Audie Murphy Net Worth
Audie Murphy Net Worth is
$16 Million
Audie Murphy Bio/Wiki, Net Worth, Married 2018
Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II, receiving every military combat award for valor available from the U.S. Army, as well as French and Belgian awards for heroism. The 19-year-old Murphy received the Medal of Honor after single-handedly holding off an entire company of German soldiers for an hour at the Colmar Pocket in France in January 1945, then leading a successful counterattack while wounded and out of ammunition.Murphy was born into a large sharecropper family in Hunt County, Texas. His father abandoned them, and his mother died when he was a teenager. Murphy left school in fifth grade to pick cotton and find other work to help support his family; his skill with a hunting rifle was a necessity for putting food on the table. Murphy's older sister helped him to falsify documentation about his birth date to meet the minimum-age requirement for enlisting in the military, and after being turned down by the Navy and the Marine Corps he enlisted in the Army. He first saw action in the Allied invasion of Sicily and Anzio, and in 1944 was part of the liberation of Rome and invasion of southern France. Murphy fought at Montélimar, and led his men on a successful assault at the L'Omet quarry near Cleurie in northeastern France in October.After the war Murphy enjoyed a 21-year acting career. He played himself in the 1955 autobiographical To Hell and Back based on his 1949 memoirs of the same name, but most of his films were westerns. He made guest appearances on celebrity television shows and starred in the series Whispering Smith. Murphy was a fairly accomplished songwriter, and bred quarter horses in California and Arizona, becoming a regular participant in horse racing.Suffering what would today be termed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), he slept with a loaded handgun under his pillow and looked for solace in addictive sleeping pills. In the last few years of his life he was plagued by money problems, but refused offers to appear in alcohol and cigarette commercials because he did not want to set a bad example. Murphy died in a plane crash in Virginia in 1971 shortly before his 46th birthday, and was interred with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. Full Name | Audie Murphy |
Date Of Birth | June 20, 1925, Kingston, Texas, United States |
Died | May 28, 1971, Catawba, Virginia, United States |
Place Of Birth | Kingston, Texas, USA |
Height | 5' 8" (1.73 m) |
Profession | Actor, Producer, Writer |
Nationality | American |
Spouse | Pamela Archer (m. 1951–1971), Wanda Hendrix (m. 1949–1951) |
Children | Terrance Michael Murphy, James Shannon Murphy |
Parents | Josie Bell Killian, Emmett Berry Murphy |
Siblings | Eugene Porter Murphy, Richard Houston Murphy, Joseph Preston Murphy, Ariel June Murphy, Vernon Murphy, J.W. Murphy, Charles Emmett "Buck" Murphy, Oneta Murphy, Verda Nadine Murphy, Willie Beatrice Murphy, Elizabeth Corrine Murphy |
Awards | Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Croix de Guerre |
Movies | To Hell and Back, Ride Clear of Diablo, The Guns of Fort Petticoat, Gunsmoke, Tumbleweed, Arizona Raiders, The Unforgiven, Destry, The Wild and the Innocent, No Name on the Bullet, The Cimarron Kid, Walk the Proud Land, Night Passage, The Duel at Silver Creek, Ride a Crooked Trail, Drums Across the ... |
TV Shows | Whispering Smith |
Star Sign | Gemini |
# | Trademark |
---|---|
1 | Cold intimidating stare renowned for its ability to make even the toughest opponents back down |
2 | His slow soft-spoken Texan drawl |
Title | Salary |
---|---|
To Hell and Back (1955) | $400,000 |
# | Quote |
---|---|
1 | Hell, I don't think anyone has any friends in the industry. When you're hot, everyone wants a piece of you. When word gets around you're washed up, no one will touch you with a 10-foot pole. They're afraid you'll ask them for a job. Or a loan. Or maybe repayment of an old debt. |
2 | After turning down an offer to do a beer commercial: How would it look: 'War Hero Drinks Booze'? I couldn't do that to kids." |
3 | I's strong. I'm too tough for this town [Hollywood]. I won't let it break my heart. I won't let it break me. I'll fight it to the finish. I just wish it was a fight I knew how to fight. |
4 | [on turning 40] I guess my face is still the same, and so is the dialogue. Only the horses were changed. |
5 | [Bill Mauldin about Murphy] In him, we all recognized the straight, raw stuff, uncut and fiery as the day it left the still. Nobody wanted to be in his shoes, but nobody wanted to be unlike him, either. |
6 | [of his role as himself in To Hell and Back (1955)] I don't think I'm the type. Maybe Tony Curtis would do. |
7 | [on his acting career] I'm working under a great handicap . . . no talent. |
8 | [fellow US Army officer about Murphy] Don't let that baby face fool you, that's the toughest soldier in the Third Division. |
9 | I never liked being called the "most decorated" soldier. There were so many guys who should have gotten medals and never did--guys who were killed. |
10 | [1956] I can't ever remember being young in my life. |
