Joe Murphy (actor)

Joseph Murphy (May 16, 1877 – July 31, 1961) was an American comic stage actor. He went on to become a silent film actor, notably playing Andy Gump in the shorts The Gumps during the mid-1920s. His unusual tall, thin stature and extraordinary facial features were instantly recognizable.^[1]

Personal life

Joe Murphy was born Joseph J. Murphy on 16 May 1877 in San Jose, California.^[2] His mother Anna (Mahoney) and father John Murphy were married in Michigan, January 13, 1875 before moving to San Jose, California.^[3] On October 30 ,1920, his son Russell, aged 16, was shot and killed by a police officer after he and his friends were mistaken for robbers. ^[4] Murphy filed a $18,000 lawsuit against a patrolman of the L.A. Police Department, after criminal charges against the police were dropped by the district attorney claiming that the officer killed the boy in the line of duty.^[4] Joe continued to live in California where he worked as a silent moving picture star in Hollywood. He died at the age of 84 on 31 July 1961 in Santa Clara,^[2] leaving his wife, Marie, who was of Irish birth.^[5]

Professional life

Murphy began his career in Vaudeville.^[6] He was half of a Mutt and Jeff act alongside Little Bobby Vernon and he was also one the original Keystone Cops.^[7] From the 1910s through the 1940s Joe worked in many comedy short films, playing for most of the major studios, including Fox, National and L-Ko.^[6] His biggest success came during the five years (1923–1928) in which he played the very popular main character Andy Gump in Universal Pictures silent film shorts.^[6] The Gumps was a silent short where the misadventures of its main character, Andy Gump, a pompous bungler whose cry of "Oh! Min!" when he was in trouble became a 1920s catchphrase.^[1] Murphy's unusual and distinctive physical appearance (he was 6'3" tall and lanky), as well as being a naturally gifted slapstick comedian, made him ideally suited to playing the role (aided by an artificial nose).^[8] The Gumps elevated him to a relatively short period of stardom. He was described as "one of the best known comedy actors of the screen, and loved by thousands of moving picture fans".^[4] At the height of his popularity Murphy, as Andy Gump, would draw large crowds at promotional events.^[9]

The Gumps shorts were based on the extremely popular newspaper comic strip, written and drawn by Sidney Smith. The Gumps was first published on February 12, 1917. The popularity of the comic strip eventually led to the making of nearly 50 silent film shorts, produced by Samuel Von Ronken and released by Universal Studios. Many of "The Gumps" silent shorts were directed by Norman Taurog, with Joe Murphy as Andy Gump, Fay Tincher as Min (Minerva), Jack Morgan as Chester, and Slim Hamilton as Uncle Bim.^[10]

Carl Laemmle, owner of Universal Pictures at the time, recognized Joe Murphy's physical suitability for playing the Andy Gump character. Carl knew Joe was an ex-vaudevillian who had experience with L-KO, Keystone, FOX, Triangle, Reelcraft, and Educational Studios. The producers had thought it would be nearly impossible that they would find a character who could play the comic strip character until Laemmle recommended Joe. The Gumps series is now part of the National Film preservation effort.^[11]

After 1930 Murphy continued to appear in films, but he never again achieved the success that he reached with The Gumps, returning to working as an extra. This continued up to the 1940s, notably with the Three Stooges in You Nazty Spy! (1940).^[6] Murphy's career is slowly being rediscovered after a period of neglect, most notably through the work of the National Film Preservation Foundation.^[11]

Filmography - The Gumps

Filmography - Other

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joe Murphy (actor).

• Joe Murphy at IMDb
• Oh! What A Day! (1923)
• The Original Gump May 16, 2014
• The New Yorker December 3, 1927
• Any Old Count (1928) on YouTube

This page was last edited on 19 May 2024, at 23:22