Western movies are my new addiction.
It started when my son and I needed a new weekly fix – to share together.
I get the vintage, he gets the shoot em up action.
I have worked my way through John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, James Stewart (actually he deserves his very own blog post) and then I discovered Audie Murphy. The ridiculously handsome understated Audie Murphy.
Needless to say I developed a bit of a crush. There is just something unusual about his demeanour. He was not the same cut as the manly, rough diamond types such as John and Clint.
As I do when I have a crush I decided to find out a little bit more about this cowboy.
I was astounded to discover that Audie was a remarkable man, I would even go so far as to say he was maybe the most remarkable man ever to grace the Hollywood screen.
So here is the Audie Murphy lifestory..
Audie was born in 1924, one of 9 children.
His father abandoned the family when he was 12, at which point he left school to work in the cottonfields to support his family. His mother dies just before his 16th birthday, and faced with the prospect of not being able to support his siblings he had to place them in an orphanage.
At the same time Pearl Harbour was bombed and Audie tried to sign up. After being turned down initially for being underage undetered he lied on his application and applied again.
This time he was succesful and was quickly sent overseas into combat.
To say he was a good soldier would be a huge understatement. He was (and still is) the most decorated soldier in the United States. His military excapades read like some Steven Spielberg movie. Case in point..
His best friend was killed in action in a “machine gun nest”. Audie jumped up and wiped out the entire German machine gun crew singlehandedly then used the guns to destroy nearby enemy postions.
He was awarded 33 U.S. decorations and medals, five medals from France, and one from Belgium.He received every U.S. decoration for valor available to Army ground personnel at the time. He earned the Silver Star twice in three days, two Bronze Star Medals, three Purple Hearts, the Distinguished Service Cross, and the Medal of Honor.
Needless to say he earned a place on the cover of Life magazine.
It did help that he was as I said previously ridiculously handsome!
This magazine caught the eye of James Cagney. He obviously saw the cowboy potential of our young hero and invited him to Hollywood.
Audie was a slow burner in the Hollywood scene but he did end up earning some critical acclaim and lots of money. He was best known for his cowboy movies, and the biographical movie “To Hell and Back”.
He was my hero however because he became a spokesperson for mental health issues. He suffered severe post traumatic stress disorder and was outspoken in his bid for mental health support for returned servicemen.
He married had two children and also managed somehow to be a country and western songwriter.
Just to flesh out the interest factor – he was a chronic gambler and wasted most of his fortune and was charged with intent to commit murder for his part in a backyard brawl.
Very sadly Audie died way to young.
Aged 46 he was killed when the private plane he was on crashed.
Audie Murphy.. For many different reasons you were an amazing man, even though I am a committed pacifist and I wish that the world and your children had had you a little longer.
Starlet O Hara 