Hollywood actor and Oscar nominee Don Murray dies at 94

Hollywood actor Don Murray has passed away at the age of 94. He earned himself an Oscar nomination for this role in the movie Bus Stop in which he starred opposite Marilyn Monroe. No details of his death were announced when Don Murray’s son Christopher announced his father’s passing to The New York Times.

Don Murray told Closer Weekly about his thoughts on Marilyn Monroe and revealed that “Marilyn was very kind to me.” He went on to say “I thought she was magnificent. I never understood why she was not nominated.”

Don Murray was born on July 31, 1929 in Los Angeles. He grew up in a show business family as his mother Ethel Murray was a former Ziegfield Follies performer and his father, Dennis Murray, was a stage manager and Broadway dance director. Don made his broadway debut in the play The Rose Tattoo after graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Don Murray made his big screen debut in Bus Stop opposite Marilyn Monroe, and his film roles included The Bachelor Party, Advice & Consent, The Plainsman and Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. He was married twice, first to Hope Lange who also starred in Bus Stop. The couple had two children together, Christopher and Patricia.  Don later married actress Elizabeth Johnson, and the pair had three children together, Colleen, Sean and Michael. 

USA Today reported that “In the late ‘60s, he landed a leading role in ABC’s one-season Western drama The Outcasts which had him performing alongside Otis Young. A decade later, he starred in a leading role in the CBS soap opera Knots Landing - a Dallas spinoff that premiered in 1979 - and went on to play Sid Fairgate until the character died in Season 3.”

Later on in his career, Don Murray appeared in eight episodes of the 2017 Twin Peaks revival on Showtime. His most recent film role was in the Western Promise, which was released in 2021.