# Sam McMurray
**Sam McMurray** (born 1952) is an American character actor whose work spans film, television, voice acting, and theater. He is known for playing Glen, Nicolas Cage's brother-in-law, in the Coen Brothers' *Raising Arizona* (1987), for his sketch work as a regular on *The Tracey Ullman Show* (Fox, 1987–1990), for voicing Roy Hess on the family sitcom *Dinosaurs*, and for the recurring role of Supervisor Patrick O'Boyle on *The King of Queens* (CBS, 1998–2007)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0573481/) • [2](https://www.avclub.com/sam-mcmurray-1798229063). Over a career stretching back to the mid-1970s, he has accumulated an extensive list of credits while remaining a face-recognized but not name-recognized presence, the classic profile of a working character actor[2](https://www.avclub.com/sam-mcmurray-1798229063).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1952, New York City, New York, USA[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0573481/) |
| Breakout roles | Glen in *Raising Arizona* (1987) and regular on *The Tracey Ullman Show* (Fox, 1987–1990)[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sam-mcmurray/) |
| Signature voice role | Roy Hess on *Dinosaurs* (ABC, 1991–1994)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0573481/) • [3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sam-mcmurray/) |
| Recurring TV roles | Supervisor Patrick O'Boyle on *The King of Queens*; Pat Wexler on *Scandal*; Frank Cooper on *The Fosters*[2](https://www.avclub.com/sam-mcmurray-1798229063) • [4](https://www.latw.org/artist-public-profile/sam-mcmurray) |
| Trademark | "Deep commanding voice" and a tendency to be cast as doctors; he played a surgical oncologist on *The Sopranos* and a doctor on *Breaking Bad*[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0573481/bio/) |
| Parents | Richard McMurray, an actor, and Jane Hoffman, an actress[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/mcmurray-sam-1952) |
| Family | Married to actress Elizabeth Collins; two daughters[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/mcmurray-sam-1952) |
## Background and training
McMurray was born in New York City and raised in [Greenwich Village](https://www.edgepedia.org/greenwich-village) by his parents, the actors Richard McMurray and Jane Hoffman[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sam-mcmurray/). He studied [English literature](https://www.edgepedia.org/english-literature) and acting at [Washington University in St. Louis](https://www.edgepedia.org/washington-university-in-st-louis), Missouri[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/mcmurray-sam-1952). He initially considered a career in journalism but chose acting instead, a decision that reportedly disappointed his father, who thought writing was the more creative job[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sam-mcmurray/).
After performing in college productions and regional theater, he made his professional debut as a Villager in *The Merry Wives of Windsor* for Joseph Papp's Shakespeare in the Park at the Delacorte Theatre[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sam-mcmurray/) • [4](https://www.latw.org/artist-public-profile/sam-mcmurray). His first screen appearance came in [Woody Allen](https://www.edgepedia.org/woody-allen)'s *The Front* (1976) as the young man at a party, a brief role he landed through a family connection to director Martin Ritt's wife[2](https://www.avclub.com/sam-mcmurray-1798229063).
## Breakthrough in the late 1980s
McMurray and his wife moved west in 1986, and he was quickly cast on *The Jeffersons*, *The Ropers*, and *Hill Street Blues*[7](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-evolution-of-entertainment-a-man-for/id1523737060?i=1000753366187). The following year brought the two roles that established him: Glen, the sleazy brother-in-law of [Nicolas Cage](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicolas-cage)'s character in the Coen Brothers' *Raising Arizona*, and a spot as a regular sketch player on Fox's *The Tracey Ullman Show*, where he played a range of broad and offbeat characters[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sam-mcmurray/). Neither project was a hit on the scale of a marquee vehicle, but both gave him visibility and a fan base that sustained a long career[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sam-mcmurray/).
His specialty in comedy was playing blowhards, unctuous professionals, and self-described lives of the party, even though he had not come up through the improv and sketch comedy ranks[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sam-mcmurray/). In a 1992 Los Angeles Times profile, he joked that on most of his television appearances the billing should read "And Featuring Sam McMurray as The Ass"[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-09-20-tv-1650-story.html).
