Editing Fred MacMurray (section)

==Personal life==
[[File:Fred MacMurray Star HWF.JPG|thumb|left|Star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] at 6421 Hollywood Boulevard]]

=== Family ===
MacMurray was married twice, first to Lillian "Lily" Lamont (legal name: Lilian Wehmhoener MacMurray, born 1908) and after her death, actress [[June Haver]].

=== Lillian Lamont ===
Lamont and MacMurray met during the production of ''Roberta'' while in New York City while he was performing with the Collegians in 1934, and they quickly became an item.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The San Francisco Examiner 08 Aug 1935, page 19 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/457855738/ |access-date=2023-07-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref> Despite the budding romance he left New York and returned to Hollywood in efforts to continue his career.<ref name=":3" />

It was reported that upon his return he spurned a matchmaking attempt by gossip columnist [[Louella Parsons]]. Accounts vary, with some reporting that Parsons was angry over MacMurray's refusal of her efforts, leading Parsons to attempt to derail his career. Other sources indicate that MacMurray turned down a party invitation from [[William Randolph Hearst]] (via Parsons), as the publisher had already identified another female as MacMurray's date for the event.<ref name=":0" /> Parsons refers in a 1947 column that she and MacMurray made amends, "...we let our hair down about a lot of things...principally a misunderstanding that marred a long friendship, and then and there cleaned up all our grievances", possibly alluding to the columnist's attempts at career sabotage.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=The Cincinnati Enquirer 22 Jun 1947, page 61 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/100223292/ |access-date=2023-07-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref>

In 1934, the couple announced the news that they were in a "test engagement", stating that they "want to be sure before we make any official announcement" that "...their personalities were the type which could pull in a double harness while they followed their careers".<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Edmonton Bulletin 27 Dec 1934, page 3 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/738598142/ |access-date=2023-07-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref> By late spring in 1936, the couple decided to make it official. Late on the night of June 19, 1936, MacMurray, Lamont and MacMurray's mother traveled by plane to Las Vegas to be married. The trip – and the marriage – were kept secret from friends and studio officials, who spent the day of the 20th trying to locate the actor. The newlyweds and family returned to Hollywood on a plane that same day.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wilkes-Barre Times Leader 20 Jun 1936, page Page 5 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/140522191/ |access-date=2023-07-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Vidette-Messenger of Porter County 20 Jun 1936, page 2 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/333016931/ |access-date=2023-07-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref>

In 1945, they moved into a 10-room, two-story Colonial house in Brentwood. Neighbors (and friends) included [[James Stewart|Jimmy Stewart]] and [[Henry Fonda]]. Joan Crawford described the couple as having "one of the few happy and well-adjusted marriages".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Watters |first=Sam |date=2011-10-01 |title=Mr. Un-Modern Fred MacMurray |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2011-oct-01-la-hm-lost-la-fred-macmurray-20111001-story.html |access-date=2023-07-13 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> While they were known to be homebodies and family-oriented, they were also social within the Hollywood community. They hosted parties, both large and small, for friends. They were close with [[Clark Gable]] and [[Carole Lombard]], often having Sunday afternoon BBQs with each other. At the larger gatherings, Lombard proved to be the source of entertainment for the assembled guests with her antics and off-color language.<ref name=":0" />

Lamont was often in poor health, including kidney and heart problems. This is reportedly why MacMurray and Lamont adopted two children. In 1940, their daughter Susan joined the family, with formal adoption completed in 1942. Four years later they adopted one-and-a-half year-old Robert. Later in his son's life, the father and son would drift apart, with MacMurray lamenting that Robert went "the hippie route via the South Seas to 'find himself'".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Detroit Free Press 07 Sep 1940, page Page 16 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/97941654/ |access-date=2023-07-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref>

After struggling with physical health issues for most of her life, her condition deteriorated even further in the early 1950s. She eventually succumbed to kidney and heart issues in June 1953, shortly after the couple's 17th wedding anniversary.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Deseret News 22 Jun 1953, page 7 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/595490395/ |access-date=2023-07-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref> In a 2006 interview between a MacMurray biographer and Lamont's cousin, the family states that she suffered from bulimia. This may have stemmed from her days as a model and contributed to her other health issues.<ref name=":0" />

