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Ken Murray

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Comedian

The Resume

    (July 14, 1903-October 12, 1988)
    Born in Nyack, New York
    Birth name was Kenneth Abner Doncourt
    Hosted The Ken Murray Show (from 1950 to 53)
    Hosted a weekly radio variety show (The Ken Murray Show) on NBC (1932-33) and CBS (1936–37)
    Acted in 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,' 'Son of Flubber,' 'Follow Me, Boys!' 'The Power,' 'The Marshal's Daughter' and 'Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood'

Why he might be annoying:

    His IMDb bio starts off as follows: 'He wasn't a natural, instinctive talent but entertainer Ken Murray had solid breeding to rely on.'
    He titled his autobiography 'Life on a Pogo Stick.'
    He hosted the exploitative Queen for a Day in its earliest form on radio.
    When his 'Blackouts' stage show moved from Hollywood to Broadway and replaced Marie Wilson with Marie Windsor it bombed spectacularly and closed after only six weeks.
    He liked to film Hollywood celebrities on the street using his 16mm home movie camera for home movies - later compiling them into a feature called 'Hollywood Without Makeup' (making him one of the earliest prototypes of TMZ).
    He is sometimes vaguely confused with either Ken Berry or Arthur Murray.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He performed comedy on the vaudeville circuit and in burlesque before finding success on Broadway.
    His documentary film 'Bill and Coo' won a special Academy Award for 'novel and entertaining use of the medium of motion picture' for using birds and trained animals as actors.
    His television variety show was the first to win a Freedom Foundation Award.
    During its Los Angeles run during World War II, 'Blackouts' set a record for the longest running show in LA history (7 years, 3,844 performances).
    He revived the 'Blackouts' show on the Las Vegas stage in 1956. The show was a hit and ran for three years
    His short film on the history of William Randolph Hearst's massive estate in San Simeon, California was later shown daily to tourists visiting the Hearst Castle.
    He said of Hollywood: 'A place where you spend more than you make on things you don't need to impress people you don't like.'

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying