Peter Murray-Hill

Peter Auriol Murray Hill (20 April 1908 – 25 November 1957) was an English actor whose brief but vibrant screen career unfolded during the late 1930s and early 1940s. Born in Bushey Heath, Hertfordshire, he entered the film world with a leading role in Jane Steps Out (1938) and quickly followed with the title‑character in Mr. Reeder in Room 13 the same year. His early promise was evident when he shared the secondary male lead with George Sanders in The Outsider (1939). By the dawn of the 1940s Murray‑Hill was a reliable presence in British thrillers, appearing in At the Villa Rose and The House of the Arrow, where his poised demeanor complemented the era’s melodramatic style. Though his on‑screen prominence waned to supporting parts by the mid‑1940s, he delivered a memorable performance opposite his future wife, Phyllis Calvert, in They Were Sisters (1945), his final film before he stepped away from acting.

Beyond the silver screen, Murray‑Hill cultivated a passion for 18th‑century literature, establishing himself as a respected antiquarian. In the 1950s he transitioned to book publishing, culminating in his election as president of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association, a role he held from 1956 until his untimely death in 1957. His personal life intertwined with his professional world: he met actress Phyllis Calvert during a West End production of Punch without Judy in 1939, married her in 1941, and together they raised two children, Ann Auriol (born 1943) and Piers (born 1954). Murray‑Hill’s legacy endures in a modest yet noteworthy filmography and in the lasting contributions he made to the British antiquarian book trade.