# | Fact |
---|---|
1 | Audie Murphy and James Arness both served in the 3rd Infantry Division during World War II. Murphy was in the 15th Infantry Regiment and Arness was in the 7th Infantry Regiment. Both regiments took part in the landings in Sicily and Anzio while part of the 3rd Division. Arness was wounded at Anzio and shipped back to the states. |
2 | A non-smoker who rarely drank alcohol, he turned down large offers of money to advertise cigarettes and spirits. |
3 | Disliked the name "Audie" when he was a kid and usually went by his middle name, Leon. In the Army, he discovered that "Leon" was considered synonymous with rednecks, and spent the rest of his life going by "Audie" or "Murph.". |
4 | His friends in Hollywood were mostly character actors and film crew members (cameramen, makeup artists, horse wranglers, stunt people both male and female), and he was often protective of them, and tried to help them succeed in their careers. There is also a story of him staying with a wealthy friend in Dallas, and blowing off a party full of wealthy people to go hang out with the African-American kitchen staff and compliment them on their cooking. |
5 | Pulp western novelist J.T. Edson created a character named Dusty Fog based on Murphy, and a thinly disguised version of Murphy appears in one of Stephen Hunter's novels. Fredrick Zoller in Inglourious Basterds is sort of a Mirror Universe Nazi analogue to Murphy. Robert Stack cited Murphy as a partial inspiration for his take on Elliot Ness in The Untouchables. The author of First Blood cited Murphy as a partial inspiration for John Rambo, although even in his more troubled moments, Murphy was a lot more functional than Rambo. An expy of Murphy also shows up, along with expies of other influential gunfighters, as part of a Badass Crew Earl Swagger recruits in Stephen Hunter's ''Pale Horse Coming''. |
6 | Murphy reputedly once frightened a drunken, misbehaving Lawrence Tierney, one of the more notorious brawlers in Hollywood, into leaving a party without raising his voice or physically harming Tierney. |
7 | Has a military hospital named after him: The Audie L. Murphy Veteran's Hospital in San Antonio, TX. |
8 | Medal of Honor Citation: 2d Lt. Murphy commanded Company B, which was attacked by 6 tanks and waves of infantry. 2d Lt. Murphy ordered his men to withdraw to prepared positions in a woods, while he remained forward at his command post and continued to give fire directions to the artillery by telephone. Behind him, to his right, 1 of our tank destroyers received a direct hit and began to burn. Its crew withdrew to the woods. 2d Lt. Murphy continued to direct artillery fire which killed large numbers of the advancing enemy infantry. With the enemy tanks abreast of his position, 2d Lt. Murphy climbed on the burning tank destroyer, which was in danger of blowing up at any moment, and employed its .50 caliber machine gun against the enemy. He was alone and exposed to German fire from 3 sides, but his deadly fire killed dozens of Germans and caused their infantry attack to waver. The enemy tanks, losing infantry support, began to fall back. For an hour the Germans tried every available weapon to eliminate 2d Lt. Murphy, but he continued to hold his position and wiped out a squad which was trying to creep up unnoticed on his right flank. Germans reached as close as 10 yards, only to be mowed down by his fire. He received a leg wound, but ignored it and continued the single-handed fight until his ammunition was exhausted. He then made his way to his company, refused medical attention, and organized the company in a counterattack which forced the Germans to withdraw. His directing of artillery fire wiped out many of the enemy; he killed or wounded about 50. 2d Lt. Murphy's indomitable courage and his refusal to give an inch of ground saved his company from possible encirclement and destruction, and enabled it to hold the woods which had been the enemy's objective. |
9 | Charles Drake became a good friend offstage with Audie Murphy and was cast as a top supporting player in many of his westerns and war pictures. |
10 | Supported the Democratic Party. |
11 | He was a life member of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA). |
12 | Received most of his decorations before he had turned 20. |
13 | Although commonly referred to as Sgt. Audie Murphy, he was given a battlefield commission and was promoted to 2nd Lt. prior to receiving his Medal of Honor. |
14 | First wife Wanda Hendrix claimed he had horrible nightmares and slept with a gun under his pillow. |
15 | Son, Terry, born April 14, 1952. Son James ("Skipper") born March 24, 1954. |
16 | His ex-wife attended his memorial service. |
17 | Just before his death, Murphy was offered the part of the villain in the original Dirty Harry (1971). |
18 | He was born in Kingston, TX, and grew up in Celeste. He went to school in Celeste until 8th grade, when he dropped out to help support his family. |
19 | Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars (#55) in film history in 1995. |
20 | Fan club contact: The Audie Murphy National Fan Club, 8313 Snug Hill Lane, Potomac, Maryland 20854-4057. Annual fee $14.00. |
