Murphy was born on 20 June 1925, in Kingston, a small rural community in Hunt County in northeastern Texas. He was the seventh of twelve … See more

At the end of World War II, the 36th Infantry Division reverted to state control as part of the Texas Army National Guard, and Murphy's … See more

During an acting career spanning from 1948 to 1969, Murphy made more than 40 feature films and one television series. When actor and producer James Cagney saw the 16 July … See more

Murphy married actress Wanda Hendrix in 1949. Their divorce became final two years later in 1951. Four days later, he married former airline stewardess Pamela Opal Lee Archer, with whom he had two sons: Terry Michael and James Shannon.
Murphy bred See more

Enlistment and basic training
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, he attempted to enlist in the U.S. military, … See more

On 28 May 1971, Murphy was killed when the private plane in which he was a passenger crashed into the side of a mountain 14 … See more

David McClure, his collaborator on the book To Hell and Back, discovered Murphy's talent for poetry during their work on the memoir … See more