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Showing posts with the label Paul Fannin

The Candy Desk

In the 1964 Senate elections, the voters of California sent song-and-dance man George Murphy to Washington. It was a long road to the Senate from his humble origins in Connecticut. There, Murphy first worked as a toolmaker for the Ford Motor Company, then tried his hand at mining, real estate, and finally singing in night clubs. His night club act proved be to his ticket, and it wasn’t long before he was on Broadway. He made the transition to motion pictures in 1934, and kept acting for eighteen years after that. When he retired from acting in 1952, he made his way into politics. Murphy served as the director of entertainment for the presidential inaugurations in 1953, 1957 and 1961. Bitten by the political bug, Murphy next decided to run for office himself. He picked a rough year to do it. Unpopular presidential candidate Senator Barry Goldwater (R-AZ) proved to be a drag on the downballot races. Democrats gained Senate seats from Republicans in every state but one. Only