George Murphy

George Murphy was an American dancer and stage screen and television actor as well as a United States Senator Murphy was a songanddance leading man in many bigbudget Hollywood musicals from 1930 to 1952 He was the president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1944 to 1946 and was awarded an honorary Oscar in 1951 Murphy served from 1965 to 1971 as US Senator from California the first notable US actor to be elected to statewide office in California predating Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger He is the only United States Senator represented by a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame In movies Murphy was known as a songanddance man and appeared in many bigbudget musicals such as Broadway Melody of 1938 Broadway Melody of 1940 and For Me and My Gal He made his movie debut shortly after talking pictures had replaced silent movies in 1930 and his career continued until he retired as an actor in 1952 at the age of 50 During World War II he organized entertainment for American troops In 1951 he was awarded an honorary Academy Award He was never nominated for an Oscar in any competitive category He was the president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1944 to 1946 He was also a vice president of Desilu Productions and of the Technicolor Corporation He was director of entertainment for presidential inaugurations in 1953 1957 and 1961