Wilson Murrow

Wilson Murrow is the professor of Basic Acting at Cornell University Department of Performing and Media Arts and one of Jack’s first professors. He makes his first appearance in Makeover and is in immediate conflict with Jack over the younger man’s attitude and acting skills. He is played by Nathan Lane.

Life Before Cornell
Wilson Murrow was the youngest graduate in NYADA history (at the age of 19) and a two-time Tony-nominee by the time he turned 21. However, shortly after his second nomination, his career hit the skids due to his diva behavior and the failures of three consecutive shows, causing him to be labeled "box-office poison".

After taking any acting job, he returned to school and received his Master's Degree and certification and was given the position of Professor of Basic Acting at Cornell. He has held that role since 1994 and was responsible for his niece, Lindsay Murrow (played by Bethany Joy Lenz), getting a job at the school as well

Season Four
Murrow is first mentioned in The New Rachel as a teacher that Jack is having a conflict with and again in Britney 2.0 as Jack and Rachel exchange texts.

He makes his first physical appearance in Makeover and his relationship with Jack is brought to the forefront. The two men do not like each other, mostly because of their similar personalities. He, much like Cassandra, belittles Jack and makes an example out of him in every class.

After a nasty exchange between the two, Murrow's backstory of early success and striking failure is revealed by his second semester student, Tess Harper (played by Jennifer Damiano) along with his attempted comeback in as Applegate in the revival of Damn Yankees, which was ruined by his co-star, Cassandra July, losing her temper at an audience member, effectively making him "a YouTube joke".

Later in the episode, Jack exposes him in front of the class and he orders his student out of the class, visibly hurt and furious by Jack's comments.

When Jack appears at his office toward the end of the episode and tries apologize for his actions, Murrow lights into his student before telling him that he is only the way he is with his students because he wants to weed out the failures and stop the talented ones from ruining their possible careers like he did. He orders Jack not to come back to his class until he is ready to start learning.

Murrow makes a brief appearance at the end of The Break-Up when Jack returns to Cornell from New York, asking his student, "What kept you" to which Jack replies, "My past."

Murrow played a minor role in Dynamic Duets, first criticizing Jack's idea and then serving as one of the judges for the 24-hour theatre project. He is surprised by the quality of the show, but still seemed intent on breaking Jack.

Murrow appears for the first time in Swan Song criticizing, Jack's dramatic reading only to have Jack counter back and telling him that he has gotten better, only for Murrow to tell him his second place win at the 24-hour project was just a fluke. Jack counters by telling him that he's just afraid that he's getting better and is even better than him.

Murrow counters by challenging to him to a Confrontation, which Jack and Murrow take on the roles of Valjean and Javert respectively. The song ends with Murrow telling him that he'll fall when the Winter Showcase takes place. Jack tells him that he'll be eating his words when this was all over.

At the Winter Showcase, he watches Jack perform Who Am I? and is actually surprised at the quality of Jack's performance, finally telling him that he's finally figured out what he was trying to teach him.

As the episode ends, Murrow seems to be on the suspect list to the who took the Jindsay kiss picture mystery.

In Sadie Hawkins, Wilson reveals that he is Jack's new academic advisor and we learn a little more of his backstory. He was stalked at one point of his life, managing to outfox his stalker, whom he later married. However, the relationship ended in divorce and he ended up dating Cassandra July, before her blowout ruined their careers. He advises Jack to make a bold move if he wants to end the situation. This gives Jack the idea of heading to New York to flush out his stalker.

Murrow appears in the flashbacks of Lights Out, wishing Jack luck at NYADA. He also shows a possible interest of going to New York to revive his old career.

Season Six
Wilson makes a surprise appearance in Dreams Come True on the arm of April Rhodes, the two having married sometime before 2020. The couple is attending the Emmy Awards, as are Jack and Rachel, the latter encourages the former to be nice to his former mentor and his birth mother. Jack tries, but eventually has to leave before April and Wilson can aggravate him more. He later looks on with pride as his former student (and now stepson) wins his first Emmy. He and April had also attended the Tonys earlier that year (but that is revealed as happening before Jack's win).

Personality
Murrow can best be described as having "Sue's mouth and drive and Beiste's heart and skill." He is highly critical and a perfectionist when it comes to his students. However, he is also a devoted educator. Because of the way his career ended, Murrow is determined to teach his students humility in addition to the principles of acting.

Songs

 * Confrontation (with Jack; Swan Song)

Crimes Committed

 * May have taken the picture of Jack and Lindsay kissing