Murray Hamilton

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Murray Hamilton (March 24, 1923 – September 1, 1986) was an American actor. He is best known for his role as Mayor Larry Vaughn in the 1975 film "Jaws" and its sequels, "Jaws 2" and "Jaws: The Revenge". Hamilton also starred in several other well-known films such as "The Graduate", "The Hustler" and "The Amityville Horror". He had a long career in both film and TV and appeared in over 70 films and TV series. Early life Hamilton was born in Washington, North Carolina. He displayed an early interest in performing during his days at Washington High School just before America's entry into World War II. Bad hearing kept him from enlisting, so he moved to New York City as a 19-year-old to find a career on stage. Career In an early role, he performed on stage with Henry Fonda in the wartime story Mister Roberts as a replacement for David Wayne, playing Ensign Pulver. In 1960, he was onstage again with Fonda in Critic's Choice; Howard Taubman of The New York Times called him "properly obnoxious as the director". Hamilton was teamed once more with Fonda in 1968 for the drama film The Boston Strangler. Hamilton's best-known performance is as Larry Vaughn, the mayor of Amity, in the Steven Spielberg thriller Jaws (1975). Hamilton reprised the role in the sequel, Jaws 2 in 1978. He had agreed to reprise the role again in Jaws: The Revenge, but died in 1986, before production began. He was just 63 years old.