Jan Murray
Encyclopedia
Jan Murray was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 stand-up comedian, actor, and game show host who made his name on the Borscht Belt
Borscht Belt
Borscht Belt, or Jewish Alps, is a colloquial term for the mostly defunct summer resorts of the Catskill Mountains in parts of Sullivan, Orange and Ulster counties in upstate New York that were a popular vacation spot for New York City Jews from the 1920s through the 1960s.-Name:The name comes from...

.

Early life

Murray was born Murray Janofsky in The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...

, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. His interest in comedy began during his childhood, when he would often act out comedy routines he'd seen at the local theatre for his bedridden mother.

Career

Murray began performing on the vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...

 stage at the age of 18, then later at the Catskills resorts popular with Jewish vacationers. In the early 50's he became a Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

 marquee
Marquee (sign)
A marquee is most commonly a structure placed over the entrance to a hotel or theatre. It has signage stating either the name of the establishment or, in the case of theatres, the play or movie and the artist appearing at that venue...

 performer. He then segued into TV, going on to host a number of game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...

s such as Blind Date
Blind Date (1950s game show)
Blind Date was a television game show, also known as Your Big Moment, which aired on ABC, NBC, and then DuMont after many years on radio.-Broadcast history:...

(DuMont, 1953), Dollar a Second
Dollar a Second
Dollar a Second is a comedy game show hosted by Jan Murray which originally aired from September 20, 1953 to June 14, 1954 on the DuMont Television Network.-Game play:...

(1953–1957), his creation Treasure Hunt
The New Treasure Hunt
Treasure Hunt is an American television game show that ran in the 1950s, 1970s, and 1980s...

(1956–1959), Charge Account (also known as The Jan Murray Show, 1960–1962), and Chain Letter
Chain Letter (U.S. Game Show)
Chain Letter is an American game show produced by Stefan Hatos-Monty Hall Productions that aired on NBC during the summer and early-fall of 1966...

(1966). He was later a frequent panelist on The Hollywood Squares and co-hosted the annual West Coast Chabad Lubavitch telethon for many years.

Murray's film appearances included A Man Called Dagger
A Man Called Dagger
A Man Called Dagger is a low-budget spy film that was the first collaboration between director Richard Rush, cinematographer László Kovács and stuntman Gary Warner Kent ....

, Thunder Alley
Thunder Alley (film)
Thunder Alley is a 1967 film directed by Richard Rush and starring Annette Funicello and Fabian.-Plot:A race car driver retires after a blackout causes the death of another driver on the motorway. After the accident, he then begins working at a "Thrill Circus" as a stunt driver. There he meets the...

, Tarzan and the Great River
Tarzan and the Great River
Tarzan and the Great River is an adventure Eastmancolor film starring Mike Henry in his second outing as a James Bond-like globetrotting Tarzan of his three Tarzan movies. The movie was produced by Sy Weintraub and Steve Shagan, written by Bob Barbash , and directed by Robert Day...

, Which Way to the Front?
Which Way to the Front?
Which Way to the Front? is a 1970 film starring Jerry Lewis. It would be Lewis' last released film for eleven years , until 1981's Hardly Working. The unreleased The Day the Clown Cried was filmed in the years between...

, and History of the World, Part I
History of the World, Part I
History of the World, Part I is a 1981 comedy film written, produced, and directed by Mel Brooks. Brooks also stars in the film, playing five roles: Moses, Comicus the stand-up philosopher, Tomás de Torquemada, King Louis XVI, and Jacques, le garçon de pisse...

. He moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 to pursue an acting career and was a guest host of The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...

on many occasions.

Personal life

Murray married Pearl Cohen in 1939, and had a child with her, but later divorced. In October 1949, he married Kathleen (Toni) Mann, had three children with her, and remained married to her until his death. Murray's production company, Jantone, took its name from their first names.

Jan was an ardent golfer and had many fellow comedian partners. Among them were Jack Carter
Jack Carter (comedian)
Jack Chakrin , known by his professional name of Jack Carter, is a Jewish-American comedian, actor and host. Brooklyn Born Carter had long-running comedy act similar to fellow rapid pace contemporaries Milton Berle and Morey Amsterdam...

, Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...

, Joey Bishop
Joey Bishop
Joey Bishop was an American entertainer who was perhaps best known for being a member of the "Rat Pack" with Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin...

 and others, from whom he created hilarious routines often related at various golf charity events.
He chaired the Comedians' Golf Classic for several years, held both in New York and California.

Murray retired from show business
Show business
Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz, is a vernacular term for all aspects of entertainment. The word applies to all aspects of the entertainment industry from the business side to the creative element ....

 at the age of 83, as he felt his asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...

 was affecting his timing. He died at the age of 89 in Beverly Hills California on July 2, 2006.

External links

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