Disney Actor/Marilyn Monroe’s Last Living Leading Man Dies at 94

Year by year, there are fewer and fewer actual connections to Old Hollywood. So few people know first-hand what it was like to be around those big stars of yesteryear.

There are still a handful of animators and actors who can talk about their experiences working hand-in-hand with Walt Disney. Mary Poppins (1964) stars Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews may be the most famous connections back to Walt’s final days and one of his last great films.

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But this week, Old Hollywood lost another connection to the legendary actors of days gone bay. Actor Don Murray dies at 94. Murray was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in Bus Stop (1956). The actor starred in that film with Marilyn Monroe, and he was her last living leading man.

Mr. Murray was born in Los Angeles in 1929, but his family quickly moved to New York. His father was a Broadway dance director, and his mother was a performer for the Ziegfeld Follies. After graduating from high school, Murray studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

After making his Broadway debut in 1951, Murray was drafted into the military for the Korean War. He was a conscientious objector to the war and spent his time in the army in Europe working with refugees.

We are saddened to hear of the passing of Oscar-nominated actor Don Murray. A gentleman in every sense of the word, he played a myriad of roles on screens both big and small over seven decades.

Variety remembers him here: https://t.co/fp7Ljf2Dzw pic.twitter.com/5i6VPUpxry

— TCM (@tcm) February 3, 2024

When he returned to Hollywood, the actor received several television roles, but his breakthrough role would come in Bus Stop alongside Marilyn Monroe, for which he received an Oscar nomination for best-supporting actor.

Murray would go on to star with James Cagney in the film Shake Hands With the Devil (1959) and legendary actor Steve McQueen in Baby The Rain Must Fall (1965). 

Throughout the 1960s and 70s, Murray transitioned to television, where he would land the role of Sid Fairgate on Knots Landing for four seasons.

Good bye, Dad. Say hi to Mom. I love you both.#donmurray #hopelange pic.twitter.com/gMXb4dvAEf

— Christopher Murray (@getmemurray) February 3, 2024

Murray would also find his way into the world of Disney. He starred in two episodes of The Magical World of Disney (1972), an episode of The Wonderful World of Disney (1998), and several of ABC’s After School Specials. 

The Knots Landing actor would continue to work on television in T.J. Hooker, Murder, She Wrote, Wings, and Twin Peaks. Murray would make his final on-screen appearance in 2021, marking 71 years in movies and television.

He is survived by his five sons. No cause of death was given.

We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.