Profile Text
LOS ANGELES – FEB 26: Murray at the 27th Annual Night of 100 Stars Oscar Viewing Gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 26, 2017 in Beverly Hills, CA, kathclick/Bigstock.com
Birth Name: Donald Patrick Murray
Date of Birth: July 31, 1929
Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California, United States
Date of Death: February 2, 2024
Place of Death: Goleta, California, U.S.
Ethnicity: * father – Irish * mother – Irish, English, Scottish, possibly other
Don Murray was an American actor. His roles included the films Bus Stop , for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; The Bachelor Party (1957), A Hatful of Rain , These Thousand Hills , Shake Hands with the Devil (1959), One Foot in Hell , The Hoodlum Priest , Escape from East Berlin , Advise & Consent (1962), One Man’s Way , Baby the Rain Must Fall , Kid Rodelo , The Plainsman (1966), The Viking Queen , Happy Birthday, Wanda June ; Conquest of the Planet of the Apes , Deadly Hero , Endless Love (1981), Radioactive Dreams , Peggy Sue Got Married , and Made in Heaven ; the series The Outcasts , Knots Landing , Brand New Life , Sons and Daughters , and Twin Peaks , and the made-for-tv movies The Girl on the Late, Late Show and The Stepford Children .
He was the son of Esthel/Ethel, a Ziegfeld Follies performer, and Dennis Aloisius/Aloysius Murray, a Broadway dance director and stage manager. He was raised partly in East Rockaway, New York. Don was married to Elizabeth “Bettie” Johnson, until his death. He had two children, photographer Patricia Murray and actor Christopher Murray, with his former wife, actress Hope Lange ; and three children, including composer Sean Murray, with Elizabeth.
Don’s paternal grandfather was named Dennis Murray. Dennis was Irish.
Don’s paternal grandmother was named Mary McGuire (the daughter of John McGuire and Bridget Reilly). Mary was Irish.
Don’s maternal grandfather was Abraham Lincoln Cook (the son of Abraham Cook and Elizabeth/Elisabeth/Eliza Wright). Don’s grandfather Abraham was born in Brooklyn, New York. Don’s great-grandfather Abraham was born in Kings, New York, the son of Catharine. Elisabeth was Irish.
Don’s maternal grandmother was Margaret Young Ferguson (the daughter of John Ferguson and Jessie Elder). Margaret was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. John was Scottish, the son of Donald Ferguson and Margaret Young. Jessie was English, from Newcastle upon Tyne, the daughter of Robert Elder and Jessie Stoddart.
Sources: https://www.nytimes.com
Genealogy of Don Murray – https://www.findagrave.com
Marriage record of Don’s parents – https://www.familysearch.org
Genealogy of Don Murray (focusing on his father’s side) – https://www.geni.com
Don’s mother on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Don’s maternal great-grandparents, Abraham Cook and Elizabeth/Elisabeth/Eliza Wright, on the 1860 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org