If Arthur and Kathryn Murray were alive today, they probably would be the most sought-after judges for "Dancing with the Stars." The celebrity couple were stars themselves, teaching a nation of dancing novices how to waltz and tango in ballroom settings. They also happened to call Hawaii home. This month we look back on the Murrays and their love for the islands.
Arthur Murray was born Moses Teichman in Hungary in 1895 but from the age of 2 grew up on the East Side of New York City.
Lacking confidence as a teenager, Murray decided to learn how to dance and took lessons at a settlement house in his neighborhood. His persistence and quick mastery of dance techniques enabled him to eventually start giving lessons at age 17 in 1912.
Murray taught ballroom dancing in Boston and Asheville, N.C., before moving to Atlanta to attend business school in 1919. The next year, Murray made about $15,000 a year teaching dance in Atlanta. He was also successful in writing books on dance.
He moved back to New York and met Kathryn Kohnfelder, a New Jersey school teacher, at a radio station, and they were married in 1925. Murray began franchising his dance studios as the Arthur Murray Dance Studios in 1938 as the schools expanded throughout the United States.
In 1950 the "Arthur Murray Party" debuted on the Dumont network, eventually becoming one of the few TV series to air on all the major network stations. The series, with Kathryn Murray as hostess, was one of the most popular programs on television during its decade-long run, featuring celebrity guests Milton Berle, Groucho Marx, Johnny Carson, Helen Hayes and many others competing in dance contests.
The Murrays sold their franchise of more than 500 studios in 1953 for $5 million but managed the studios for another decade. Arthur Murray Dance Studios would later expand worldwide with more than 3,000 schools at its peak in the 1970s.
In 1965 the Murrays began to spend winters in Hawaii, and in 1967 they became full-time residents of Honolulu when they bought a penthouse apartment at the Colony Surf.
In a 1972 Honolulu Star-Bulletin interview, Kathryn Murray said, "What brought us here in the first place is what’s keeping us here. Honolulu has all the advantages of a big city with its shops and restaurants and good movies, and yet it has the atmosphere of a resort," she said.
When the "Mike Douglas Show" filmed in Waikiki in February 1972 at the Hawaiian Regent Hotel, the Murrays were guests. The guest host was Don Ho, who danced with Miss Hawaii 1971 Aurora Joan Ka‘awa. Ho’s dancing was humorously critiqued by Arthur Murray.
During the show Douglas asked Arthur Murray if he missed the mainland. "No, not at all. Why should I miss the mainland?" he said.
Kathryn Murray said she loved the islands. "We retired and wanted a nice place to be carried out to pasture," she said.
Murray played tennis twice a day to keep in shape. He was an art collector and also became a successful stock market investor managing multimillion-dollar portfolios for friends and relatives. The Murrays were known for entertaining guests at dinner parties and generously donating to many local charities.
Arthur Murray died March 3, 1991, at age 95. His ashes were scattered at sea in front of the Outrigger Canoe Club. Kathryn Murray led a quiet life after her husband’s death. She died Aug. 6, 1999, at age 92.
More than 260 Arthur Murray Dance Studios remain worldwide in 21 countries, including two on Oahu.
A.J. McWhorter, a collector of film and videotape cataloging Hawaii’s TV history, has worked as a producer, writer and researcher for both local and national media. Email him at flashback@hawaii.rr.com.