=== June Haver ===
[[File:June Haver MS152.jpg|right|thumb|MacMurray's second wife, actress [[June Haver]]]]
MacMurray first met actress June Haver when they starred in ''[[Where Do We Go from Here? (1945 film)|Where Do We Go From Here]]'' in 1945, although they had little interaction.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Ratoff |first1=Gregory |title=Where Do We Go from Here? |date=1945-05-23 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038245/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2 |type=Fantasy, Musical |access-date=2023-07-13 |others=Fred MacMurray, Joan Leslie, June Haver |publisher=Twentieth Century Fox |last2=Seaton |first2=George}}</ref> By the early 1950s, Haver was grieving the sudden death of her fiancé Dr. John Duzik in 1949. In part because of her grief, Haver had considered a life as a nun. A life-long devout Catholic, she met with [[Pope Pius XII]] in 1951 and decided to follow her faith and join a convent. She realized after eight months that the convent life was not for her.<ref name=":0" /> In 1953, at a "[[Gay Nineties]]" party thrown by pal [[John Wayne]], Haver and MacMurray met socially. Both had been reluctant to attend the party; however, they left together and quickly became an item.<ref name=":0" /> After the socially acceptable amount of time grieving the death of Lamont, the couple decided to make their relationship official, deciding to marry in 1954. This meant the actress had to renounce her Catholicism due to a previous divorce, having wed musician Jimmy Zito in 1947 before divorcing in 1948.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Cincinnati Enquirer 13 Feb 1953, page 5 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/100604151/ |access-date=2023-07-13 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Ventura County Star 02 Jul 1954, page 10 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/624936454/ |access-date=2023-07-13 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref>

MacMurray purchased actor [[Red Skelton]]'s good-luck [[pinky ring]] as an engagement ring, officially proposing to Haver after a trip to a drugstore.<ref name=":0" /> They publicly announced their wedding date for the first week of August 1954; however, they actually wed over a month early, on June 28, to the surprise of friends and the press.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=The Enid Daily Eagle 14 Aug 1954, page 6 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/900972565/ |access-date=2023-07-13 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref> With the help of friend Ray Cardillo, a travel agency owner, the ceremony was held at the [[Ojai Valley Inn]].<ref name=":4" /> They honeymooned in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, while MacMurray finished working on ''[[The Far Horizons]].''<ref name=":0" />

MacMurray stated in a 1954 interview that "June had a serious operation after she fell at Fox Studios a couple of years ago...and she's not sure if she will be able to have children".<ref name=":5" /> As a result of Haver's inability to conceive, in 1956 they adopted fraternal twins, Laurie Ann and Katie Marie, "right out of the incubator".<ref name=":3" /> 

Haver curtailed her Hollywood career after marrying MacMurray, with one final appearance on the ''Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour'' in 1958 as herself.<ref>{{Citation |title=The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour |date=1957-11-06 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050033/?ref_=nm_flmg_t_1_act |type=Comedy, Family |access-date=2023-07-13 |others=Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance |publisher=Desilu Productions}}</ref> She stated that she had no desire to act further, "I lost it all [desire]. I'm remaining a private citizen and will stay at home and work...it has been supplanted by something better. Now that I have four children in the family I have a lot to keep me busy".<ref name=":3" /> MacMurray did not believe that it was his place to keep Haver from acting, stating "...I'd hate to be the one to keep her off the screen...the decision is up to her. I'd rather have her at home, but if she wants to make a picture, it's okay with me".<ref name=":5" />

Much like his marriage to Lamont, this union was by all accounts stable and happy.<ref name=":0" /> They remained married until MacMurray's death in 1991.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Los Angeles Times 06 Nov 1991, page Page 288 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/175432945/ |access-date=2023-07-13 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== Politics ===
Like many of his Hollywood contemporaries, MacMurray was a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] politically, although he was not particularly outspoken about his beliefs. When speaking with columnist Parsons in 1947 about the [[House Un-American Activities Committee|Red Scare in Hollywood]], the actor noted "I suppose there really are some Reds in Hollywood...but don't you think that actually some of the people...get that reputation because they talk too much about things they don't understand? I don't think an actor has any business to discuss politics unless he is an authority..."<ref name=":1" /> He is further quoted "...just because I happen to be an actor I shouldn't get up and say 'vote for this man', knowing as little as I know about him...I'm a family man and that's about it".<ref name=":0" />

He joined a long list of Hollywood stars as a member of the [[Hollywood Anti-Nazi League]], which was organized by the [[Communist Party USA|Communist Party of the USA]] in 1936.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Hollywood and Hitler, 1933-1939 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2468-1733_shafr_sim120110127 |access-date=2023-07-11 |website=The SHAFR Guide Online|doi=10.1163/2468-1733_shafr_sim120110127 |doi-broken-date=March 27, 2025 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> MacMurray appeared onstage along with other conservative luminaries stumping for [[Thomas E. Dewey|Thomas Dewey]] in the 1944 Presidential [[Election of 1944|election]], and he supported [[Ronald Reagan]] for [[Governor of California]] in 1966.<ref>{{Citation |title=The Hollywood Right Goes for Goldwater and Finds Reagan |date=2013-10-21 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/cbo9781139027106.007 |work=When Hollywood Was Right |pages=155–183 |access-date=2023-07-11 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/cbo9781139027106.007 |isbn=9780521199186 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>