Fred MacMurray - Definition and Overview

Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 - November 5, 1991) was a Hollywood actor who appeared in over one hundred movies, during a career that lasted from the 1930s to the 1970s. His most famous role was that of the father on the 1960s TV series My Three Sons. He was typecast for decades as a lovable, friendly fellow, and he capitalized on this by starring in a number of live-action comedies for Walt Disney during the later part of his career, with his biggest hits being The Shaggy Dog and The Absent-Minded Professor.

In spite of his "nice guy" image, MacMurray often stated that the best film roles he ever played were ones where he was cast against type in two films for Billy Wilder. He played the role of Walter Neff, an insurance salesman who plots with a wealthy heiress to murder her husband in the film noir classic Double Indemnity (1944). In 1960, he played a slimy, two-timing corporate executive in Wilder's Oscar-winning comedy The Apartment.

On his passing in 1991, Fred MacMurray was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California, and was survived by his wife, June Haver.

Notable films in MacMurray's career:

• Double Indemnity (1944)
• The Egg and I (1947)
• The Caine Mutiny (1954)
• The Shaggy Dog (1959)
• The Apartment (1960)
• The Absent-Minded Professor (1961)
• Son of Flubber (1963)
• Follow Me, Boys! (1966)
• The Happiest Millionaire (1967)