Murray Alper
American actor (1904-1984)
Murray Alper (January 11, 1904 – November 16, 1984) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous television series, films, and Broadway productions.
Biography
Born in New York City in 1904, Alper worked on Broadway from 1927 to 1940 in a number of shows including The Wild Man of Borneo, This is New York, Broadway Boy, Sailor Beware!, and Every Man for Himself.
Alper appeared in more than 200 films and TV series from the 1930s to the end of the 1960s. Quite often his work was uncredited and he never received a top billing in one of his movies. His first known screen credit was in The Royal Family of Broadway (1930) a part he had already played on Broadway in 1927/28.
His signature character was a chatty taxi driver, which he played at least 20 times, most notably in The Maltese Falcon (1941) as a friendly cabbie who drives Sam Spade, played by Humphrey Bogart, during a mid-film wild goose chase, as well as in such other well-known films as The Big Broadcast of 1937, Lady in the Dark and Angel on My Shoulder. His biggest role should have been the part of Gus Smith in the Alfred Hitchcock film Lifeboat in 1943. Due to his becoming ill right before the start of shooting in August, he was replaced by actor William Bendix. However, he worked for Hitchcock on three other movies: Mr.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Murray Alper” as american actor (1904-1984). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as american actor (1904-1984). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 20, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q6939100. VIAF identifies the subject as 53709348. The Library of Congress control number is no90009465. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1904, 1984, 1927 and 1940.
A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Murray Alper”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Murray Alper primary sources, Murray Alper archive and Murray research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Murray Alper”?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Murray Alper” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.