Ken Murray (14)

American comedian, actor, radio and television personality and author. Born July 14, 1903 in Nyack, New York, USA. Died October 12, 1988 in Burbank, California, USA. He was a man of many talents as he also wrote, directed and produced movies. He also dabled in music as a songwriter and producer, producing actress Marie Wilson (5)'s album "Gentlemen Prefer Marie Wilson" in 1959. Muarray's father was a vaudeville comic and Ken taught himself to dance, sing, tell jokes, and perform rope tricks to try and get ahead. He used this knowledge of vaudeville to launch the Ken Murray's "Blackouts" from 1942-9. This was a long-running popular American theater variety revue with animal acts and dancing glamour girls and comedians and music. Murray won an Academy Award for producing Bill and Coo in 1947. He also wrote western novels Hellion's Hole and Feud in Piney Flats as well as non-fiction books Ken Murray's Giant Joke Book, The Golden Days Of San Simeon and The Body Merchant: The Story Of Earl Carroll as well as his autobiography Life on a Pogo Stick.