Audie Murphy
While doing in-depth research into
1950s Hollywood for our Skylar Drake Mystery series, we came across Hollywood
personalities that shocked and amazed us. Really. You can't make this stuff up!
F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote,
"Show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy."
Audi Murphy was the most decorated
U.S, soldier of WWII, returning home as a hero. He became an actor starring in
his own story, To Hell and Back. Though
he was only 21 years old at the end of the war, he had been wounded three
times, had earned 33 awards and medals. After the war, he appeared in more than
40 films. He suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder throughout his life.
LIFE magazine honored the brave, handsome soldier by
putting him on the cover of its July 16, 1945 issue. That photograph inspired
actor James Cagney to call Murphy and invite him to Hollywood to begin an
acting career. Despite his celebrity, Murphy struggled for years to gain
recognition.
In
1949, Murphy published his autobiography, To Hell and Back. The
book quickly became a national bestseller, and in 1955, after much inner
debate, he decided to portray himself in the film version of his book. The
movie was a hit and held Universal Studio's record as its highest-grossing
motion picture until 1975. Murphy would go on to make 44 feature films in all.
In addition to acting, he became a successful country music songwriter, and
many of his songs were recorded by well-known artists, such as Dean Martin,
Jerry Wallace and Harry Nilsson.
During
his rise to fame, Murphy met and married 21-year old actress Wanda Hendrix in
1949. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1950. He married again in 1951, this
time to Pamela Archer, with whom he had two children. Plagued by insomnia and
nightmares, a condition that would eventually become known as post-traumatic
stress disorder, Murphy became addicted to sleeping pills. In his later
years, Audie Murphy squandered his fortune on gambling and bad investments and
was in financial ruin.
He
died in a plane crash on May 28, 1971. The aircraft
crashed into the side of Brushy Mountain, northwest of Roanoke, Virginia. Murphy was buried at Arlington
National Cemetery on June 7, 1971, and was given full military honors.
