Fred MacMurray

Lore & Background

Fred MacMurray was born in Kankakee, Illinois, to Maleta and concert violinist Frederick Talmadge MacMurray. As an infant, his family moved to Madison, Wisconsin, then to Beaver Dam. He attended school in Quincy, Illinois, where he played football and baseball, ran track, and worked in a pea cannery. After graduation, he received a full scholarship to Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and played saxophone in local bands while attending the Chicago Art Institute in the evenings. He began his career as a musician, singing and playing saxophone with the George Olsen orchestra from 1928 and Gus Arnheim from 1930. In 1928, he chauffeured his mother to Los Angeles, found work as an extra, and continued playing saxophone with the California Collegians. The band appeared on Broadway in Three's a Crowd, leading to a role in the musical Roberta. He signed with Paramount Pictures in 1934.

MacMurray worked with directors Billy Wilder and Preston Sturges, and actors Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Humphrey Bogart, Marlene Dietrich, and Claudette Colbert. He co-starred with Katharine Hepburn in Alice Adams, with Joan Crawford in Above Suspicion, and with Carole Lombard in four productions. Usually cast in light comedies, he became one of the film industry's highest-paid actors, earning $420,000 in 1943 and $439,000 in 1944, making him the highest-paid actor in Hollywood. During World War II, he sold war bonds and served as an air-raid warden. His best-known 'bad guy' performance was in Double Indemnity, which he stated in 1956 was his favorite role. He also played Lieutenant Thomas Keefer in The Caine Mutiny and Jeff Sheldrake in The Apartment. From 1960 to 1972, he starred in My Three Sons, with a contract provision that all his scenes be shot in two separate month-long blocks. His final film was The Swarm.

Reader's Guide

Fred MacMurray's significance lies in his versatility across film and television, from light comedies to film noir. His role in Double Indemnity remains a landmark performance in cinema, while his long-running television series My Three Sons made him a household name. His work with Disney in the 1960s further cemented his legacy as a family-friendly star. MacMurray's career also illustrates the transition from Hollywood's studio system to television, and his business acumen—through real estate investments and frugality—made him one of the wealthier actors of his era. His legacy includes the MacMurray Ranch in Northern California, now a vineyard, and his influence on later generations of actors who admired his ability to play against type.

Did You Know?

• MacMurray was the highest-paid actor in Hollywood in 1943 and 1944, earning $420,000 and $439,000 respectively.
• He turned down the role of Perry Mason on television, saying 'I want to do as little TV work as possible – it's lots of work.'
• During the production of The Egg and I, hens laid over 300 eggs; MacMurray and Claudette Colbert autographed eggs sold for charity.
• MacMurray purchased the Bryson Apartment Hotel in Los Angeles for $600,000 using profits from Double Indemnity.