John Murray was an American actor born on February 9, 1901, in the Bronx, New York. He began his acting career by appearing in a three-reeler at Yale University in 1923 and later traveled 3000 miles to Hollywood to pursue his dreams.
Murray's early success came when he was cast in King Vidor's silent film, The Crowd (1928),after being spotted by Vidor working as an extra at MGM. He impressed Vidor and Irving Thalberg with his natural acting ability and was considered one of the best actors they had ever worked with.
Murray went on to appear in several films, including The Big City (1928),Thunder (1929),The Shakedown (1929),Bachelor Mother (1932),and Heroes for Sale (1933),but he struggled to maintain his early success. He became a chronic alcoholic and turned to the streets, begging for change.
In 1934, Murray attempted to panhandle Vidor, who offered him a job in his next film, Our Daily Bread (1934),but Murray refused. Tragically, his body was found in the Hudson River in 1936, at the age of 35, after either jumping from, falling from, or being thrown off of a pier.
King Vidor was deeply affected by Murray's death and wrote a script based on his life, hoping to turn it into a film called "The Actor" in 1979, but the project was never completed.
