J. Harold Murray

J. Harold Murray (born Harry Rulten, February 17, 1891 – December 11, 1940) was an American baritone singer and actor. For more than a decade, during the Roaring Twenties and the Depression Thirties, he contributed to the development of musical theater by bridging vaudeville, operetta and the modern American musical. The most popular American songs he introduced on Broadway included "Autumn in New York" (1934, Thumbs Up!, words and music by Vernon Duke); "Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee" and "Soft Lights and Sweet Music" (1932, Face the Music, Moss Hart and Irving Berlin); "Rio Rita", "The Kinkajou" and "The Rangers Song" (1927, Rio Rita, Harry Tierney and Joseph McCarthy); and "Mandalay" (1921, The Whirl of New York, Gustave Kerker, Hugh Morton and Edgar Smith). As a boy, he studied voice in Boston and sang in theaters and in churches. He moved to New York and worked for a music publishing company for two years.

Personal life and death Murray was married to the former Dolly Hackett. He had one son, William Joseph Rulten Murray, from a previous marriage.

J. Harold Murray developed nephritis in the spring of 1940. He died of the disease on December 11 at the age of 49.

Selected filmography Married in Hollywood (1929) Women Everywhere (1930) Under Suspicion (1930) Cameo Kirby (1930)