## Television leading turns and voice work
Like most character actors, McMurray moved between many projects a year, from higher-profile films such as *[L.A. Story](https://www.edgepedia.org/l-a-story)* (1991) and *Addams Family Values* (1993) to low-budget features like *Stone Cold* (1991) and *Class Act* (1992)[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sam-mcmurray/). He also made several attempts at a weekly series. On Fox's short-lived *Likely Suspects* (1992), a crime-solving comedy that started as a game show, he played Detective Marshak, a gumshoe who played to the camera as if it were his rookie partner[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-09-20-tv-1650-story.html). He also appeared in *Stand By Your Man* (Fox, 1992) and in the CBS television version of *A League of Their Own* (1993), taking the role [Tom Hanks](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-hanks) played in the film[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sam-mcmurray/) • [6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/mcmurray-sam-1952).
[Voice acting](https://www.edgepedia.org/voice-acting) became a parallel career. On Jim Henson Productions' *Dinosaurs* (ABC, 1991–1994), he voiced Roy Hess, Earl Sinclair's best friend and coworker at the Wesayso Corporation, and performed other voices as well[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sam-mcmurray/) • [2](https://www.avclub.com/sam-mcmurray-1798229063). In a 2011 interview he described it as the easiest job in the world, since the puppet characters had already been shot and exact lip sync was not required[2](https://www.avclub.com/sam-mcmurray-1798229063). He also voiced parts in animated projects including *The Simpsons*, on which, by IMDb's account, he was the first guest voice[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0573481/bio/). He told [The A.V. Club](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-a-v-club) that he nearly became the voice of [Homer Simpson](https://www.edgepedia.org/homer-simpson)[2](https://www.avclub.com/sam-mcmurray-1798229063).
## Guest work, doctors, and later career
From the 1990s onward, McMurray worked steadily as a guest player on comedy and drama series. He had a recurring role as [Kevin James](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-james)'s boss, Supervisor Patrick O'Boyle, on *The King of Queens*; he explained that the role came about indirectly through *The Tracey Ullman Show*, because the show's creator, Michael Weithorn, had written for Ullman and remembered him when casting the new series[2](https://www.avclub.com/sam-mcmurray-1798229063). His guest credits include *Friends*, where he played Doug, Chandler's overbearing boss, for three episodes[9](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-4206/biographie/).
Two doctors stand out among his roles. He played a surgical oncologist, Dr. Kennedy, on *The Sopranos* and Dr. Bravenec on *Breaking Bad*, and IMDb lists "plays a lot of doctors" among his trademarks[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0573481/bio/). In 2013 alone he appeared as U.S. Attorney Pat Wexler on *Scandal* and as Frank Cooper, Teri Polo's conflicted father, on *The Fosters*[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sam-mcmurray/).
He has remained active into recent years, with guest roles on series such as *[Platonic](https://www.edgepedia.org/platonic-tv-series)* (2023) and *Elsbeth* (2024)[10](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/10359/sam-mcmurray).
## Honors
McMurray received two Drama–Logue Awards for theater work and was nominated for a 1997 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/mcmurray-sam-1952) • [11](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/sam-mcmurray/bio/3030474183/).
## References
1. [Sam McMurray, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0573481/)
2. [Sam McMurray interview, The A.V. Club (December 27, 2011)](https://www.avclub.com/sam-mcmurray-1798229063)
3. [Sam McMurray – Actor, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sam-mcmurray/)
4. [Sam McMurray profile, LA Theatre Works](https://www.latw.org/artist-public-profile/sam-mcmurray)
5. [Sam McMurray Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0573481/bio/)
6. [McMurray, Sam 1952–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/mcmurray-sam-1952)
7. [The Evolution Of Entertainment with Sam McMurray, Media Path Podcast (March 5, 2026)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-evolution-of-entertainment-a-man-for/id1523737060?i=1000753366187)
8. [Stay Tuned to Their Careers, Los Angeles Times (September 20, 1992)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-09-20-tv-1650-story.html)
9. [Sam McMurray : Sa biographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-4206/biographie/)
10. [Sam McMurray, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/10359/sam-mcmurray)
11. [Sam McMurray Biography, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/sam-mcmurray/bio/3030474183/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Mc to Mi*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license