George Murdock

George Murdock (born George Sawaya Jr.; June 25, 1930 – April 30, 2012) was an American character actor, especially prolific on television. Early years Murdock was born in Salina, Kansas. He was the second child of seven children born to George R. Sawaya, a Lebanese immigrant, and Olive (Johnson) Sawaya. Career Murdock was an original cast member of the Los Angeles based Melrose Theatre, appearing in “Lester Sims Retires Tomorrow” during its early 1980s off-Broadway run, while also appearing in productions staged at the South Coast Repertory as well as the Los Angeles Theater Center and the Odyssey Theatre. Murdock was known for frequently playing judges, (for instance, Judge Julius Hoffman in West Coast and Chicago stage productions of The Chicago Conspiracy Trial and in an adaptation for BBC Radio), he also performed the role of "Big Daddy" in Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with the Arizona Theater Company during the 1988 season. He was also Laszlo Gabo on the 1986–87 sitcom What a Country!. These appearances along with roles that leveraged Murdock’s craggy facial features and deep bass voice led a Times Reporter to ask him in 1982 if he ever objected to being typecast, to which Murdoch responded, “Getting the job is important. Who cares where it comes from.”