Stephen Murray

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This article is for the actor. For the BMX rider, see Stephen Murray (BMX rider).

Stephen Murray (born in Partney, Lincolnshire, England, 1912, died 1983) was an English cinema, radio, theatre and television actor.

He found his greatest fame as the new Number 1, later promoted to Commander in The Navy Lark on BBC Radio. His film debut was as the second police officer who interrupts an amorous Eliza and Freddy (Wendy Hiller and David Tree) in Pygmalion (1938). Among his larger film roles were Uncle Henry in London Belongs to Me (1948, heavily made-up to look several decades older) and the lead in Terence Fisher's Four Sided Triangle (1953). He once again appeared under heavy make-up as the elderly Dr. Manette in A Tale of Two Cities (1958).

Radio became one of his most triumphant acting areas. He was Macbeth in 1947 with Flora Robson and the most brilliant of all Leontes' in an early 60s radio version of "The Winter's Tale" with Edith Evans and Rachel Gurney. In 1964, he played the title role in the monumental BBC Radio production of Marlowe's Tamburlaine with Sheila Allen as Zenocrate with Timothy West, Andrew Sachs, Joss Ackland, Bruce Condell and other leading shakespearian actors of the day. He did two versions of the BBC radio epic "The Rescue" by Edward Sackville-West, where he played Odysseus. Other classic 50s roles included Marlowe's "Doctor Faustus", "John Gabriel Borkman" and "Brand" and Calderon's "The Mayor of Zalamea" (the last now lost.)

Even in the 70s he enjoyed the difficult roles, like Strindberg's "To Damascus" with Zena Walker.

His voice was full of anguish and uncertainty. So he was ideal for "A Hospital Case" by Dino Buzatti, a terrifying play which Camus had translated and adapted for the Paris stage; or new radio work like Peter Tegel's "Rocklife." In 1970 he was the old Prince Bolkonsky in BBC's radio "War and Peace" - a monumental 20 hours of broadcasting.

Who would have thought that Stephen Murray would turn to comedy. But "The Navy Lark" proved how wrong you can be.

He tried his hand at everything, including science fiction - radio's "The Tor Sands Experperience" by Bruce Stewart.