Arthur And Kathryn Murray Inducted Into The National Museum Of Dance And Hall Of Fame

Arthur and Kathryn Murray, the beloved couple who taught the world to enjoy ballroom dance, have been inducted into the Hall of Fame at the National Museum of Dance.

With this well-deserved honor, Arthur & Kathryn will now take their place alongside leading dance figures like George Balanchine, Martha Graham, Gene Kelly and Shirley Temple.

Arthur Murray was born in New York City to Austrian immigrants. He began teaching ballroom dancing at night while working as a draftsman by day. He soon broadened his reach with innovative dance courses that he offered by mail and on the radio. Arthur Murray was among the first to use advertising techniques considered cutting edge at the time.

The world's first live radio broadcast of dance music was made in March of 1920 when Murray arranged to have music transmitted to a group of his dance students from Georgia Tech who were located a few miles away. After years of experience, Mr. Murray developed a foolproof method to teach anyone how to dance, and in 1925 he founded a nationwide franchise of studios to share that method with the country.

On April 24, 1925, Mr. Murray married his famous dance partner, Kathryn, whom he met while broadcasting a dance lesson at a radio station in New Jersey. As his business continued to expand, Mr. Murray and Kathryn became the first to realize the growing popularity of Latin dances during the 1950's, and held many conventions in Cuba to give Arthur Murray teachers first-hand knowledge of the new Latin styles.

In July 1950, Arthur purchased five 15 minute television segments on CBS and persuaded Kathryn to teach and host "The Arthur Murray Dance Party". By the third show NBC had contracted with them for a half hour summer series. By May 1952 they had televised almost 100 programs. As their ratings climbed, they signed with their first sponsor General Foods. The show became a huge success and many movie and TV stars would be invited as guests to dance and do skits on the show. The show lasted 12 years on national television, appearing on CBS, NBC, DuMont, ABC, and then back to CBS. The Murrays retired in 1964 although they continued to be active for some time, even appearing as guests on the Dance Fever disco show in the late 1970s.

At the time the show was retired from the air, there were over 3,560 dance studios bearing his name. Arthur Murray Studios is credited with promoting modern competitive ballroom dancing. Arthur Murray Studios franchises are staffed by professional dance instructors and provide dance classes and instruction including ballroom dance lessons, mambo lessons, salsa lessons, cha-cha lessons, waltz lessons, and more.

The Arthur Murray Morris County, New Jersey dance studio franchises include several NJ locations including the Roxbury Learn to Dance Studio, Kenilworth Learn to Dance Studio, Denville Learn to Dance Studio, and Chatham Learn to Dance Studio.