21 | June 20, 1996 was proclaimed Audie Murphy Day by the Greenville Area Postal Customer Advisory Council in Greenville, Texas. U.S. Highway 69 North, from North Greenville city limits to Fannin County line was renamed The Audie Murphy Memorial Highway. Audie Murphy was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame this year in Oklahoma. |
22 | Audie Murphy Research Foundation established by Murphy family, for collection, preservation and distribution of historical information about AM. Location: 18008 Saratoga Way, Suite 516, Santa Clarita, CA 91351 Fax 805-251-8432. |
23 | At Arlington Cemetery, the tombstones of Medal of Honor recipients are normally decorated in gold leaf, but Murphy requested that his tombstone remain plain and inconspicuous. |
24 | Most decorated US soldier of WWII. Among his 27 US decorations was the Medal of Honor, the US's highest award for military conduct "above and beyond the call of duty," plus 5 decorations awarded by France and Belgium. |
Actor
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
A Time for Dying | 1969 | Jesse James | |
The Texican | 1966 | Jess Carlin | |
Gunpoint | 1966 | Chad Lucas | |
40 Guns to Apache Pass | 1966 | Captain Coburn | |
Arizona Raiders | 1965 | Clint | |
Einer spielt falsch | 1965 | Mike Merrick | |
Apache Rifles | 1964 | Jeff Stanton | |
Bullet for a Badman | 1964 | Logan Keliher | |
The Quick Gun | 1964 | Clint Cooper | |
Gunfight at Comanche Creek | 1963 | Bob Gifford aka Judd Tanner | |
Showdown | 1963 | Chris Foster | |
Six Black Horses | 1962 | Ben Lane | |
Whispering Smith | 1961 | TV Series | Tom 'Whispering' Smith |
War Is Hell | 1961 | Narrator | |
Battle at Bloody Beach | 1961 | Craig Benson | |
Posse from Hell | 1961 | Banner Cole | |
Seven Ways from Sundown | 1960 | Seven Jones | |
The Unforgiven | 1960 | Cash Zachary | |
Hell Bent for Leather | 1960 | Clay | |
Startime | 1960 | TV Series | Howard Wilton |
Cast a Long Shadow | 1959 | Matt Brown | |
The Wild and the Innocent | 1959 | Yancy | |
No Name on the Bullet | 1959 | John Gant | |
The Gun Runners | 1958 | Sam Martin | |
Ride a Crooked Trail | 1958 | Joe Maybe | |
Rock 'Em Cowboy | 1958 | Short | Audie Murphy |
General Electric Theater | 1958 | TV Series | Tennessee |
The Quiet American | 1958 | The American | |
Suspicion | 1957 | TV Series | Steve Gordon |
Night Passage | 1957 | The Utica Kid | |
Joe Butterfly | 1957 | Pvt. Joe Woodley | |
The Guns of Fort Petticoat | 1957 | Lt. Frank Hewitt | |
Walk the Proud Land | 1956 | John Philip Clum | |
World in My Corner | 1956 | Tommy Shea | |
To Hell and Back | 1955 | Audie Murphy | |
Destry | 1954 | Tom Destry | |
Drums Across the River | 1954 | Gary Brannon | |
Ride Clear of Diablo | 1954 | Clay O'Mara | |
Tumbleweed | 1953 | Jim Harvey | |
Column South | 1953 | Lt. Jed Sayre | |
Gunsmoke | 1953 | Reb Kittredge | |
The Duel at Silver Creek | 1952 | Luke Cromwell - The Silver Kid | |
Lux Video Theatre | 1952 | TV Series | Extra |
The Cimarron Kid | 1952 | Bill Doolin The Cimarron Kid | |
The Red Badge of Courage | 1951 | Henry Fleming - the Youth | |
Kansas Raiders | 1950 | Jesse James | |
Sierra | 1950 | Ring Hassard | |
The Kid from Texas | 1950 | William Bonney ('Billy the Kid') | |
Bad Boy | 1949 | Danny Lester | |
Beyond Glory | 1948 | Cadet Thomas | |
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven | 1948 | Copy Boy |
Producer
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
A Time for Dying | 1969 | producer | |
The Guns of Fort Petticoat | 1957 | producer - uncredited |
Writer
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
To Hell and Back | 1955 | autobiography "To Hell And Back" |
Soundtrack
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Shindig! | 1965 | TV Series writer - 1 episode |
Self
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Travelin' Light | 1971 | Documentary | Himself |
Here's Hollywood | 1961 | TV Series | Himself |
Audie Murphy in Nuremberg | 1961 | Documentary short | Himself |
The Big Picture | 1960 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show | 1959 | TV Series | Himself |
I've Got a Secret | 1955 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
The Colgate Comedy Hour | 1955 | TV Series | Himself |
What's My Line? | 1955 | TV Series | Himself - Mystery Guest |
Allen in Movieland | 1955 | TV Movie | Himself |
Medal of Honor | 1955 | Documentary short | Himself |
Archive Footage
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That | 2005 | TV Movie documentary | Bill Doolin |
Biography | 1996 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
America at the Movies | 1976 | Documentary | Henry Fleming (the Youth) |
The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Story | 1951 | Documentary |
Won Awards
Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
---|---|---|---|---|
1985 | Golden Boot | Golden Boot Awards | ||
1960 | Star on the Walk of Fame | Walk of Fame | Motion Picture | On 8 February 1960. At 1601 Vine Street. |
Nominated Awards
Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
---|---|---|---|---|
1959 | Golden Laurel | Laurel Awards | Top Action Performance | Ride a Crooked Trail (1958) |