Murvyn Vye


Marvin Wesley Vye Jr. was an American character actor. He is best known for portraying Prince Ken Arok in the comedy film Road to Bali.

Early years

Vye was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, and educated at Yale University.

Career

Vye's first film was Golden Earrings. He appeared in numerous films in the 1940s and 1950s, often in exotic roles. He portrayed a villainous Merlin the Magician in the 1949 Bing Crosby musical comedy, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, and the scheming Prince Arok in 1952's Road to Bali, a comedy co-starring Crosby and Bob Hope.
On Broadway, Vye debuted in Hamlet. He also created the role of Jigger Cragin in the original production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel. Vye was also set to appear as the Kralaholme in the original production of The King and I, but as rehearsals went on he lost his only two musical numbers and left the show.
In 1958 Vye appeared as Virgie on the television western Tales of Wells Fargo in the episode titled "Butch Cassidy" and as Palmer in the episode "The Stunt Man" of the CBS situation comedy Mr. Adams and Eve.
In 1959, Vye portrayed gangster George "Bugs" Moran, rival of Chicago's top organized-crime figure, in Al Capone, which starred Rod Steiger in the title role.
He did guest-star appearances in many television series throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including Maverick, M Squad, The Untouchables, Bonanza, Bat Masterson, The Rifleman, Perry Mason, Wagon Train, The Beverly Hillbillies and The Lucy Show.

Personal life

On April 7, 1935, Vye married Patricia Savage in Nashua, New Hampshire. On January 17, 1936, a judge in Boston granted her an uncontested divorce.

Death

Vye died of natural causes on August 17, 1976, in a motel room in Pompano Beach, Florida at age 63.

Partial filmography (as actor)

  • Golden Earrings as Zoltan
  • Whispering Smith as Blake Barton
  • A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court as Merlin
  • Pickup
  • Assignment – Paris! as Medical Officer at Prisoner Exchange
  • Road to Bali as Arok
  • Destination Gobi as Kengtu
  • Pickup on South Street as Capt. Dan Tiger
  • River of No Return as Dave Colby
  • Black Horse Canyon as Jennings
  • Green Fire as El Moro
  • Escape to Burma as Makesh
  • Pearl of the South Pacific as Halemano
  • Voodoo Island as Barney Finch
  • This Could Be the Night as Waxie London
  • Short Cut to Hell as Nichols
  • The Walter Winchell File as Zero
  • Girl in the Woods as Whitlock
  • In Love and War as Charlie Scanlon
  • Rally Round the Flag, Boys! as Oscar Hoffa
  • Al Capone as George 'Bugs' Moran
  • The Boy and the Pirates as Blackbeard
  • The Big Bankroll as Williams
  • The George Raft Story as Johnny Fuller
  • Andy as Bartender