History Creator / AudieMurphy

After the war, he helped his family get back on their feet, became a training instructor with the Texas National Guard during the Korean War, wrote an autobiography, ''[[http://www.commandposts.com/2011/01/to-hell-and-back/ To Hell and Back]]'', and started a movie career, eventually making his autobiography into a movie in 1955. It became the highest-grossing film Universal Studios had made up to that point, and remained so until the release of ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' nearly twenty years later. ''To Hell And Back'' proved surprisingly popular in Japan, perhaps due to the main character's warrior ethos and family loyalty. He appeared in a total of 44 films, mostly [[TheWestern b-westerns]] that traded on the MemeticBadass status he held in the minds of his own generation, and their children, the baby boomers.

He had always loved horses, and used the proceeds from the film version of his autobiography to buy a ranch where he could breed racing Quarter Horses. He made friends with a number of policemen, and became involved in the war on drugs after visiting a cocaine addict's home with a police friend and seeing the addict's two small daughters playing on the dirty floor with no one to look after them.

In TheSixties, he starred in a short-lived TV series called ''Whispering Smith'', about a forensics-minded lawman in 1870s Denver. Murphy usually described it as "''[[PoliceProcedural Dragnet]]'' [[RecycledInSpace on horseback]]," but it ran into controversy over its slightly DarkerAndEdgier treatment of frontier-era Denver and over a disturbing episode involving a widow who abuses her adult son (a very young Creator/RobertRedford) with a whip. Murphy's film westerns of this period were also somewhat DarkerAndEdgier, although they were still pretty idealistic compared to the rising tide of {{Spaghetti Western}}s and revisionist Westerns bent on {{Deconstruction}} or just violence and [[CrapsackWorld grimdarkness]] for their own sake. He appeared in an Israeli Franchise/JamesBond knockoff, where his folksy, low-key attitude sort of accidentally deconstructs the TuxedoAndMartini school of spy movie without quite pushing things into [[SpyFiction Stale Beer]] territory. He co-wrote some moderately well-known CountryMusic songs, including ''Shutters and Boards'', ''When the Wind Blows in Chicago'', and ''Was It All Worth Losing You?'' [[HeAlsoDid He also advocated for]] [[ShellshockedVeteran sufferers of PTSD]]. He too suffered from PTSD, and his doctor prescribed Placidyl to help him sleep. He discovered that he had become addicted to the drug. Instead of any orthodox treatment, such as weaning off or therapy, he went another route: he rented out a hotel room, locked the door, and went cold-turkey for an entire week to get off the addiction.

He was tried for attempted murder in 1970, after getting into a fistfight with a massive, six-foot-three man who trained guard dogs for a living. In the course of the trial, it was discovered that the dog-trainer had abused a German Shepherd belonging to a female friend of Murphy. The trainer had also groped and verbally abused the woman when she protested. Unsurprisingly, Murphy was acquitted. His defense was, [[BadassBoast "If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead,"]] and anyone familiar with his war record (which would be ''most of the free world'') knew he was perfectly capable of backing it up. Several members of the jury shook his hand after the verdict was handed down. It is not clear whether they were fans of his film work, or just liked his tendency to PayEvilUntoEvil.

He died May 28, 1971, when the private plane he was riding in crashed in Virginia. It seems strangely fitting, given his patriotism and war record, that his body was recovered from the wreckage on Memorial Day of that year. According to an obituary in TIME magazine, [[UndercoverCopReveal he was relaying information about the mafia]] to the Los Angeles DA's office in the last months of his life. He was buried with all honors at Arlington, and his gravesite is the second most visited grave, after JFK's, of a named individual at Arlington. He is the namesake to the [[http://www.southtexas.va.gov/ VA (Veterans' Administration) Hospital located in San Antonio, Texas]], which opened to veterans in November 1973. There is a petition under way, campaigning to have the Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded to him posthumously...and no, he didn't already have one of those. The petition can be found online at: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/audiemurphy/

* BewareTheQuietOnes: Was considered an introvert and not much of a talker, even by his closest friends. Nonetheless, he was still a ''very'' experienced and skilled soldier and could frighten people into submission when he had to.

