Probably the greatest loss for fans of Don has to do with his decision to reject a ten-film, five-year deal with United Artists after the release of THE HOODLUM PRIEST in 1961. An unwillingness to "give and get" cost him a chance to craft a consistent path in independent film production, consigning him to a rapid oblivion in the mid-sixties that eventually forced him to relocate back to New York (where he'd grown up) to try his luck on Broadway (where his career had begun, before being cast as Bo Decker in BUS STOP, for which he was nominated for an Oscar).
Don picked unusual and wild careening films in the sixties, and eventually did make a version of the 1961 play, CALL ME BY MY RIGHTFUL NAME, a cautionary tale about race relations, which would clearly have fared much better had it been released by UA in 1964 instead of in the powerful but somewhat compromised independent version that barely played in theaters in 1972-73 (a time when no one wanted to watch cautionary tales about race relations). In career decisions, Don's timing just seemed to get worse and worse: when he left a comfortable arrangement on series television (KNOTS LANDING) it put his career into a nosedive from which it never recovered.
But ADVISE & CONSENT, A HATFUL OF RAIN and SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL are unalloyed triumphs for Don and will sustain his reputation for a long, long time. He also did excellent work in the jazz/race relations drama SWEET LOVE, BITTER, a film sabotaged by its producers but one that still retains a significant edge and universal message thanks to the unique ensemble in the leading roles (in addition to Don, there's Dick Gregory, Robert Hooks, and Diane Varsi). THE BORGIA STICK, the type of film that Don routinely turned down, is another lamented "what if": if it had been a project in that lamented UA film deal, would have revived Don's leading man reputation; as it was, the 1967 Mafia thriller co-starring Inger Stevens and Fritz Weaver was the first TV movie and the first to hit #1 in the Nielsen ratings, which led to Don's exemplary work on television's first interracial western, THE OUTCASTS (1968-1969), a groundbreaking work that only recently emerged from oblivion.
Don pushed his image to the dark side in two independent films, The first, THE CONFESSIONS OF TOM HARRIS, struggled to make its "Saul to Paul" story line work in the midst of a too-slick production style courtesy of the mercurial John Derek (another of the "strange bedfellows" that seemed to be a leitmotif for Don's life and career after he left Fox and went independent). The Second, DEADLY HERO, featured Don as a right-wing cop who turns vigilante and suffers an escalating downfall. The film sadly suffers from a ludicrous final sequence, but Don's portrayal demonstrates that he could convincingly play dark characters. After the film tanked at the box office, Don never got a chance to build on this potential career direction.
Possibly the two greatest "gaps" in getting a complete handle on Don Murray can be found in 1) the continuing unavailability of his live television work, an area where he thrived in the late 50s/early 60s; and 2) the refusal of any book publisher to print his memoirs, which contain a treasure trove of life stories and anecdotes about the projects he undertook (And the ones he turned down). A Don Murray memoir might never happen, but it's possible that his youngest son Michael might yet find a way to get this released to the general public. It would be an illuminating (and occasionally frustrating) work that would inform the public about all the career-endangering decisions Don kept making as he winnowed his carer down from the heights to an odd form of genteel oblivion.
Possibly my documentary about Don, UNSUNG HERO, might yet see the light of day: as with most everything he touched later in his career, the film was jeopardized by Don's thwarted need to be an auteur. When post-production threatened to become more costly than the filmmaking process itself, the film went into that limbo space where many other Don Murray works have found themselves lodged. The film also hit hard on the race-relations films in Don's career, with an extended section near the end that showcased the works; strangely, Don became quite skittish about this concentrated approach and his escalating unease has caused the project to languish in limbo for eight years.
But surely, Don's day is coming. He was too good an actor to have his best work disappear. And he was too good of a human being to be cast sside in a time frame that is literally begging for a man of grace, empathy and wisdom--three qualities that are in dangerously short supply in recent times.
Godspeed, Don: despite the issues that have thwarted UNSUNG HERO, it was a honor and a pleasure to work with him. Whatever else we say about him, it's clear his career in Hollywood was unique, and his life was 100% exemplary. He's a fine actor whose works will make you think.
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