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Murray Hamilton

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For the Australian politician, seeMurray Hamilton (politician).
Murray Hamilton
Hamilton in trailer forThe Drowning Pool(1975)
Born(1923-03-24)March 24, 1923
Washington, North Carolina,U.S.
DiedSeptember 1, 1986(1986-09-01)(aged 63)
Washington, North Carolina, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1944–1986
Spouse
Terri DeMarco
​
(m.1953)​
Children1

Murray Hamilton(March 24, 1923 – September 1, 1986) was an American stage, screen and televisioncharacter actorwho appeared in such films asAnatomy of a Murder,The Hustler,The Graduate,JawsandThe Amityville Horror.[1][2]

Early life

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Born inWashington, North Carolina,Hamilton displayed an early interest in performing during his days at Washington High School just before America's entry into World War II. Bad hearing kept him from enlisting, so he moved to New York City as a 19-year-old to find a career on stage.[citation needed]

Career

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In an early role, he performed on stage withHenry Fondain the wartime storyMister Robertsas a replacement forDavid Wayne,playingEnsign Pulver.[1][2]In 1960, he was onstage again with Fonda inCritic's Choice;Howard TaubmanofThe New York Timescalled him "properly obnoxious as the director".[1]Hamilton was teamed once more with Fonda in 1968 for the drama filmThe Boston Strangler.

Hamilton's best-known performance[3]is as Larry Vaughn, the mayor of Amity, in theSteven SpielbergthrillerJaws(1975).[2]Hamilton reprised the role in the sequel,Jaws 2in 1978.[4]He had agreed to reprise the role again inJaws: The Revenge,but died in 1986, before production began.[5]Other notable big-screen appearances include the critically acclaimed 1959 filmAnatomy of a MurderwithJames Stewart,in which he played the bartender Al Pacquette, who gives testimony in the murder of Barney Quill. He also worked with Stewart inThe Spirit of St. Louis(1957) andThe FBI Story(1959).

The actor made dozens of TV guest appearances. In 1955, Hamilton guest-starred on theNBClegal dramaJustice,based on case files of the Legal Aid Society ofNew York.Hamilton appeared in thePerry Masonepisode "The Case of the Deadly Double" (1958) as murderer Johnny Hale the shadowy boyfriend of a woman with asplit personalitywho is the sister of Perry Mason's client.

In 1957 he played a conniving cowboy who sets up Chester for a murder charge as "Jake Buley" in theGunsmokeepisode "Chester’s Murder". In 1959, he appeared in a few episodes of the crime dramaThe Untouchables,[6]as well as co-starring in the second episode ofRod Serling's television seriesThe Twilight Zone,"One for the Angels",playing Mr. Death oppositeEd Wynn.[7]Also, Hamilton portrayed Calhoun, on (S4E9) of Gunsmoke, which aired in April, 1959. His character is swindled in a land deal along with other members of a wagon train & his wife tries to leave Calhoun with the swindler.

In the 1959-60 television season, Hamilton also co-starred withWilliam Demarest,Jeanne BalandStubby Kayein the NBCsitcomLove and Marriage.He played attorney Steve Baker, who resides in an apartment with his wife (played by Bal), two daughters and a father-in-law (portrayed by Demarest). He soon appeared as a guest star on another sitcom,The Real McCoys,starringWalter Brennan,onABC.In 1961, he appeared in anotherscience fictionseries,'Way Out,hosted byRoald Dahl,with fellow guest starsDoris RobertsandMartin Huston.He guest-starred in an episode of theJames Stewartlegal dramaHawkinsin 1973. In 1986, he played Curtis "Big Daddy" Hollingsworth,Blanche Devereaux's father, in a first-season episode ofThe Golden Girls.

Hamilton complained in a newspaper article about beingtypecast,stating "After I was first cast as a heavy onThe Untouchables,I couldn't ever persuade them [producers] that I could also do something else. "[8]While comic roles were rare for Hamilton during his Hollywood career, he had one oppositeAndy Griffithin the 1958 military comedyNo Time for Sergeants,as well as an appearance in Steven Spielberg's raucous comedy1941,released in 1979. He also appeared in a comedic guest spot onMama's Familyin the second-season episode "Mama Cries Uncle" as Uncle Roy. He was more often cast in dramatic works, such as the science-fiction dramaSeconds(1966), which starredRock Hudson.In his most high-profile performances, Hamilton appeared withPaul NewmaninThe Hustler(1961), playing Findley, a wealthy billiards player who gambles for high stakes, and withDustin HoffmaninThe Graduate(1967) as Mr. Robinson, husband of theseductressMrs. Robinson. In 1975, Hamilton appeared again with Newman inThe Drowning Pool.He also worked withRobert Redfordin a pair of films,The Way We Were(1973) andBrubaker(1980). In early 1982 he appeared as a judge presiding over an impromptu court case on an episode ofBret Maverick.

For many years before and during his film career, Hamilton was a prominent dramatic stage actor, earning aTony Awardnomination for his role in the 1965 production ofAbsence of a Cello.New York Timestheater criticBrooks Atkinsonpraised his work in the playStockade,which was based on a part of theJames JonesnovelFrom Here to Eternity:"Murray Hamilton is an ideal Prewitt. Modest in manner, pleasant of voice, he has a steel-like spirit that brings Prewitt honestly to life."[1]When the actor was suffering fromcancerand found film roles harder to come by, his old co-starGeorge C. Scotthelped out by getting him a part in themade-for-television movieThe Last Days of Patton(1986).

Death

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Hamilton died oflung cancerat age 63,[2]and is interred at Oakdale Cemetery in his native Washington, North Carolina.[9]He and his wife, Terri DeMarco Hamilton (ofThe DeMarco Sisters), had a son, David.[2]

Filmography

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References

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  1. ^abcd"Murray Hamilton, a Character Actor for Over 40 Years".The New York Times.September 17, 1986.
  2. ^abcde"Murray Hamilton dies".Santa Cruz Sentinel.Associated Press.September 19, 1986 – viaNewspapers.Open access icon
  3. ^Hal Erickson(2015)."Murray Hamilton About This Person".Movies & TV Dept.The New York Times.Archived fromthe originalon 23 October 2015.Retrieved18 July2018.
  4. ^Bryan, Jacob (20 June 2017)."'Jaws' 42nd Anniversary: Cast then and Now ".MSN Movies.Archivedfrom the original on 5 August 2017.Retrieved6 June2018.
  5. ^Jankiewicz, Patrick (9 June 2013).Just When You Thought It Was Safe: A Jaws Companion.BearManor Media. p. 254.
  6. ^Tucker, Kenneth (20 December 2011).Eliot Ness and the Untouchables: The Historical Reality and the Film and Television Depictions(2nd ed.).McFarland Publishing.p. 111.ISBN9780786488773.
  7. ^Rubin, Steve (1 September 2017)."Syfy September 1 in Twilight Zone History: Remembering actor Murray Hamilton ('One for the Angels')".SyFy.Retrieved18 July2018.
  8. ^Lowry, Cynthia (January 10, 1963)."Murray Hamilton Breaks the Mold".The Newport Daily News.Retrieved18 July2018– viaNewspapers.Open access icon
  9. ^"Murray Hamilton, 63, Veteran Actor of Film and Television, Dies".Los Angeles Times.3 September 1986.Retrieved12 August2018.
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