* {{Expy}}: Pulp western novelist Creator/JTEdson created a character named Dusty Fog based on Murphy, and a thinly disguised version of Murphy appears in one of Creator/StephenHunter's novels. Fredrick Zoller in ''Film/InglouriousBasterds'' is sort of a MirrorUniverse Nazi analogue to Murphy. Robert Stack cited Murphy as a partial inspiration for his take on Elliot Ness in ''Series/TheUntouchables''. The author of ''Literature/FirstBlood'' cited Murphy as a partial inspiration for [[Franchise/{{Rambo}} John Rambo]], although even in his more troubled moments Murphy was a lot more functional than Rambo. An expy of Murphy also shows up, along with expies of other influential gunfighters, as part of a BadassCrew Earl Swagger recruits in Stephen Hunter's ''Pale Horse Coming.''

* FriendToAllChildren: His tough childhood and experiences as a surrogate parent to his younger siblings made him a softie towards children in general, showering his two sons with expensive gifts and doing the same to various nieces, nephews and children of friends. When shooting a film in Vietnam in the late fifties, he was so horrified by the poverty he saw there and its effect on children that he basically emptied his bank account into an orphanage in Saigon.

* TheGunslinger: Usually Type D. Supposedly within a few days of the studio hiring someone to teach him the quick draw, Murphy was outdrawing the instructor. Of course, by that point in his life Murphy was exceptionally experienced at using firearms of every type to kill people who were trying to kill him.

--> ''Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company B 15th Infantry, 3rd Infantry Division.''
--> ''Place and date: Near Holtzwihr France, January 26, 1945.''
--> ''Entered service at: Dallas, Texas. Birth: Hunt County, near Kingston, Texas, G.O. No. 65, August 9, 1944.''
--> ''Citation: Second Lt. Murphy commanded Company B, which was attacked by six tanks and waves of infantry. 2d Lt. Murphy ordered his men to withdraw to a prepared position in a woods, while he remained forward at his command post and continued to give fire directions to the artillery by telephone. Behind him, to his right, one of our tank destroyers received a direct hit and began to burn. Its crew withdrew to the woods. 2d Lt. Murphy continued to direct artillery fire, which killed large numbers of the advancing enemy infantry. With the enemy tanks abreast of his position, 2d Lt. Murphy climbed on the burning tank destroyer, which was in danger of blowing up at any moment, and employed its .50 caliber machine gun against the enemy. He was alone and exposed to German fire from three sides, but his deadly fire killed dozens of Germans and caused their infantry attack to waver. The enemy tanks, losing infantry support, began to fall back. For an hour the Germans tried every available weapon to eliminate 2d Lt. Murphy, but he continued to hold his position and wiped out a squad that was trying to creep up unnoticed on his right flank. Germans reached as close as 10 yards, only to be mowed down by his fire. He received a leg wound, but ignored it and continued his single-handed fight until his ammunition was exhausted. He then made his way back to his company, refused medical attention, and organized the company in a counterattack, which forced the Germans to withdraw. His directing of artillery fire wiped out many of the enemy; he killed or wounded about 50. 2d Lt. Murphy's indomitable courage and his refusal to give an inch of ground saved his company from possible encirclement and destruction, and enabled it to hold the woods which had been the enemy's objective.''

* TheTeetotaller: He rarely drank alcohol and turned down very lucrative offers for beer and whisky commercials as he didn't want to betray the trust many kids had in him to advertise alcohol.

* ''Film/TheUnforgiven'' ([[NamesTheSame no, not Clint Eastwood's]] ''Film/{{Unforgiven}}''): The saga of a family of Texans who must come to terms with the fact that the adopted daughter of the family (Creator/AudreyHepburn) is a Kiowa by birth, and her tribe wants her back. Murphy plays the bigoted younger brother who has trouble accepting his sister's heritage but does learn his lesson. Not a sympathetic character, but considered one of his better performances. Available on DVD in the US and most other places.

* BewareTheQuietOnes: Was considered an introvert and not much of a talker, even by his closest friends.

%%* HumbleHero

%%* NiceGuy

** Murphy was allegedly offered the lead role in ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'', but turned it down because of the similarities to ''Yojimbo''. He was also offered a role in ''Sayonara'' opposite Creator/MarlonBrando but turned it down on his agent's advice. At the time of his death, he had committed to a comedy western which would eventually be made without him as ''Creator/HotLeadAndColdFeet''. He had also been offered the Scorpio Killer role in ''Film/DirtyHarry''. Director Don Siegel felt he was perfect for the role, but Murphy was reportedly planning on turning it down. Most of his westerns had been targeted to pre-teen audiences and children were still watching them on TV. He didn't want to upset his fans by playing such a horrific character.

