Temple Tuesday: Seein' Stars!

Frederic “Feg” Seymour Murray (May 15, 1894 – July 16, 1973) was best known as a cartoonist, but as I learned when digging around for this post, he was so much more! Edited from the Lambiek Comiclopedia website:

Frederic Seymour Murray was born in San Francisco. He signed many of his early drawings with “Feggo,”which inspired his nickname “Feg.” Murray trained as an athlete during his youth and became the U.S. National Champion in the 120 yard high hurdles and the 1915 and 1916 U.S. National Champion in the 220 yard low hurdles. He studied graphic arts at Stanford University, where he graduated in 1916. The same year he also became captain of the track team of his university. In 1917, the United States got involved in the First World War and Murray served his country. He did the same thing in peace time when he was selected for the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium. There he won an Olympic bronze medal in the 110 meter hurdles.



After his sports career, Murray became a sports cartoonist and columnist for The Los Angeles Times. On October 30, 1933, Murray's signature series ‘Seein’ Stars’ (1933-1951) made its debut. It was basically the equivalent of an illustrated news column with radio, movies and sports as the main focus. The cartoonist told the latest facts about certain celebrities of the day and illustrated this with realistically drawn portraits of these people. As a running gag, Murray often drew a tiny cartoon bear in each drawing, who commented on the information with use of a speech balloon. ‘Seein’ Stars’ was distributed by King Features Syndicate and ran for nearly two decades. The black-and-white version already ended in 1941, but the Sunday pages lasted another decade until 1951. Hollywood child star Shirley Temple owned a personal copy of a 1935 ‘Seein’ Stars’ episode featuring her, Otto Kruger and Maureen O'Sullivan.



By 1938, Murray became a star himself. For one season, he was the host of the popular radio variety show “The Baker’s Broadcast” (1933-1938) on NBC Radio, which starred comedians Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard, better known as ‘Ozzie & Harriet.’ Up until Murray's arrival, the radio show had been broadcast in New York City, but now it relocated to Hollywood. As a tribute, the show was sometimes referred to as “Seein’ Stars in Hollywood,” to tie in with his cartoon feature. On March 13, 1938, his guests were Boris Karloff and Béla Lugosi. As a huge horror fan, this was a highlight in Murray’s life. Unfortunately ratings were low and the show was canceled within the same year. In 1939, Murray appeared in a Hollywood movie: the musical comedy “That's Right, You’re Wrong” (1939), built around the popularity of the big band leader Kay Kyser. The picture also stars Adolphe Menjou, columnist Hedda Hopper and a still-unknown Lucille Ball. Murray's role however is nothing more than a small cameo. Feg Murray passed away in 1973 at the age of 79. A posthumous book, Holly-Would (1974) by John Milton Hagen with illustrations by Murray was published by Arlington House a year later.

The first photo in this post came with the following caption:


SHIRLEY TEMPLE PALS WITH CARTOONIST

Little Shirley Temple pauses to chat with her cartoonist friend, Feg Murray, creator of the “Seein' Stars” feature, during the making of her latest picture - “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.” Shirley, whose hobby is drawing pictures with pencil and crayon, is shown her admiring one of Feg’s cartoons.

Below is a closeup of the art that Feg and Shirley are looking at:



Below is a caricature that Murray did of Shirley that came up for auction after Shirley’s passing:



From the auction catalog:

31" x 22" Shirley image. Thick ink drawing on paper is a caricature of young Shirley Temple in tap dancing pose, her dimples and curls well expressed. Pencil signed at the bottom is “To Shirley Love From Feg Murray (see you in the funny papers).” Murray (1907-1962) studied art at Stanford University and became known as an artist, writer, and syndicated columnist. This sketch was a personal tribute to the young star who appeared in his columns over and over again. Early 1930s.

Below is a shot of Fred Stone (the scarecrow in the stage version of “The Wizard of Oz”), Jane Withers, and Feg Murray;



From the caption:

Jane Withers, juvenile actress, and Fred Stone, actor (left), were two enthusiastic admirers at Feg Murray’s exhibit of some of his original cartoons at the Assistance League. Murray (right) displays cartoon to his ardent “fans.” 11-3-1937

Below is family-man Murray reading to his sons, circa 1937:



A few samples of Murray’s Seein’ Stars column featuring Shirley and other top stars of the day:



Shirley wearing her title production number outfit from “Little Miss Broadway”:



Even as a teen, Shirley was featured by Murray:



Below is a clip from the above mentioned Feg Murray cameo from “That's Right, You’re Wrong” (1939), with Hedda Hopper, Lucille Ball, and Adolphe Menjou.



See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.