Brian Murray (actor)

Brian Murray
Murray in 2007
Born	Brian Bell (1937-09-10)10 September 1937 Johannesburg, South Africa
Died	20 August 2018(2018-08-20) (aged 80) New York City, U.S.
Occupations	Actor, theatre director
Years active	1958–2018

Brian Murray (né Bell; 10 September 1937 – 20 August 2018)¹ was a South African actor and theatre director who was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2004.

Murray was born Brian Bell in Johannesburg, the son of Mary Dickson (née Murray) and Alfred Bell, a professional golfer.²

Murray made his Broadway debut in the play All in Good Time in 1965.³ In 1967, he starred as Rosencrantz in the Broadway production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, earning the first of three Tony Awards, Best Featured Actor In A Play nominations for his performance. ^{3 4}

Murray directed the 1973 Broadway revival of The Waltz of the Toreadors.⁵ His stage directing credits include Broadway revivals of Hay Fever (1985), Arsenic and Old Lace (1986), Blithe Spirit (1987), and The Show Off (1992).³

In 1998, he received the Lucille Lortel Award for outstanding body of work.⁶

His film credits include Bob Roberts and City Hall,⁷ as well as the films of American independent filmmaker Patrick Wang. On television he has appeared in Kojak, Another World, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and 30 Rock.⁸ In the 1970s and 1980s, he performed in a number of radio plays for Yuri Rasovsky's award-winning National Radio Theater.⁹ In 2002, he provided the voice of John Silver in the Disney animated Treasure Planet, a role he reprised in the video game Treasure Planet: Battle at Procyon. He played a role in the 2009 film, My Dog Tulip.¹⁰

Murray died of natural causes on 20 August 2018, at age 80.⁹

¹⁵¹³

• Sleuth (1973)
• Da (1978)
• The Arcata Promise (1982)
• Noises Off (1983)
• A Small Family Business (1992)
• The Little Foxes (1997)
• Twelfth Night (1998)
• Uncle Vanya (2000)
• The Crucible (2002)
• The Rivals (2004)

³

• A Tale of Two Cities (1977)
• The Man of Destiny (1978)
• The Killer (1979)
• Medea (1985)
• The Tempest (1985)
• The Imaginary Invalid (1985)
• The Lady of the Camellias (1985)
• An Enemy of the People (1985)
• Arms and the Man (1985)
• Uncle Vanya (1985)

Awards

• 1984: Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble Work – Noises Off
• 1997: Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play – The Little Foxes

Nominations

• 1968: Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play – Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
• 1978: Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play – Da
• 1992: Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play – A Small Family Business
• 1997: Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play – The Little Foxes
• 2000: Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play – Uncle Vanya
• 2002: Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play – The Crucible
• 2002: Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play – The Crucible
• 2002: Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Feature Production – Treasure Planet

³⁴