FRED MACMURRAY

August 30, 1908

Frederick Martin MacMurray was born in Kankakee, Illinois. His aunt was a vaudeville performer and actress. Before MacMurray was two years old, his family moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where his father was a music teacher. He later attended school in Quincy, Illinois before earning a full scholarship to Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin. At Carroll, MacMurray played the saxophone in numerous local bands. He did not graduate from the college.

Before signing with Paramount Pictures in 1934, he appeared on Broadway in Three’s a Crowd (1930) and alongside Bob Hope in Roberta (1933).

Fred MacMurray (1908-91) appeared in over 100 films in his career. He is perhaps best remembered for the film Double Indemnity (1944). 

MacMurray’s name was first mentioned by Ethel in 1953 in “The Black Eye” (ILL S2;E20) when flowers arrive for Lucy mistakenly signed “Eternally yours, Fred.” 

LUCY: “Oh, now, Ethel, you certainly don’t think that these are from Fred Mertz, do you?”
ETHEL: “Well, this card certainly wasn’t written by Fred MacMurray.”

MacMurray’s 1954 film The Caine Mutiny was often mentioned on “Lucy” sitcoms, often in the context of the film’s source material, a book and a play. In “Lucy Writes A Novel” (ILL S3;E24), Lucy plans to name the sequel to her novel “Sugar Cane Mutiny,” a pun on Cuba’s main export and the title of the (then) recently released film.

In “Guess Who Owes Lucy $23.50?” (HL S1;E11) Van Johnson orders security guards to escort Lucy Carter out of the studio. A bitter Lucy says that now she’s glad he got court martialed The Caine Mutiny.

The first time that MacMurray appeared on screen with Lucille Ball was in “Lucy Hunts Uranium” a 1958 episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” set in the Nevada desert and Las Vegas. MacMurray played himself, and was briefly joined by his real-life second wife, June Haver. The storyline has MacMurray competing with Lucy for a claim on Uranium discovered in the desert. 

Lucille Ball later said that MacMurray was “fine enough” in this episode, but she really had to work with him on his comic timing, especially in the telephone booth scene. Ball and MacMurray clearly had different styles.

MY THREE SONS 

MacMurray is perhaps best remembered for playing Steve Douglas on “My Three Sons” (1960-72).

MacMurray and the long-running show was on the cover of TV Guide nine times! 

From 1960 to 1965, MacMurray was joined by William Frawley as Bub O’Casey, the family’s live-in maternal grandfather. 

When Frawley left the show due to ill-health he was replaced by another Desilu alumni, William Demarest, as Uncle Charley. Demarest did three films with Lucille Ball. For Christmas 1959, Frawley and Demarest both appeared with Lucy and Desi in “The Desilu Revue”. At the time, Demarest was working on the Desilu lot appearing in NBC’s “Love and Marriage.” 

On “My Three Sons” two of  Steve Douglas’ “sons” had been seen on “The Lucy Show”: Don Grady (Robbie Douglas) had played Chris Carmichael’s friend Bill and Barry Livingston (Ernie Douglas) had played Mr. Mooney’s son Arnold. Ted Eccles, who assumed the role of Arnold Mooney when Barry Livingston was busy on “My Three Sons,” also did an episode. Ralph Hart (who played Viv Bagley’s son Sherman), Jimmy Garrett (Jerry Carmichael) and Candy Moore (Lucy Carmichael’s daughter Chris) were also on the show.

Other “Lucy” performers on “My Three Sons” include: Mary Wickes, Doris Singleton, Shirley Mitchell, Barbara Pepper, Verna Felton, Kathleen Freeman, Jerry Hausner, Reta Shaw, Elvia Allman, Eleanor Audley, Burt Mustin, Olan Soule, Alberto Morin, Herb Vigran, Bill Quinn, Barbara Perry, Nancy Kulp, George Neise, Maxine Semon, Flip Mark, Roy Roberts, Lou Krugman, Ted Eccles, Richard Reeves, Dorothy Konrad, Ed Begley, Gail Bonney, Jay North, Rolfe Sedan, Tyler McVey, J. Pat O’Malley, Paul Picerni, Sandra Gould, Richard Deacon, Mabel Albertson, Joan Blondell, Leon Belasco, Dayton Lummis, Lurene Tuttle, Robert Foulk, Dick Patterson, Jamie Farr, Larry J. Blake, Amzie Strickland, Barbara Morrison, Louis Nicoletti, Frank Gerstle, Willy Lally, Gil Perkins, Tommy Ferrell, Eve McVeagh, Remo Pisani, Dub Taylor, Frank J. Scannell, Ray Kellogg, Romo Vincent, Stafford Repp, Jay Novello, and Leoda Richards.

MacMurray was cast as Frank Beardsley in Yours, Mine and Ours (1968) opposite Lucille Ball, but withdrew and the role went to Henry Fonda.

In 1978, Lucy and MacMurray took to the dais to tribute Henry Fonda in “AFI Salutes Henry Fonda”. 

Two months later, Lucy and Fred were both seen in “Happy Birthday, Bob: A Salute to Bob Hope’s 75th Birthday” taped at the John F. Kennedy Center.

In 1986, they were both back for “AFI Achievement Award: A Tribute to Billy Wilder”. Curiously, neither MacMurray nor Ball had ever worked with Wilder. 

The last time Lucy and MacMurray shared the small screen (with June Haver) was at the “All-Star Party for Clint Eastwood” in 1986.

He married Lillian Lamont on June 20, 1936, and the couple adopted two children. 

After Lamont died of cancer on June 22, 1953, he married actress June Haver the following year. The couple adopted two more children in 1956. MacMurray and Haver’s marriage lasted 37 years, until Fred’s death at age 83 in 1991.