Customer Reviews

Fred MacMurray

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One of the biggest challenges facing biographers who venture into telling the stories of stars from Hollywood's Golden Age is getting input from former co-stars and co-workers - most of whom are no longer with us. Charles Tranberg has accomplished a difficult task admirably. MacMurray's biography is filled with ample commentary from actors, producers, and directors who worked alongside him in films and television. Although MacMurray may have referred to himself as a "boring" subject, this biography is anything but. Background details on some of MacMurray's classic offerings (Alice Adams, Double Indemnity, The Caine Mutiny, The Apartment) make for a very interesting and informative read. Tranberg acquired interviews with MacMurray's TV sons, who give an honest portrait of a talented if often insular man. MacMurray's children were also involved with the telling of this story and they detail their father's passion for the outdoors and their ranch-life in Sonoma County California. Nicely illustrated, this is a wonderful addition for anyone's film library.

Film and TV star Fred MacMurray brought an amiable, breezy charm combined with a rock solid Middle American integrity to most of his many roles. When you watched Fred in his earliest roles, his Disney films, or his TV series "My Three Sons", you liked him and you believed in him. The same qualities are found in Charles Tranberg's new biography. Charles brings solid scholarship and an entertaining and fast moving style to the subject. This is to be expected of the author of the award-winning Agnes Moorehead bio. "I Love the Illusion." I'd say if he could read the book, Fred himself would slap Charles on the back paternally and say, "Good goin', Chuck!"

This book was a quick and easy read. It's loaded with information about Fred MacMurray's life and is presented in a clear chronological order with a good assortments of photos, much like Tranberg's Agnes Moorehead biography. It's clear a lot of research and interviews took place to amass this collection of data on my favorite Disney dad. I'm always glad to read when an actor is how I imagined them to be in real life. MacMurray's life story will not disappoint fans.

Charles Tranberg's new biography of movie icon Fred MacMurray is a class act - just like the man himself. Extremely well-sourced and filled with lively interviews from friends and associates who knew MacMurray best, we get to see not only Fred MacMurray the prolific and popular movie star but, more importantly, the very nice man himself. From his formative years as a small-town boy in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin to his touring band days as a saxophone player to his on-screen years in film classics such as "Double Indemnity" and "The Apartment" to his long-running role as the Dad on TV's beloved "My Three Sons," it's a fascinating journey so well-told. One of the best books on a Hollywood legend to be published in years - highly-recommended!

Really enjoyable book without all the smut so many stars seem to engage in. He was a faithful husband, and a good man.

I grew up watching Fred MacMurray on My Three Sons and in the Disney films of the '60s. Later, I saw him in films such as The Egg and I and Murder He Says. Later still, I was stunned by his performances in The Caine Mutiny, The Apartment and Double Indemnity. What a remarkable actor, and what a nice man. This book is a real tribute to Mr. MacMurray. My only quibble is that it really needed a good editor.

A thoroughly researched bio on Fred MacMurray, who was always underrated as an actor, and more known to folks today as Steve Douglas on the long running tv series "My Three Sons". This book has plenty of interviews with colleagues and a lot of great photos. The forward is by Don Grady, who played Rob Douglas on My Three Sons. The only thing I would have liked, as with all biographies, is to know what his kids and grandkids are doing.

This is easily one of the best biographies that I have ever read. It has all the hallmarks of being thoroughly researched and the author has been able to achieve that perfect balance of being able to weave personal journey around a life in film. We are all familiar with many of his films and see him through that prism, but the stories behind the films and how of Fred life was affected by those films is the real achievement here.

Also, I can't recall a book that has such a comprehensive bibliography and set of appendices provided intricate detail of his body of work.

Well done Charles!

BearManor Media presents "FRED MAC MURRAY" (Paperback), by Charles Tranberg (Author), introduction by Don Grady.

Always been a fan of Fred MacMurray, there was something about his screen persona that was unlike other actors of that time. Thanks to television and video we can enjoy the films that we missed or wanted to see again. He was a great leading man and the westerns during the mid 50s when his age was showing, kept him in the spotlight. Right up to the 'DISNEY YEARS' (1959-1967) and 'MY THREE SONS' (TV Series 1960-1972), were the good years being reinvented for all segments of the media.

As the author Tranberg points out ~ 'DOUBLE INDEMNITY' (1944), believe it was his best role, has stood the test of time. "a definitive film noir, and one of the most influential movies in Hollywood history". Billy Wilder one of the most successful and revered Hollywood directors has that touch with this genre and MacMurray pulls it off perfectly. Watch as MacMurray strays from his light leading man who had a way with a witty or flip line -- but here he was to give a dramatic role which challenged him more as an actor. Two other films fall into that category, 'THE CAINE MUTINY' (1954) and 'THE APARTMENT' (1960), both films show another side of this great actor, who was under-rated over the years.

Very reasonable and a good value for the price --- For product description and editorial review check this out on the Amazon site above my review.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: (Chapter, Title and Page Numbers)

Acknowledgments --- 4
Introduction by Don Grady --- 9
Prologue --- 11
CHAPTER ONE: Small-Town Boy Makes Good --- 15
CHAPTER TWO: Paramount Leading Man --- 31
CHAPTER THREE: Highest Paid Actor In Hollywood --- 69
CHAPTER FOUR: "A Pair Of Cobras In Action"
Double Indemnity --- 93
CHAPTER FIVE: Leaving Paramount, Fox Trilogy,
and Career Doldrums --- 109
CHAPTER SIX: A New Life --- 133
CHAPTER SEVEN: Career Resurrection --- 159
CHAPTER EIGHT: "The MacMurray System" --- 183
CHAPTER NINE: The Disney Years --- 207
CHAPTER TEN: My Three Sons, Part Two --- 237
CHAPTER ELEVEN: Twilight of the Saxophone Player --- 253
Feature Films of Fred MacMurray --- 274
Fred MacMurray On Radio --- 317
My Three Sons Episode Guide --- 325
Selected Television Appearances --- 359
Index --- 363

BIOS:
Fred MacMurray
Date of Birth: 30 August 1908 - Kankakee, Illinois
Date of Death: 5 November 1991 - Santa Monica, California

Big thank you to Ben Ohmart and his staff at BearManor Media, a small press that publishes BIG books. They pride themselves on publishing quality entertainment biographies, so they often put out the first book on unique subjects -- plus specializing in books with nostalgic themes and keeping classic Hollywood alive not only thru his publishing house, but thru his own books.

In closing, author Charles Tranberg, has given us an insight into the man who showed modesty and humility with his professional career and private life ~ who was very gracious when meeting his fans and the public, they'll never be another like him. Tranberg brings qualities with his flowing style of writing, you feel you know the person to whom he is putting pen to paper.

If you enjoyed this Bio, check out Robert Taylor: A Biography... The Thin Man Films Murder over Cocktails... I Love the Illusion: The Life and Career of Agnes Moorehead, 2nd edition ~ all three are a great read!

Highly recommend - a good read!

Total Page: 392 Pages ~ BearManor Media #ISBN-13: 978-1593930998 ~ (September 20, 2007)