[1] Born Miko Stephanovic to parents in Berlin, Germany, Murphy grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he took the name of a childhood friend.
In the 1940s, he moved to Los Angeles, where he was introduced to the film industry, in addition to writing and teaching the 1200-page System of Horizontal Composition (a.k.a.
His crowning achievement was his 12-volume course in composing, arranging, and orchestration for the professional musician titled The Equal Interval System.
In 2003, orchestra leader Dean Mora, a friend of Murphy, recorded some two dozen of his arrangements in a tribute CD, Goblin Market.
Many notable composers and arrangers have been students of the Equal Interval System, such as Tom Chase, Gerald Wiggins, Jimmie Haskell, Richard Firth, Mary Ekler, David Blumberg, Steve Marston, Clair Marlo, Dan Sawyer, Don Novello, Don Peake, Danny Pelfrey, Craig Sharmat, Scott Paige, James L. Venable, Marcos Valle and Oscar Peterson.