Born to Maleta Martin and Frederick MacMurray (concert violinist). Fred sang and played in orchestras to earn tuition. He was educated at Carroll College, Wis. Fred played with a Chicago orchestra for more than a year. Then he joined an orchestra in Hollywood where he played, did some recording and played extra roles. He then joined a comedy stage band, California Collegians, and went to New York. There he joined "Three's A Crowd" revue on Broadway and on the road. After this show closed, he returned to California and worked in vaudeville. He played the vaudeville circuits and night clubs until cast for major role in "Roberta". Signed by Paramount in 1935. MacMurray was raised in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin from the age of 5, eventually graduating from Beaver Dam High School (currently the site of Beaver Dam Middle School), where he was a 3-sport star in football, baseball, and basketball. Fred retained a special place in his heart for his small-town Wisconsin upbringing, referring at any opportunity in magazine articles or interviews to the lifelong friends and cherished memories of Beaver Dam, even including mementos of his childhood in several of his films. In "Pardon my Past" (1945), Fred and fellow GI William Demarest are moving to Beaver Dam, WI to start a mink farm.
Movie | This Is Bob Hope... | Self (archive footage) | 2017-12-29 |
Movie | Billy Wilder Speaks | Himself (archive footage) | 2006-06-22 |
Movie | Shadows of Suspense | Himself (archive footage) | 2006-08-22 |
Movie | Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire | Self (archive footage) | 1991-07-15 |
Movie | George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey | Self (archive footage) | 1985-03-03 |
Movie | Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid | (in "Double Indemnity") (archive footage) | 1982-05-21 |
Movie | The Swarm | Maj. Clarance Tuttle | 1978-07-14 |
Movie | Joys | Self | 1976-03-05 |
Movie | Beyond the Bermuda Triangle | Harry Ballinger | 1975-11-06 |
Movie | Charley and the Angel | Charley Appleby | 1973-03-23 |
Movie | The Movie Orgy | Self (archive footage) | 1968-01-01 |
Movie | The Happiest Millionaire | Anthony J. Drexel Biddle | 1967-11-30 |
Movie | Follow Me, Boys! | Lemuel Siddons | 1966-12-01 |
Movie | Kisses for My President | Thad McCloud | 1964-08-21 |
Movie | Son of Flubber | Ned Brainard | 1963-01-16 |
Movie | Hollywood Without Make-Up | Self (archive footage) | 1963-07-01 |
Movie | Bon Voyage! | Harry Willard | 1962-05-17 |
Movie | The Absent-Minded Professor | Ned Brainard | 1961-03-16 |
Series | My Three Sons | 1960-09-29 | |
Movie | The Apartment | Jeff D. Sheldrake | 1960-06-21 |
Movie | The Shaggy Dog | Wilson Daniels | 1959-03-19 |
Movie | Face of a Fugitive | Jim Larsen (aka Ray Kincaid) | 1959-05-01 |
Movie | The Oregon Trail | Neal Harris | 1959-08-31 |
Movie | Disneyland '59 | Self | 1959-06-15 |
Movie | Day of the Badman | Judge Jim Scott | 1958-01-29 |
Movie | Quantez | Gentry | 1957-09-06 |
Movie | There's Always Tomorrow | Clifford Groves | 1956-01-08 |
Movie | Gun for a Coward | Will Keough | 1956-12-30 |
Movie | The Rains of Ranchipur | Thomas "Tom" Ransome | 1955-12-14 |
Movie | The Far Horizons | Cpt. Meriwether Lewis | 1955-07-04 |
Movie | At Gunpoint | Jack Wright | 1955-12-25 |
Movie | Pushover | Paul Sheridan | 1954-07-14 |
Movie | The Caine Mutiny | Lt. Thomas 'Tom' Keefer | 1954-06-24 |
Movie | A Star Is Born World Premiere | Self | 1954-09-28 |
Movie | Woman's World | Sid Burns | 1954-09-30 |
Series | December Bride | Unknown | 1954-10-04 |
Movie | Fair Wind to Java | Captain Boll | 1953-01-28 |
