‘Murph the Surf’ stole Star of India
Dressed up for heist in case he was on the news
Jack Murphy was a talented violinist, tennis player and the best surfer on the East Coast. He became known as “Murph the Surf.”
But what made him famous was his life of crime. Though he was a charismatic hustler, teaching tennis, swimming and scuba diving at high- class Miami Beach hotels, he was also a thief.
In 1964, Murphy and two accomplices committed one of the most audacious jewelry heists in history: the theft of the Star of India, the world’s largest blue star sapphire, from New York’s American Museum of Natural History.
Murphy died Sept. 12 at home in Crystal River, Fla., at 83. A friend said Murphy had diabetes and other ailments.
On the night of Oct. 29, 1964, he and accomplice Allan Kuhn climbed the Natural History museum’s fire escape to a fifth- floor office above the gem collection.
Murphy, who said his idol was the debonair jewel thief played by Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief, was wearing a green velour jacket, turtleneck, corduroy trousers and sneakers.
“You got to have a little flair,” he said last year. “If you end up on the news, you don’t want to look like a schlub.”
The pair climbed out the office window, descended 15 feet on a rope, then entered the gem room through a partially open window. From earlier surveillance, they knew the museum had poor security.
They stole 22 items including the 563- carat Star of India — about the size of an egg, a 100-carat star ruby and a 116- carat black sapphire. The theft was valued at US$ 410,000 ( more than US$3 million today).
About 36 hours later, Kuhn and Murphy were arrested in Miami. Most of the gems, including the Star of India, were recovered.
On leaving prison in 1966, he moved back to Miami and promptly won the East Coast surfing championship. But three years later he was convicted of murder.
Jack Roland Murphy was born May 26, 1937, in Los Angeles.
Two marriages ended in divorce. Survivors include his wife, Mary “Kitten” Collins, two sons from his first marriage and several grandchildren.
Asked in 2006 whether he had committed all the crimes he was charged with, Murphy said, “Most of them, and a whole lot more.”