Mike Murphy (broadcaster)

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Mike Murphy
Born	Michael James Murphy October 20, 1941 Dublin, Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Education	St. Louis National School, Terenure College, Synge Street CBS and Coláiste Mhuire
Occupation	Actor and Broadcaster
Parents	Ned and Kitty Murphy

Mike Murphy (born October 20, 1941) is a former television and radio broadcaster with the Irish national station, Radio Telefís Éireann.

[edit] Early life

Michael James Murphy was born in Rathgar Road, Dublin in 1941, the eldest of five children born to Ned and Kitty Murphy. Educated at St. Louis National School, Terenure College, Synge Street CBS and Coláiste Mhuire he left school at the age of 17 without sitting the Leaving Certificate exam. Murphy then worked as a draper in a Dublin drapery shop, before finding a job with the Castrol Oil Company. In his later teens he became involved in acting with the Dublin Shakespeare Society, and also wrote scripts for sponsored programmes on Radio Éireann. He later joined the Brendan Smith Academy of Acting in Dublin where his acting took him all over Europe. Murphy also went on to play a small part in The Girl with Green Eyes, the film of the novel by Edna O'Brien. This led to further acting parts in a number of films on the newly-established Telefís Éireann.

[edit] Broadcasting career

Murphy began his broadcasting career as an announcer with Radio Éireann. By 1968 he had established his reputation as an announcer and a radio presenter. He then joined the television service presenting one series of a pop show called The Go-Two Show, and filling in as an announcer on the game show, Jackpot. In 1969 he joined the RTÉ's newsroom as a sports announcer. Murphy's big break in television came in 1971 when he was asked to present the National Song Contest, one of the highest rated programmes at the time. This led to him getting his own variety show, The Likes of Mike, billed as one of the highlights of RTÉ's autumn schedule. The show did well, running for a few series. He then went on to present a hidden camera show called The Live Mike. One of the most famous incidents from the show occurred when he caught out an irate Gay Byrne as the latter attempted to record a piece to camera in the grounds of Trinity College, Dublin.

Murphy went on to present a travel programme called Murphy's America, and later the spin-off show, Murphy's Australia. Following the success of the former programme he was asked to present Morning Call on RTÉ Radio 1. The new television channel, RTÉ 2 was established in 1978 and Murphy was asked to present his own Friday night show on it. The Live Mike ran for three series, launching the comedic career of the young Dermot Morgan.

[edit] Years on radio and television

Murphy became bored with broadcasting following the ending of The Live Mike. He still presented shows such as Murphy's Microquiz-m and a talent show called Screen Test. In 1988 he began presenting The Arts Show on RTÉ Radio 1, and also the Saturday night television game show, Winning Streak. In 2000 he retired for the first time from radio broadcasting and was the subject of a special tribute edition of The Late Late Show. He continued presenting Winning Streak until 2002 when he handed the show over to Derek Mooney.

In the interim Murphy became a successful investor in the property market and married for a second time.

[edit] Awards

During his RTÉ career, Murphy won four Jacob's Awards. He received his first in 1978 for Murphy's America. A year later, The Live Mike brought him a second trophy. His third TV award was made in 1988 for his series, Murphy's Australia. Meanwhile, in 1980, his Morning Call show on RTÉ Radio led to Murphy winning a Jacob's Radio Award.