Joseph Murphy (actor)

Joseph "Joe" Murphy began his early career in Vaudeville. He was in a Mutt and Jeff act alongside Little Bobby Vernon and was also one the original Keystone Cops. From the 1910's through the 1940's he worked in many comedy short films. His biggest success was the five years (1923 - 1928) in which he played the very popular character "Andy Gump" in Universal silent film shorts. Many of "The Gumps" shorts were directed by Norman Taurog, who eventually went on to direct many of Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, and nine of Elvis Presley's movies. 
"The Gumps" shorts starred Joe Murphy as Andy Gump, Fay Tincher as Min (Minerva), Jack Morgan as Chester, and Slim Hamilton as Uncle Bim.
"The Gumps" shorts were based on the extremely popular newspaper comic strip (1917 to 1959) readers who anxiously followed the Gumps convoluted storylines. The comic strips were written and drawn by Sidney Smith, "The Gumps" was first published on February 12,1917. The huge popularity of the comic strip eventually gained Interest by Universal Pictures to start the film adaptations which were made into about four dozen or so silent film shorts, produced by Samuel Von Ronken and released by Universal. 
The Gumps is part of the National Film preservation effort. As many as 20% of US feature films from the 1910's and 1920's survive in complete form in American archives. The Gump's - Oh! What a Day! was recently preserved at Film Technology Inc. in 2013. It was supervised by George Eastman Museum and funded by Universal Studios. 
Joe Murphy was born Joseph J. Murphy and was born in San Jose, California. His mother Anna (Mahoney) and father John Murphy were married in Michigan, January 13, 1875 before moving to San Jose, California. Joe was tall (6'3") and lanky and was a naturally gifted slapstick comedian. Joe continued to live in California where he worked as a silent moving picture star in Hollywood. He died at the age of 84. He left behind a wife (Marie). 
In October of 1920, his young son (Russell) age 16, had gone out with friends the night before Halloween known as "Mischief Night" for the usual pre-Halloween fun in the neighborhood. Teens in the 1920's would go out together on Halloween Eve and do harmless pranks such as "soaping windows". (soaping windows) Unfortunately, the neighbors called the police fearing that the boys were robbers. When the police arrived, an officer shot at the boys as they ran down the hill and one of the boys (Russell) was shot in the back by the police officer who fired upon the boys as the police thought they were burglars based on the call they received from the homeowner. The boys were eventually cleared of any wrongdoing but unfortunately, Joe and Marie lost their son Russell. Joe wanted to continue to bring laughter to the world even though he and his wife had suffered such a tragic loss. 
Out in the Rain (Short) 1928 
Andy Gump 
The Cloud Buster (Short) 1928 
Andy Gump 
Any Old Count (Short) 1928 
Andy Gump 
A Case of Scotch (Short) 1928 
Andy Gump 
The Mild West (Short) 1927 
Andy Gump 
Andy Nose his Onions (Short) 1927 
Andy Gump 
A Total Loss (Short) 1927 
Andy Gump 
Ocean Bruises (Short) 1927 
Andy Gump 
And How! (Short) 1927 
Andy Gump 
When Greek Meets Greek (Short) 1927 
Andy Gump 
A Battle Scared Hero (Short) 1927 
Andy Gump 
Too Much Sleep (Short) 1927 
Andy Gump 
All Wet (Short) 1927 
Andy Gump 
Circus Daze (Short) 1927 
Andy Gump 
I'm the Sherriff (Short) 1927 You Tube with New Accompaniment by Ben Model (silent film historian and accompanist) 
Andy Gump 
Broke Again (Short) 1927 
Andy Gump 
Youth and Beauty (Short) 1927 
Andy Gump 
Up Against It (Short) 1927 
Andy Gump 
Rooms for Rent (Short) 1927 
Andy Gump 
I Told You So (Short) 1926 
Andy Gump 
A Close Call (Short) 1926 
Andy Gump 
The Big Surprise (Short) 1926 
Andy Gump 
Better Luck (Short) 1926 
Andy Gump 
Lots of Grief (Short) 1926 
Andy Gump 
Never Again (Short) 1926 
Andy Gump 
Tow Service (Short) 1926 
Andy Gump 
Dumb Luck (Short) 1926 
Andy Gump 
Min's Away (Short) 1926 
Andy Gump 
Shady Rest (Short) 1926 
Andy Gump 
California Here We Come (Short) 1926 
Andy Gump 
Min Walks in Her Sleep (Short) 1926 
Andy Gump 
Min's Home on the Cliff (Short) 1926 
Andy Gump 
The Smash Up (Short) 1925 
Andy Gump 
Andy takes a Flyer (Short) 1925 
Andy Gump 
Dynamited (Short) 1925 
Andy Gump 
Chester's Donkey Party (Short) 1925 
Andy Gump 
Andy's Lion Tale (Short) 1925 
Andy Gump 
Andy in Hollywood (Short) 1925 
Andy Gump 
Andy's Stump Speech (Short) 1924 
Andy Gump 
Andy's Hat in the Ring (Short) 1924 
Andy Gump 
Westbound (Short) 1924 
Andy Gump 
A Day of Rest (Short) 1924 
Andy Gump 
Andy's Temptation (Short) 1924 
Andy Gump 
What's the Use (Short) 1924 
Andy Gump 
Oh! Min! (Short) 1924 
Andy Gump 
Aggravatin' Mama (Short) 1923 
Andy Gump 
Oh! What a Day! (Short) 1923 National Film Preservation Link 
Andy Gump 
Watch Papa (Short) 1923 
Andy Gump 
Uncle Bim's Gifts (Short) 1923 
Andy Gump 
You Nazty Spy (Short) 1940 
Peasant (uncredited) 
Mooching Through Georgia (Short) 1939 
Tall Union Soldier (uncredited) 
When G-Men Step In 1938 
Phone Man (uncredited) 
The Man Who Laughs 1928 
Hardquanones Messenger (uncredited) 
Benson at Calford 1927 
Man in Crowd (uncredited) 
The Cat and the Canary 1927 
The Milkman (uncredited) 
The Red Lily 1924 
Wagon Driver (uncredited) 
Open All Night 1924 
Bicycle Race Spectator (uncredited) 
Souls For Sale 1923 
Motorist (uncredited) 
Shadows 1922 
Townsman at Engagement (uncredited) 
Please Be Careful (Short) 1922 
The Playhouse 1921 
One of the Zouaves (uncredited) 
Skirts 1921 
Dynamite (Short) 1920 
Trouble (Short)1920 
Nurse Marjorie 1920 
Cook(uncredited) 
The Heart Snatcher (Short) 1920 
Bass Fiddle Player 
The Little Princess 1917 
Leader of Forty Bandits (uncredited) 
Her Candy Kid (Short) 1917 
Joe "Mutt" Murphy 
Her Fame and Shame (Short) 1917 
Audience Spectator (uncredited) 
When Hearts Collide (Short) 1917 
Heart Strategy (Short) 1917 
Honest Thieves (Short) 1917 
Cold Hearts and Hot Flames (Short) 1916 
Bald Man in Lobby 
The Mystery of the Leaping Fish (Short) 1916 
Footman on vehicle (uncredited) 
Scars and Stripes Forever (Short) 1916 
Love Wires and Short Sparks (Short) 1916 
Category:People from San Jose, California
Category:American actors