Profiled in "American Classic Screen Interviews" (Scarecrow Press). [2010]
Quite the high school athlete. He won ten letters for athletics and a scholarship to Carroll College in Wisconsin to play football. He played the saxophone for extra money while there.
Steve Douglas, MacMurray's character on "My Three Sons" (1960), was ranked #7 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" [20 June 2004 issue].
Was in consideration for the role of Joe Gillis in Sunset Blvd. (1950) but William Holden, who received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance, was cast instead.
When offered the job as the dad on "My Three Sons" (1960), he was given a dream contract in which he only had to work 65 days a year on the series. The supporting cast, as a result, often had to shoot their scenes opposite a prop person off camera instead of Fred. The popular series ran 12 seasons.