[1][2] Born in Mexia, a small city in Central Texas' Limestone County, William B. Murphy was 41 when his name first appeared in film credits as co-editor (with Richard Cahoon) of the independently produced 1949 B-western, Massacre River, released by United Artists.
The following year, hired by 20th Century Fox, he worked on several of the studio's 1950s "A" productions, including three Clifton Webb vehicles, Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell, Elopement (both 1951) and Mister Scoutmaster (1953), as well as Howard Hawks' Cary Grant-Ginger Rogers 1952 comedy, Monkey Business, and the 1957 Pat Boone-Shirley Jones musical, April Love.
He also proved adept at westerns, editing Powder River (1953), Three Young Texans, The Gambler from Natchez (both 1954), Stranger on Horseback (1955), Mohawk (1956) and The Lonely Man (1957).
Leaving Fox in 1957, he served as editorial supervisor on several film and television projects (The Bachelor Party, Kings Go Forth, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet) and, by 1959, returned as a full-time editor in features and TV episodes, with credits on the independent science fiction production, 4D Man, along with at least eight installments of the hit ABC crime drama, The Untouchables.
Among his last three features, another top-dollar production, Fantastic Voyage, not only had a much bigger budget than his previous sci-fi assignment, 4D Man, but also proved to be a major moneymaker, ultimately going on to become one of the year's highest-grossing films with Oscar nominations in five technical categories, two of which, Best Art Direction—Color and Best Visual Effects, were selected as winners.