* UsefulNotes/WorldWarII

The filming of ''Guns of Fort Petticoat'' sums up his post-war life pretty well. He not only produced and starred in this film, about a cavalry officer who goes rogue in order to teach a group of women how to fight off an Indian attack, he also trained the actresses in real life for the task, using his experience in the Army and the Texas National Guard to teach them gun safety and formation drills. On the side, he worked as an [[UndercoverCopReveal undercover narcotics agent]], helping bring about some twenty convictions. [[PetTheDog He also rescued an abused German Shepherd puppy by buying it from its cruel owner.]]

* ''Guns of Fort Petticoat'': A cavalry officer tries and fails to prevent his superior officer from committing the infamous Sand Creek Massacre, then goes rogue to help the women of his hometown defend themselves from Indians who are retaliating for the massacre. Probably the only fifties Hollywood western to feature a black woman who is good with guns, played more or less straight, albeit not given much dialogue, and who manages to avert BlackDudeDiesFirst. Available as a French Region 2 DVD with English soundtrack.

* KindaBusyHere: In the battle that earned Murphy his Medal of Honor, officers in the rear radioed him to ask how close the Germans were. His response before signing out? [[CasualDangerDialog "Hold on and I'll let you talk to one."]]

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audie_Murphy Audie Leon Murphy]] (June 20, 1924 – May 28, 1971) was the single most decorated US soldier of all time.

* ObligatoryWarCrimeScene: Possibly the TropeMaker if not UrExample. In his movie, he shows himself [[InTheBack gunning down retreating German soldiers]]. He left that part in to show WarIsHell. Technically speaking, whilst unsporting, most nations do not regard shooting retreating soldiers as a war crime, as a retreat is still a military function.

* ''To Hell and Back'': TheFilmOfTheBook. His biggest hit at the time, considered SoOkayItsAverage today, except for the performances (he handpicked the supporting cast, choosing people who reminded him of his old squadmates), and some of the combat scenes. Available on DVD in the US and most other places.

* ''Night Passage'': Creator/JimmyStewart tries to stop a gang of outlaws and discovers that his kid brother (Murphy) is the gang's DragonWithAnAgenda. Duryea and Murphy do their RedOniBlueOni thing again. Available on DVD in the US and most other places.

* ''Film/RideACrookedTrail'': Murphy plays a petty criminal who is mistaken for a marshal and drafted by a crazy judge ([[Theatre/TheOddCouple Walter Matthau]]) to keep order in town. Available on DVD in the US and most other places.

* ''Literature/TheQuietAmerican'': Much criticized for deviating from Graham Greene's vision; since it was shot in Diem-era UsefulNotes/{{Vietnam}}, with government permission, the film has a pro-Diem and anti-communist angle totally foreign to the book. Its most interesting trait is its take on the Englishman and the American as NotSoDifferent beneath their superficially opposed beliefs: both are fairly charming and likable men, but blinded by their First World smugness and conviction that they know everything worth knowing about Vietnam and the woman they both love. Available on DVD in the US and most other places.

* RealLifeRelative: In one of his early movies, he played the love interest to a female protagonist, played by then-wife Wanda Hendrix. His preschool-aged son Terry played one of his younger siblings in ''To Hell and Back'', and, as a teenager had a small role in Murphy's very last film, ''A Time for Dying''.

* Creator/JohnHuston's ''The Unforgiven'' ([[NamesTheSame no, not Clint Eastwood's]] ''Film/{{Unforgiven}}''): The saga of a family of Texans who must come to terms with the fact that the adopted daughter of the family (Creator/AudreyHepburn) is a Kiowa by birth, and her tribe wants her back. Murphy plays the bigoted younger brother who has trouble accepting his sister's heritage but does learn his lesson. Not a sympathetic character, but considered one of his better performances. Available on DVD in the US and most other places.

* AutobiographicalRole: As a thirty-something movie star, he played the teenaged/young adult versions of himself in the [[FilmOfTheBook Film of the War Memoir]] ''To Hell and Back''.

