Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor who appeared in over one hundred movies and in a highly successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, starting in 1930 and extending into the 1970s.

MacMurray is well known for his role in the 1944 film noir Double Indemnity, in which he starred with Barbara Stanwyck. Later in life, he became better known as the avuncular Steve Douglas, widowed patriarch on My Three Sons, which ran on ABC from 1960–1965 and then on CBS from 1965-1972.

Career

MacMurray was born in Kankakee, Illinois to Frederick MacMurray and Maleta Martin. When MacMurray was five years old, the family finally settled in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. He earned a full scholarship to attend Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin. In college, MacMurray participated in numerous local bands, playing the saxophone. In 1930, he recorded a tune for the Gus Arnheim Orchestra as a featured vocalist on All I Want Is Just One Girl on the Victor 78 label.Gus Arnheim: Information and Much More from Answers.com Before he signed on with Paramount Pictures in 1934, he appeared on Broadway in Three's a Crowd (1930–1931) with Sidney Greenstreet and Bob Hope and in the original production of Roberta (1933–1934).IBDB