Richard Murphy; Oscar-Nominated Screenwriter
Richard Murphy, screenwriter and director twice nominated for an Academy Award, has died at age 81.
Murphy died Wednesday in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center of complications from a stroke suffered two years ago.
His screenplays nominated for Oscars were “Boomerang” in 1947 and “The Desert Rats” in 1963.
Other scripts included the films “Cry of the City” in 1948, “Panic in the Streets” in 1950, “Broken Lance” in 1954, and “The Last Angry Man” and “Compulsion,” both in 1959.
A native of Boston, Murphy grew up in New York City and Darien, Conn., and earned his degree in English from Williams College. He worked as an editor at Literary Digest and began writing screenplays, including the Gene Autry film “Back in the Saddle” in 1941.
Survivors include his wife, Katherine, two sons, John and Michael, and a sister, Eleanor Dudley Jervis.
Memorial services are scheduled at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Beverly Hills Tennis Club, where Murphy had served as president.
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