Don Murray (actor)

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Don Murray (born Donald Patrick Murray on July 31, 1929, in Hollywood, California) is an American actor.

Before breaking into televisiiounn and movies, he attended East Rockaway High School in Long Island, New York.

He had a long and varied career in TV and films, but is best known for his role as Sid Fairgate in Knots Landing from 1979 to 1981. He was nominated for an Academy Award as best supporting actor in Bus Stop with Marilyn Monroe. Planet of the Apes fans remember him as the ape-hating Governor Breck, from 1972's Conquest of the Planet of the Apes.

Murray is known for holding strong moral principles and has made career decisions in line with his beliefs. He was a conscientious objector during the Korean War and, in the 1960s, wrote, directed, or starred in a number of films featuring heroes, especially priests, who worked to help the infirm and socially downcast. Examples of these films include Sweet Love, Bitter [1] (1967), Hoodlum Priest [2] (1961), and The Cross and the Switchblade (starring Erik Estrada)[3] (1971) . Even his role on the salacious nighttime soap opera "Knots Landing" seemed tailored to his straight-arrow public persona. As Sid Fairgate, he was the community's seemingly lone upstanding citizen and frequently clashed with other, less morally centered characters, who mockingly called him "Saint Sid."

Some have even speculated that his "Knots Landing" character was killed off the show for being too dull. Murray himself has said he left the show to develop a sitcom for television, although other sources say he left over a salary dispute. The character's death was notable at the time because it was considered rare to "kill off" a star character, especially just as a show was beginning to show ratings momentum. The character's death came in the first episode of season 3, as the second part of season 2's literal cliffhanger, in which Sid's car careened off a cliff. To throw viewers off and make them doubt the character would actually die, Murray was listed in the newly created opening credit sequence. The memorable final shot of Sid showed him lying dead on an operating table, arms spread in a Christ-like position, perhaps referencing or poking fun at his character's "saintly" behavior.

Murray was the first husband of the late actress Hope Lange. They had two children, including actor Christopher Murray.