- When offered the job as the dad on My Three Sons (1960), he was given a dream contract in which he only had to work 65 days a year on the series. The supporting cast, as a result, often had to shoot their scenes opposite a prop person off camera instead of Fred. The popular series ran 12 seasons.
- In 1961 he took his family to Disneyland, and a woman came up to him and asked, "Are you Fred MacMurray?". When he replied that he was, she hit him with her purse and told him she had taken her children to see him in The Apartment (1960) and was furious because "that was not a Disney movie!". He responded, "No, ma'am, it wasn't." He then turned to his wife and announced he was done playing bad guys in movies.
- Cartoonist C.C. Beck claimed that he modeled his 1940s superhero Captain Marvel after MacMurray.
- He and wife June Haver were once offered a husband-and-wife sitcom but Fred refused, afraid of putting his marriage in jeopardy by the pressures.
- In 1987 was the first person to be named a Disney Legend.
- According to daughter Kate, he and wife June Haver were introduced to each other by John Wayne.
- His hobbies included camping, painting, spending time with family, boxing, golfing, fishing, singing, traveling and dancing.
- At his insistence, all episodes of My Three Sons (1960) were filmed out of sequence during the show's entire run. He would do all of his scenes first, then leave until the next season. All kitchen scenes would be done together, then all scenes in the upstairs hallway would be filmed together, etc. This fact was well concealed until Dawn Lyn joined the cast as Dodie. Her upper front teeth grew in irregularly during the entire 1969-'70 season, from being barely visible in scenes with MacMurray to being plainly visible in scenes without him.
- Was the only actor to appear in all 380 episodes of My Three Sons (1960) on both ABC and CBS.
- He never took an acting lesson.
- Initially turned down his most famous movie role in Double Indemnity (1944) because he didn't think his fans would want to see him playing a darker character.
- He played the baritone saxophone in high school with the American Legion Band. After buying a saxophone with the money he earned in a pea-canning factory, he created his own three-piece orchestra called "Mac's Melody Boys." He performed in nightclubs, dance halls and vaudeville.
- Quite the high school athlete. He won ten letters for athletics and a scholarship to Carroll College in Wisconsin to play football. He played the saxophone for extra money while there.
- Was a lifelong heavy smoker, which led to throat cancer and emphysema, both of which were contributing factors to his death.
- After his role on The Swarm (1978), he retired from acting at age 70.
- Adopted twin daughters, Kathryn and Laurie (b. 1956), with Haver.
- Near the end of his acting career, he was a spokesperson for Greyhound Bus Lines in the 1970s.
- Was an expert leather craftsman. A 1936 entry in the Columbia Pictures "Screen Snapshots" series showed him assembling an ornate gun holster, which he had also decoratively engraved. The narrator stated that he also knew how to make saddles.
- Was not the producers' first choice for the role of Steve Douglas on My Three Sons (1960). He got it only because Eddie Albert turned it down to focus on his movie career.
- His daughter Susan was born in 1942. His son Robert was born in 1945.
- Played vaudeville with a stage band called "The California Collegians". The group was cast in a Broadway revue called "Three's a Crowd" in 1930 that showcased such star talent as Fred Allen, Clifton Webb and chanteuse Libby Holman. Holman sang the torch song "Something to Remember You By" to Fred in the show. The Collegians were also featured in the Broadway musical "Roberta", in which Fred also understudied the lead.
- One of his first jobs in Los Angeles was playing in a pit orchestra for an L.A. theater.
- He attempted to join the military during World War II but was rejected due to a fluctuated ear. He stayed in Hollywood, continued making movies and did everything he could to help the war effort.
- Had played both the violin and saxophone, just before he entered high school.
- Best remembered by the public for starring as father figures in Walt Disney movies.
- Made his debut on stage playing the violin alongside his father, but the experience left him with a terrible case of stage fright. Later he overcame it and learned the piano, guitar and saxophone, which he played in his high school band.
- One of his pre-acting jobs was in a department store selling appliances.
- Bought the Col. George Porter 1,750-acre ranch in 1941. It is deeply rooted in Sonoma County, there Fred embraced the rancher's lifestyle, raising prize-winning cattle and farming crops here for decades, while his children rode horses through the hills.
- Before he was a successful actor, he was a member of the Gus Arnheim Orchestra from 1930-31 and sang the vocal refrain on the record "All I Want Is Just One", recorded on March 30, 1930 and issued on Victor 22384.
- Suffered a number of health problems for 13 years before his death, from throat cancer to leukemia. He also suffered a stroke on Christmas Day of 1988.
- Began his career as a contract player for Paramount in 1934.
- Appears in four Oscar Best Picture nominees: Alice Adams (1935), Double Indemnity (1944), The Caine Mutiny (1954) and The Apartment (1960). The last of these is the only winner in the category.
- Once studied art at the Chicago Art Institute.
- Met first wife Lillian ("Lily") Lamonte while performing on Broadway in "Roberta" in 1933. She was a dancer.
- Steve Douglas, MacMurray's character on My Three Sons (1960), was ranked #7 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" [20 June 2004 issue].
- He was a staunch supporter of the Republican Party who joined Bob Hope and James Stewart in campaigning for Richard Nixon in 1968.
- His daughter Kate MacMurray is now steward of the "MacMurray Ranch" formerly owned by her father.
- Taught his future My Three Sons (1960) co-star, Beverly Garland, how to play golf.
- 1970s: He was most often seen doing commercials for a video teaching "Chisenbop," a Korean method of doing math on your fingers.
- His future My Three Sons (1960) co-star, Tim Considine, worked with him in the movie The Shaggy Dog (1959).
- After his death his wife June Haver sold their "MacMurray Ranch" to the Gallo family who now produce wines.
- During his mother Maleta's pregnancy, she and Frederick Sr. both traveled to Kankakee, IL, where Frederick Jr. was born.
- Was in consideration for the role of Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard (1950) but William Holden, who received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance, was cast instead.
- His father, Frederick MacMurray, died when Fred was five.
- His mother, Maleta Martin, died in 1965 aged 85.
- Best remembered by the public for his starring role as Steve Douglas on My Three Sons (1960).
- At Carroll College (now Carroll University), he played a variety of local bands and nightclubs.
- Was raised in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, where his mother had been born in 1880.
- Portrayed George Harvey, star reporter for the Hillsdale Morning Star, on NBC Radio's "Bright Star" (1952-1953).
- In 1951 RKO was planning to make a film noir entitled "The Sins of Sarah Ferry". The story was about a courthouse clerk in Binghamton, NY, who finds herself falling in love with a beautiful liar who is accused of armed robbery as well as a hit-and-run that resulted in a death. The cast would have been headed by Laraine Day, MacMurray, Yvonne De Carlo, Hugh Beaumont, Glenn Ford, Howard Duff and Evelyn Keyes, to be shot on location in Binghamton and neighboring Johnson City. This project never materialized because the plot was considered too similar to Double Indemnity (1944). In addition, the studio contacted Binghamton city officials asking permission to shoot there, but never received any reply. Eventually RKO decided to abandon the project.
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