Murray Gershenz (May 12, 1922 – August 28, 2013) was an American character actor and entrepreneur. He began his acting career late in life, at the age of 79, when he starred in a 2001 episode of ''
Will & Grace''. He went on to perform a variety of character roles in films and on television. As an entrepreneur, he operated the ''Music Man Murray'' record store in Los Angeles for more than 50 years.
Career
He acted in other television shows, such as ''
Modern Family'', ''
The Sarah Silverman Program'', ''
Mad Men'', ''
Raising Hope'', ''
House
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
'', and ''
Parks and Recreation
''Parks and Recreation'' (also known as ''Parks and Rec'') is an American political satire mockumentary sitcom television series created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. The series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009, to February 24, 2015, for 125 ...
''.
[ He also appeared in films, such as '']I Love You, Man
''I Love You, Man'' is a 2009 American bromantic comedy film written and directed by John Hamburg, based on a script by Larry Levin. The film stars Paul Rudd as a friendless man looking for a best man for his upcoming wedding. However, his new b ...
'' (2009), '' The Incredible Burt Wonderstone'' (2013), and '' The Hangover'' (2009), where he played Felix, an elderly man who fully disrobes in one scene.[
]
Personal life
Gershenz was born in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
on May 12, 1922, and raised in a Jewish household. An avid vinyl record
A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...
collector, at the age of 16, he began collecting records, which turned into a $1.5 million stockpile of over 300,000 records for his shop located in West Adams, Los Angeles, California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.[ His desire to sell his collection became the subject of a 2011 ]documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
, titled ''Music Man Murray'', after his nickname and the name of his store.[ Presumably as a direct result of worldwide festival audiences' exposure to the film, in June 2013, he sold the entire collection to a buyer either from ]New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
or Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, sources vary on this detail and neither he nor the family have ever publicly released this information.
Death
Gershenz died of a heart attack on August 28, 2013, aged 91, in Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.[
]
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gershenz, Murray
1922 births
2013 deaths
American collectors
Male actors from New York City
Jewish American male actors
People from West Adams, Los Angeles
21st-century American Jews