Murray Slaughter
Encyclopedia
Murray Slaughter was a fictional character in the situation comedy The Mary Tyler Moore Show
. He was played by actor Gavin MacLeod
.
. He was assigned to write the news stories for the station's nightly news broadcast, presented by pompous, incompetent anchorman
Ted Baxter
.
Murray was happily married to Marie (Joyce Bulifant
) and had several daughters. In the show's later years, he and Marie adopted a Vietnamese son.
Although he was happily married, he was forever in love with Mary Richards
, who he thought was absolutely terrific, in his own words. To him, she was someone he could mother hen over, and he often did. Marie thought that he was going to leave her, but Mary explained to her that she thought of Murray as a best friend, and that helped things.
In a season three episode, it is revealed that Murray is a compulsive gambler. During an episode where a snowstorm keeps Lou Grant from flying to Vegas, he holds a poker game that Murray reluctantly joins.
Murray tried to write a novel; despite failing, he never gave up.
He, along with Mary, Lou Grant
and another nemesis of his, Sue Ann Nivens
were fired from WJM-TV to boost sagging news ratings. Ironically, the one most responsible for the dismal ratings, Ted, of all people, had been retained.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
. He was played by actor Gavin MacLeod
Gavin MacLeod
Gavin MacLeod is an American actor most notable for playing Happy Haines on McHale's Navy, Murray Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Captain Merrill Stubing on The Love Boat...
.
Character
Murray Slaughter was the news writer at fictional television station WJM-TV in Minneapolis, MinnesotaMinnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. He was assigned to write the news stories for the station's nightly news broadcast, presented by pompous, incompetent anchorman
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
Ted Baxter
Ted Baxter
Ted Baxter is a fictional character on the sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show . Portrayed by Ted Knight, the Baxter character is a broad parody of a vain, shallow, buffoonish TV newsman. Knight's comedic model was William Powell, and he also drew on various Los Angeles newscasters, including George...
.
Murray was happily married to Marie (Joyce Bulifant
Joyce Bulifant
Joyce Bulifant is an American television actress, notable for her sunny "little girl"-like Southern lilt of a voice. She was a frequent panelist on the television game show Match Game, more often than not giving bizarre answers that seldom matched the contestants.-Life and career:Bulifant was born...
) and had several daughters. In the show's later years, he and Marie adopted a Vietnamese son.
Although he was happily married, he was forever in love with Mary Richards
Mary Richards
Mary Richards, portrayed by Mary Tyler Moore, is the main character of the television sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show.-Family:Mary Richards, born in Roseburg, Minnesota, is the daughter of Walter and Dottie Richards...
, who he thought was absolutely terrific, in his own words. To him, she was someone he could mother hen over, and he often did. Marie thought that he was going to leave her, but Mary explained to her that she thought of Murray as a best friend, and that helped things.
In a season three episode, it is revealed that Murray is a compulsive gambler. During an episode where a snowstorm keeps Lou Grant from flying to Vegas, he holds a poker game that Murray reluctantly joins.
Murray tried to write a novel; despite failing, he never gave up.
He, along with Mary, Lou Grant
Lou Grant (fictional character)
Lou Grant is a fictional character played by Edward Asner in two television series produced by MTM Enterprises for CBS. The first was Mary Tyler Moore , in which the character was the news director at the fictional television station WJM-TV...
and another nemesis of his, Sue Ann Nivens
Sue Ann Nivens
Sue Ann Nivens was a fictional character on the long-running situation comedy, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She was played by television perennial Betty White.- The Happy Homemaker :...
were fired from WJM-TV to boost sagging news ratings. Ironically, the one most responsible for the dismal ratings, Ted, of all people, had been retained.