Murray Rose: From USC to Hollywood

Eighteen years ago, when Murray Rose graduated from USC, the former Trojan swim hero did not look to his four Olympic gold medals for a quick boost up the ladder in the competitive world of mass media. Rose, who majored in communications, is one of those rare people who can say that their undergraduate careers prepared them for the future.

Murray Rose is not one of the scores of retired athletes who relied on press clippings to win a lucrative job for which they are not trained. He is a professional, prepared for work on both sides of the camera.

In his present capacity, the England-born Australia-bred Rose does sportscasting for the Nine Network in Australia and serves in several off-camera capacities with the South Australian Film Corporation which produced Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Last Wave, among other films.

The versatile Australian has several acting credits to his name, most recently playing the role of a heavy in a made-for-television movie called The Oracle. Rose has never capitalized on his swimming skill in movie parts and in the film Ice Station Zebra agreed to play the part of a drowning victim. A serious accident during filming nearly made the script a reality.

When Rose was swimming best the sport and its superstars received much less publicity than today. Over the years people have tended to associate his name with swimming, but often recognize him for the work he's done in movies, television and commercials.

"Fame is very current; it does not last but a few moments. I suppose all of us have some illusionary desire for the adulation of others, but this can become paralyzing when a person depends on it," Rose said recently. "Occasional recognition is fine; however, I am very glad to have an identity other than Murray Rose the Swimmer."

When breaking records in the swimming pool, most of the attention he received related to his vegetarian diet. Rose's strict regimen stemmed from a family commitment to natural food and was always the subject of much speculation.

The psychological advantage Rose gleaned from his unorthodox eating habits coupled with a well-developed ability to focus toward goals made the former USC swim captain nearly unbeatable in the "psyche" process. This competitive drive and concentration gave Rose an extra edge when on his way to breaking the 18-minute barrier for the 1500-meter swim in 1956 at age 17.

Rose, who now lives in the Hollywood Hills, saw a USC-UCLA dual meet last year and observed a score of collegiate swimmers who are now more keenly aware of the mind games he had always practiced.

"I always agreed with the faction of coaches who ahead of their time pointed out that 95 per cent of the battle was forcing young swimmers to believe in themselves and the training methods employed," Rose said. "Today's crop of top performers have an admirable devotion to training. I don't know if I could maintain a similar intensity if I had to do it all over again."