Weighing in late on this, but: 1) Murray's performance in Bus Stop is a lead by anything but fraudulent definition, whatever studios decided; and 2) he's almost unbearable in the role -- if I were Monroe, I'd have jumped on the first bus to anywhere to get this clown out of my life.
Fortunately, there was more (and better) to Murray's career, particularly A Hatful of Rain and Advise and Consent. My first real awareness of him in real time was when The Hoodlum Priest opened, in 1961. Apparently that film didn't live up to expectations, since it looks as if his career lost its upward trajectory afterward. But he kept working steadily till the turn of the century (when he hit his 70s), and had a late-in-life comeback on the more recent Twin Peaks. So, a career worth a salute.
R.I.P. Don Murray
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Mister Tee
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Re: R.I.P. Don Murray
I know how billing worked in the 50's, and even how it works today. Category fraud is a term commonly used to describe an acting performance nominated in the wrong category, and Murray's lead performance in a supporting category qualifies under that definition.
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Big Magilla
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Re: R.I.P. Don Murray
Category fraud wasn't a concept in 1956-57 when Don Murray was nominated for Bus Stop.
His character, played by Albert Salmi opposite Kim Stanley on Broadway, was fourth billed behind Stanley, Anthony Ross, and Elaine Stritch. Marilyn Monroe had sole over the title billing in the film version. While the film doesn't hold up today, it was a big hit in its day, with most of the notices going to Monroe. Murray, a fairly consistent TV actor since 1950 was making a belated film debut. By the time of the Oscars, he had already filmed two highly anticipated films, The Bachelor Party and A Hatful of Rain. His over-the-top performance, though well-received at the time, is a bit much in retrospect. Interestingly, though, nothing he did since came anywhere near that.
His best performances were early in his career in Shake Hand with the Devil with James Cagney, Dana Wynter, and Glynis Johns; The Hoodlum Priest in which he played the title role; and Advise & Consent for which only Charles Laughton in his last film received stronger notices. It was always nice to see him in anything, but nothing since then really gave him anything to work with.
His character, played by Albert Salmi opposite Kim Stanley on Broadway, was fourth billed behind Stanley, Anthony Ross, and Elaine Stritch. Marilyn Monroe had sole over the title billing in the film version. While the film doesn't hold up today, it was a big hit in its day, with most of the notices going to Monroe. Murray, a fairly consistent TV actor since 1950 was making a belated film debut. By the time of the Oscars, he had already filmed two highly anticipated films, The Bachelor Party and A Hatful of Rain. His over-the-top performance, though well-received at the time, is a bit much in retrospect. Interestingly, though, nothing he did since came anywhere near that.
His best performances were early in his career in Shake Hand with the Devil with James Cagney, Dana Wynter, and Glynis Johns; The Hoodlum Priest in which he played the title role; and Advise & Consent for which only Charles Laughton in his last film received stronger notices. It was always nice to see him in anything, but nothing since then really gave him anything to work with.
Re: R.I.P. Don Murray
His nomination is one of the early category fraud cases that doesn't really get mentioned, probably because a lot of people haven't seen Bus Stop. Also, unfortunately, the movie is not that good, and he is not that good in it. A lot of his movies are pretty obscure, but I do remember liking him (along with everyone else) in The Bachelor Party and Advise and Consent, and even though he doesn't have a great deal to do, he works very well for the nostalgic fantasy that Coppola is creating in Peggy Sue Got Married.
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Big Magilla
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