4/13/2011:
Keeping track of your children once they leave home was not so easy back in the 1940s, but when interviewed by a newspaper reporter on this date in 1948, a seventy-year-old Bismarck barber explained why he found it easier than most parents. Whenever Joseph Murphy wanted to know where his three boys were, he simply turned on the radio.
His son, Howard Murphy, better known as Pat, was the first to break into the radio business having started with KSTP in St. Paul in the early 1930s, after which he served a brief period on the air in Grand Forks. Leaving North Dakota, he moved to Duluth, Minnesota but soon found himself as a leading actor for CBS radio in Chicago. He acted in popular soap operas such as Girl Alone, which aired from 1935 to 1942, where he played newspaper reporter, Scoop Curtis. After World War II, Pat became an independent producer.
The next Murphy to ride the airwaves was Bob, who graduated from St. Mary’s High School in 1935. Like his brother, he got his start at KSTP in St. Paul. He soon landed an announcing job in Chicago, and after a stint in the Navy he returned to emcee several popular radio shows such as the “Quiz Kids, and “The Crosby Show.” He also served as the voice for the Philco Electronics Company. In 1950, Bob Murphy made the switch to television when he paired with another fresh talent, Kay Westfall. “The Bob and Kay Show” premiered on WENR-TV. This free flowing talk show interviewed everyone from celebrities down to the building’s elevator operator. In fact, their first guest was the window washer who stuck his head in the studio to see what television was all about. The show ran for over seven years, but unfortunately Bob Murphy died in 1959 after a long illness. Kay Westfall remained in show business with her last appearance as a regular on the Bob Newhart Show in 1961.
Bill, another Murphy boy, also tried his hand at broadcasting. He graduated from St. Mary’s in 1942 and became a staff announcer for KFYR in 1944. He was the announcer for the Class A Basketball tournaments for a number of years before moving to St. Louis.
The elder Murphy wasn’t sure why his sons chose broadcasting, but Joe claimed they didn’t inherit their talent from him. The only time he was ever a fluent talker was when he was angry.
Dakota Datebook written by Jim Davis
Sources:
The Bismarck Tribune April 15, 1948
The Bismarck Tribune February 17, 1954
http://www.chicagotelevision.com/murphy.htm- The Bob and Kay Show.