HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 2025-4655
HR 4655
By Representatives Parshley, Eslick, Jacobsen, Dent, Bronoske, Kloba, Ryu, Taylor, Bernbaum, Stuebe, Dufault, and Callan
WHEREAS, Hollywood screenwriter Tab Murphy was raised in Olympia and attended Lincoln Elementary School, Washington Middle School, and Olympia High School, from which he graduated in 1975; and
WHEREAS, Tab lived in the historic South Water Street District, three blocks from the capitol, and served as a senate page at the age of 14. He also attended a "Bigfoot Rally" on the state capitol steps that began a lifelong obsession with Sasquatch; and
WHEREAS, Tab attended Washington State University before transferring to the University of Southern California (USC) Film School his sophomore year, though he will always be a "coug" at heart, to pursue his love for movies and storytelling through a career in the movie business; and
WHEREAS, While at the USC Film School, Tab took a course in screenwriting that cemented his determination, and with a clear path to breaking into a difficult business, Tab dropped out of film school and began writing screenplays, supporting himself by working various odd jobs; and
WHEREAS, Tab broke into the business as a screenwriter in 1983, writing several unproduced movies for Paramount Studios; and
WHEREAS, Tab's big break finally came in 1986 when he was hired by Warner Bros. to write a screenplay based on the life and death of Dian Fossey. The movie was named "Gorillas in the Mist" and was released in 1988, for which Tab received an Academy Award nomination for his work on the script; and
WHEREAS, In 1994, Tab wrote and directed a modern western fantasy called "Last of the Dogmen," a nod to Tab's passion for Native American culture and history, which included over 70 nonactors from the Northern and Southern Cheyenne tribes; and
WHEREAS, In 1995, Tab embarked on a 10-year, multiproject journey with The Walt Disney Company, during which time, Tab wrote four animated features: "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," "Tarzan," "Atlantis: The Lost Empire," and "Brother Bear"; and
WHEREAS, Tab received numerous awards for his work with "Brother Bear," and was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Animated Feature category; and