to HappinessAlbert 'King' Cole
  67. 1939Cafe SocietyCrick O'Bannon
  68. 1938Sing, You SinnersDavid Beebe
  69. 1938Men with WingsPat Falconer
  70. 1938Cocoanut GroveJohnny Prentice
  71. 1937True ConfessionKenneth Bartlett
  72. 1937ExclusiveRalph Houston
  73. 1937Swing High, Swing LowSkid Johnson
  74. 1937Maid of SalemRoger Coverman
  75. 1937Champagne WaltzBuzzy Bellew
  76. 1936The Texas RangersJim Hawkins
  77. 1936The Princess Comes AcrossKing Mantell
  78. 193613 Hours by AirJack Gordon
  79. 1936The Trail of the Lonesome PineJack Hale
  80. 1935The Bride Comes HomeCyrus Anderson
  81. 1935Hands Across the TableTheodore Drew III
  82. 1935Alice AdamsArthur Russell
  83. 1935Men Without NamesAgent Dick Grant, alias Richard Hood
  84. 1935Car 99Trooper Ross Martin
  85. 1935The Gilded LilyPeter Dawes
  86. 1935Grand Old GirlSandy
  87. 1929Tiger RoseRancher
  88. 1929Girls Gone WildExtra (uncredited)