Queer Places:
Stonewall Inn, 53 Christopher St, New York, NY 1001
Edward Francis Murphy (1926 - February 26, 1989) was a leader in the gay-rights movement. He was also a professional wrestler for a time. Murphy became a gay-rights advocate in the 1960's and founded the Christopher Street Festival, held annually the last week in June. He was the director of the One-to-One program at the Manhattan Developmental Center, a state institution for mentally retarded and developmentally disabled adults.
Murphy was also known as Ed, Eddie and “Mother” Murphy. Every Gay Pride march, he rode in the convertible with the other Stonewall Inn vets. He was one of the people who were actually at the Stonewall the night of the famous riot, June 27, 1969. He was stationed by the door as the club’s bouncer. In the mid-1980s he was working in some bar in the Village, either Stonewall or One Potato, Two Potato. Ed was built like a brick house; solid, with a body that must have been all muscle in his youth.
Ed Murphy was involved with Heritage of Pride, the organization that ran the parade, festival and dance in New York City. As such, he was the person to talk to about getting space on Christopher Street the day of the Pride march. The Conference for Catholic Lesbians (CCL)'s Christopher Street table was the place to hang around with other CCL members, hand out literature, and talk to prospective members. Ed had a soft spot for CCL, and made sure they always got one of the best spaces on Christopher Street, right in front of St. Veronica’s Church. “My sister is a nun,” he told them. “Make sure you take good care of these girls,” he told the person responsible for assigning spaces. Their prime location paved the way for many women to find CCL.
Casey Regan said: I met Ed Murphy back the mid 80s when I was 16. He was working the door at “O’Neil’s backyard” in 48th street off 8th ave. I knew it was a hustler bar but I was nervous they wouldn’t let me so I hung out outside. Ed saw me and told me not to worry and that I should go in. I know he was into young boys but he never came on to me, and believe me I was looking great! I had drinks coming from everywhere. Anyway, I know there’s a lot of rumors about Ed but my personal experience with him was good, he was always nice to me and over the years he helped me out more then once.
But Murphy wasn’t an altar boy. He was known as a chicken hawk, and had also served time in prison. He didn’t hide his stint in prison. He was proud he didn’t rat people out, he didn’t identity people to “the bulls.” He knifed someone in self-defense. Four months after his death in 1989 he was named Honorary Grand Marshall of the Lesbian and Gay Pride Parade.
In the 1990s, a Wall Street Journal article by William McGowan, “Before Stonewall – Scandal, blackmail, a police crackdown. Shedding light on a forgotton case”, detailed prominent figures in a 1966 extortion case, and one of them was Edward “Mother” Murphy, a “ruthless West Side tough,” in league with a ring of several dozen men in New York, Chicago, Washington, DC and elsewhere. “The Chickens and the Bulls,” as the case was known, centered on “fairy shaking” or exposing men for the “homosexual proclivities” unless they paid for their silence. Among the victims were the head of the American Medical Association, two Army generals, an admiral, several Hollywood entertainers, college professors and businessmen. The ring operated for over ten years, shaking down more than 1,000 men and netting over a million dollars. For his role, Ed Murphy served part of a five year prison term.
Edward Murphy combined prostitution, blackmail, and strong arm tactics into a lucrative enterprise that ran ten years, until he was brought low by Andrew Maloney, a federal prosecutor of the case; and a battery of Irish Catholic NYC detectives.
Murphy died on February 26, 1989, at St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan. Murphy, who was 63 years old and lived in Manhattan, died of heart failure, said his longtime friend, Richard Mahoney.
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