Born in rural [[EverythingIsBigInTexas Texas]], he was the sixth out of twelve children in a poor Scots-Irish family reputed to have Cherokee ancestry. Two of his siblings died before reaching adulthood. As the eldest boy still living at home when his father deserted the family, he was forced to support his mother and younger siblings, by various odd jobs and sustenance hunting. He could kill small, fast-moving targets like rabbits and squirrels with a slingshot, which already says a lot about his marksmanship skills, but he proved even better with a light .22 rifle. Due to the poverty of his family and the fact that the people who tried to help them out were not much better off, he often had to go out hunting with only a single cartridge in his gun. If he didn't kill something edible with his first shot, his family would go hungry. When his mother died, he was obliged to put his youngest siblings in an orphanage, but he dreamed of earning enough money to reunite the family and provide for them.

%%* RankUp

* ''Literature/TheRedBadgeOfCourage'': Creator/JohnHuston made the bold move to cast Murphy, ''the'' icon of American heroism in the post-WWII era, as the cowardly main character, and Murphy gives one of his best performances. Somewhat overlooked due to the studio cutting it down to 70 minutes and Huston constantly denigrating the final product, but works well enough on its own terms. Available on DVD in the US and most other places.

After the war, he helped his family get back on their feet, became a training instructor with the Texas National Guard during the Korean War, wrote an autobiography, ''[[http://www.commandposts.com/2011/01/to-hell-and-back/ To Hell and Back]]'', and started a movie career, eventually making his autobiography into a movie in 1955. It became the highest-grossing film Universal Studios had made up to that point, and remained so until the release of ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' nearly twenty years later. ''To Hell And Back'' proved surprisingly popular in Japan, perhaps due to the main character's warrior ethos and family loyalty. He appeared in a total of 44 films, mostly SoAverageItsOkay [[TheWestern b-westerns]] that traded on the MemeticBadass status he held in the minds of his own generation, and their children, the baby boomers.

* ''To Hell and Back'': TheFilmOfTheBook. His biggest hit at the time, considered SoAverageItsOkay today, except for the performances (he handpicked the supporting cast, choosing people who reminded him of his old squadmates), and some of the combat scenes. Available on DVD in the US and most other places.

----

%%* TranquilFury

** Likewise, (President) UsefulNote/DwightDEisenhower portrayed himself in the film.

* BadassAdorable: Just a cute, boyish-looking guy...who happened to have lightning reflexes, nerves of steel, super aiming skills, and the willingness to do whatever it took to neutralize a threat.

* ''Ride Clear of Diablo'': Murphy rides into town looking to avenge his family's death, not realizing that the local sheriff is behind it. [[TheUriahGambit The sheriff deputizes him and sends him on dangerous jobs to try and get him killed]], but Murphy keeps getting closer to the truth, with the help of an outlaw (FilmNoir regular Dan Duryea) whose fondness for the kid gets him stuck in a HeelFaceRevolvingDoor, with shades of RedOniBlueOni in his dynamic with Murphy. Probably the quintessential "Audie Murphy as a good guy" western. Available on DVD in the US and most other places.

* CoolCar: In the sixties, he owned a Lincoln "kustomized" by George Barris, the same man who gave the world the [[Franchise/TheGreenHornet Black Beauty]] and Adam West's Batmobile.

* ''Film/{{Tumbleweed}}'': Murphy gets accused of a crime he didn't commit, breaks out of jail, and sets out to clear his name, with sheriff Chill Wills, deputy Creator/LeeVanCleef and sleazy romantic rival [[Series/GilligansIsland Russell Johnson]] hot on his trail. Murphy has help in the shape of the title character-a scruffy little white horse who subverts TheAllegedSteed trope by being [[CoolHorse superfast, supersmart, and super-sure-footed.]] Turns up on TV occasionally.

* ''Seven Ways from Sundown'': Murphy plays a NewMeat Texas Ranger, named [[TitleDrop Seven Ways From Sundown]] Jones, sent to bring in a seedy but dapper outlaw who's rather likable but ultimately proves to be more trouble than he's worth. A pretty good film, overshadowed by Murphy's throwdown with the director (see the entry under DeathGlare) and his RomanceOnTheSet with onscreen love interest Venetia Stevenson. Available as a French Region 2 DVD with English soundtrack.