Timothy Patrick Murphy

Murphy started his acting career as an adolescent in several television commercials, and from there he went on to act in the 1978 miniseries Centennial. From 1980 to 1981, he played young conman Spencer Langley on the CBS daytime drama Search for Tomorrow. Murphy portrayed troubled Mickey Trotter on the CBS prime time soap opera Dallas from 1982 to 1983.^[1] During the 1984–1985 television season, he played series regular Chip Craddock on the ABC prime time drama Glitter. In addition to this, he appeared in episodes of the television shows Quincy, M.E., CHiPs, Teachers Only, Hotel, The Love Boat and Hunter.

Murphy appeared in the 1981 film The Bushido Blade. One of Murphy's most substantial roles was in the 1984 feature film Sam's Son, the film biography of the early life of actor Michael Landon,^[2] in which he played the character of Gene Orowitz (the young Landon).

In 1984, he won the Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor (Guest) in a TV Series for his work on The Love Boat.^{[citation needed]}

Murphy was gay, as reported by his life partner Mark Patton.^[3]

Murphy died of AIDS on December 6, 1988, in Sherman Oaks, California, aged 29.

His younger brother, Patrick Sean Murphy (born January 29, 1965), died in the North Tower of the World Trade Center during the September 11, 2001 attacks. He was 36 years old.^[4][5][6][7]