Joe “40,000” Murphy was born in Bridgeport, on Chicago’s South Side. A childhood friend of Andy Frain, founder of a renowned security company specializing in major sporting and religious events, Murphy became the firm’s chief usher, serving as usher, bodyguard, and security officer. This position brought him into contact with countless figures from the worlds of sports and entertainment.
His nickname, “40,000,” is said to have come from the answer he repeatedly gave when asked about attendance at Chicago baseball games during the disappointing seasons of the 1920s: “40,000 empty seats.”
Murphy photographed himself alongside these celebrities, sometimes using photomontage to alter or stage the encounters according to his own imagination. Over the years, he assembled thousands of photographs that covered the walls of his apartment from floor to ceiling, some even cut to fit the shape of a staircase. He welcomed visitors and presented the space as a personal museum. After his death, however, the apartment was cleared, and almost the entire collection disappeared.
The photographs presented here show Joe “40,000” Murphy alongside Jimmy Durante, Sonja Henie, Hugh O’Brien, Betty Hutton, and Randy Jackson, first baseman for the Chicago Cubs.