Series | General Electric Theater | Unknown | 1953-02-01 |
Movie | The Moonlighter | Wes Anderson | 1953-09-19 |
Movie | A Millionaire for Christy | Peter Ulysses Lockwood | 1951-09-02 |
Movie | Callaway Went Thataway | Mike Frye | 1951-11-15 |
Movie | Never a Dull Moment | Chris Hayward | 1950-08-19 |
Movie | Borderline | Johnny McEvoy, aka Johnny Macklin | 1950-03-01 |
Series | The Colgate Comedy Hour | Unknown | 1950-09-10 |
Movie | Father Was a Fullback | George Cooper | 1949-09-30 |
Movie | The Miracle of the Bells | William 'Bill' Dunnigan | 1948-03-27 |
Movie | On Our Merry Way | Al | 1948-02-03 |
Movie | An Innocent Affair | Vincent Doane | 1948-10-15 |
Movie | Family Honeymoon | Grant Jordan | 1948-12-06 |
Movie | Suddenly It's Spring | Peter Morely | 1947-02-13 |
Movie | The Egg and I | Bob MacDonald | 1947-05-01 |
Movie | Singapore | Matt Gordon | 1947-08-13 |
Movie | Smoky | Clint Barkley | 1946-06-26 |
Movie | Where Do We Go from Here? | Bill Morgan | 1945-05-23 |
Movie | Captain Eddie | Eddie Rickenbacker | 1945-06-18 |
Movie | Pardon My Past | Eddie York / Francis Pemberton | 1945-12-24 |
Movie | Murder, He Says | Pete Marshall | 1945-06-23 |
Movie | Standing Room Only | Lee Stevens | 1944-01-07 |
Movie | Practically Yours | Daniel Bellamy | 1944-12-20 |
Movie | And the Angels Sing | Happy Morgan | 1944-04-25 |
Movie | Flight for Freedom | Randy Britton | 1943-04-14 |
Movie | No Time for Love | Jim Ryan | 1943-04-09 |
Movie | Show-Business at War | Self | 1943-05-21 |
Movie | Above Suspicion | Richard Myles | 1943-05-31 |
Movie | Star Spangled Rhythm | Frank | 1942-03-05 |
Movie | Take a Letter, Darling | Tom Verney | 1942-05-06 |
Movie | The Lady Is Willing | Corey McBain | 1942-02-12 |
Movie | The Forest Rangers | Don Stuart | 1942-10-21 |
Movie | Breakdowns of 1942 | Self | 1942-12-31 |
Movie | Virginia | Stonewall Elliott | 1941-01-28 |
Movie | Dive Bomber | Joe Blake | 1941-01-01 |
Movie | One Night In Lisbon | Dwight Houston | 1941-06-13 |
Movie | Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 1 | Himself | 1941-10-02 |
Movie | New York Town | Victor Ballard | 1941-10-31 |
Movie | Little Old New York | Charles Brownne | 1940-02-09 |
Movie | Remember the Night | Jack Sargent | 1940-01-19 |
Movie | Too Many Husbands | Bill Cardew | 1940-04-03 |
Movie | Rangers of Fortune | Gil Farra | 1940-09-27 |
Movie | Cafe Society | Crick O'Bannon | 1939-03-03 |
Movie | Invitation to Happiness | Albert 'King' Cole | 1939-06-07 |
Movie | Honeymoon in Bali | Bill Burnett | 1939-09-29 |
Movie | Cocoanut Grove | Johnny Prentice | 1938-05-20 |
Movie | Sing, You Sinners | David Beebe | 1938-09-02 |
Movie | Men with Wings | Pat Falconer | 1938-07-16 |
Movie | Maid of Salem | Roger Coverman | 1937-02-12 |
Movie | Swing High, Swing Low | Skid Johnson | 1937-03-12 |
Movie | Champagne Waltz | Buzzy Bellew | 1937-02-05 |
Movie | Exclusive | Ralph Houston | 1937-08-06 |
Movie | True Confession | Kenneth Bartlett | 1937-12-24 |
Movie | The Trail of the Lonesome Pine | Jack Hale | 1936-03-13 |
Movie | 13 Hours by Air | Jack Gordon | 1936-04-30 |
Movie | The Princess Comes Across | King Mantell | 1936-05-22 |
Movie | The Texas Rangers | Jim Hawkins | 1936-08-28 |
Movie | The Gilded Lily | Peter Dawes | 1935-01-25 |
Movie | Grand Old Girl | Sandy | 1935-01-15 |
Movie | Car 99 | Trooper Ross Martin | 1935-03-02 |
Movie | The Bride Comes Home | Cyrus Anderson | 1935-12-25 |
Movie | Hands Across the Table | Theodore Drew III | 1935-10-18 |
Movie | Alice Adams | Arthur Russell | 1935-08-23 |
Movie | Men Without Names | Richard Hood | 1935-06-29 |
Movie | Tiger Rose | Rancher | 1929-12-21 |
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