As a youth, Murray read children's biographies of American heroes like Kit Carson, Wild Bill Hickok, and Davy Crockett.[9] He attended St. Joseph's grade school and Loyola Academy. During his teen years, he worked as a golf caddy to fund his education at the Jesuit high school.[9][11] One of his sisters had polio and his mother suffered several miscarriages.[9] During his teen years he was the lead singer of a rock band called the Dutch Masters and took part in high school and community theater.[citation needed]
After graduating, Murray attended Regis University in Denver, Colorado, taking pre-medical courses. He quickly dropped out, returning to Illinois.[9] Decades later, in 2007, Regis awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree.[12] On September 21, 1970, his 20th birthday, the police arrested Murray at Chicago's O'Hare Airport for trying to smuggle 10 lb (4.5 kg) of cannabis, which he had allegedly intended to sell. The drugs were discovered after Murray joked to the passenger next to him that he had packed a bomb in his luggage. Murray was convicted and sentenced to probation.[13]
In 1975, an Off-Broadway version of a Lampoon show led to his first television role as a cast member of the ABC variety show Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell. That same season, another variety show titled NBC's Saturday Night premiered. Cosell's show lasted just one season, canceled in early 1976. After working in Los Angeles with the "guerrilla video" commune TVTV on several projects, Murray rose to prominence in 1976. He officially joined the cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live for the show's second season, following the departure of Chevy Chase.[16] Murray was with SNL for three seasons from 1977 to 1980.[17] A Rutland Weekend Television sketch Eric Idle brought for his appearance on SNL developed into the 1978 mockumentaryAll You Need Is Cash with Murray (alongside other SNL cast members) appearing as "Bill Murray the K", a send-up of New York radio host Murray the K, in a segment of the film that is a parody of the Maysles Brothers's documentary The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit. During the first few seasons of SNL, Murray engaged in a romantic relationship with fellow cast member Gilda Radner.[18]
Murray landed his first starring role with the film Meatballs in 1979. He followed this up with his portrayal of Hunter S. Thompson in 1980's Where the Buffalo Roam. In the early 1980s, he starred in a string of box-office hits, including Caddyshack, Stripes, and Tootsie. Murray was the first guest on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman on February 1, 1982. He later appeared on the first episode of the Late Show with David Letterman on August 30, 1993, when the show moved to CBS. On January 31, 2012 – 30 years after his first appearance with Letterman – Murray appeared again on his talk show. He appeared as Letterman's final guest when the host retired on May 20, 2015.[19]
Murray began work on a film adaptation of the novel The Razor's Edge. The film, which Murray co-wrote, was his first starring role in a dramatic film. He later agreed with Columbia Pictures to star in Ghostbusters—in a role originally written for John Belushi—to get financing for The Razor's Edge.[20]Ghostbusters became the highest-grossing film of 1984 and the highest-grossing comedy of all-time.[21]The Razor's Edge, which was filmed before Ghostbusters but not released until after, was a box-office flop.
Since 2010, Murray has been part of ensembles which received several award nominations in two Wes Anderson movies: Moonrise Kingdom (2012) and Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). Murray was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance in the 2014 film St. Vincent. He played a music manager in 2015's Rock the Kasbah. In 2016, he was the voice of Baloo in Disney's live action remake of The Jungle Book.[25] The film earned a 95% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes,[26] and Murray was nominated to for Favorite Animated Movie Voice at the People's Choice Awards; he lost to Ellen DeGeneres.
Murray appeared as Martin Heiss, a cynical ghost debunker, in the reboot of Ghostbusters, which was released on July 15, 2016.[27] There had been speculation that he might return to the Ghostbusters franchise[28] for a rumored Ghostbusters 3,[29] but he dispelled such rumors in an interview with GQ. In March 2010, Murray appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman and talked about his return to Ghostbusters III, stating "I'd do it only if my character was killed off in the first reel."[30] In an interview with GQ, Murray said: "You know, maybe I should just do it. Maybe it'd be fun to do." In the interview, when asked "Is the third Ghostbusters movie happening? What's the story with that?", Murray replied, "It's all a bunch of crock."[20]
Murray is a partner with his brothers in Murray Bros. Caddy Shack, a restaurant with two locations. In 2001, they opened at the World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida.[31] In 2018, they opened the second location inside the Crowne Plaza Rosemont Hotel near the O'Hare International Airport.[32] He resides in Charleston, South Carolina, where he is a very active community member.[33]
Being very detached from the Hollywood scene, Murray does not have an agent or manager and reportedly only fields offers for scripts and roles using a personal telephone number with a voice mailbox that he checks infrequently.[44] This practice has the downside of sometimes preventing him from taking parts in films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Monsters, Inc., The Squid and the Whale, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Little Miss Sunshine.[45][46][47][48] When asked about this practice, however, Murray seemed content with his inaccessibility, stating, "It's not that hard. If you have a good script that's what gets you involved. People say they can't find me. Well, if you can write a good script, that's a lot harder than finding someone. I don't worry about it; it's not my problem."[49]
Murray's popularity has been such that (as of 2017[update]) he holds an iconic status in U.S. popular culture. Murray's eccentric and devil-may-care style of comedy, both on-screen and in his personal life, has caused him to be seen as a folk hero to many making him a significant meme in various media including books and the internet.[50][51] In 2016 he was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor by the Kennedy Center.[2]
Eric Clapton and Murray kicking off the Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2007
During the filming of Stripes, Murray married Margaret Kelly on Super Bowl Sunday in Las Vegas on January 25, 1981.[9][14] Later, they remarried in Chicago for their families.[14] Margaret gave birth to two sons, Homer (born 1982) and Luke (born 1985). Luke is an assistant basketball coach at the University of Louisville, moving from his former position as an assistant at Xavier University in 2018 shortly after former Xavier head coach Chris Mack was hired to the same position at Louisville.[52][53] Following Murray's affair with Jennifer Butler, the couple divorced in 1996.[54] In 1997, he married Butler. Together, they have four sons: Caleb (born January 11, 1993), Jackson (born October 6, 1995), Cooper (born January 27, 1997), and Lincoln (born May 30, 2001). Butler filed for divorce on May 12, 2008, accusing Murray of domestic violence, infidelity, and addictions to sex, marijuana, and alcohol.[55] Their divorce was finalized on June 13, 2008.[56]
Murray stated in a 1984 interview: "I'm definitely a religious person, but it doesn't have much to do with Catholicism anymore. I don't think about Catholicism as much."[57] He is also "apparently a big fan of Jazz Age mystic George Ivanovich Gurdjieff, creator of a religious philosophy known as “The Fourth Way.”"[58]
Murray is a fan of several Chicago professional sports teams, especially the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bears, and the Chicago Bulls.[65] (He was once a guest color commentator for a Cubs game during the 1980s.)[66] He was in attendance, along with fellow Cubs fans John Cusack, Eddie Vedder and Bonnie Hunt, during the Cubs' historic Game Seven victory during the 2016 World Series. Murray is an avid Quinnipiac University basketball fan, where his son served as head of basketball operations, and he is a regular fixture at home games. He cheered courtside for the Illinois Fighting Illini's game against the 2004–05 Arizona Wildcats in the Regional Final game in Chicago. He is a fixture at home games of those teams when in his native Chicago. After traveling to Florida during the Cubs' playoff run to help "inspire" the team (Murray joked with Cubs slugger Aramis Ramírez he was very ill and needed two home runs to give him the hope to live),[67] he was invited to the champagne party in the Cubs' clubhouse when the team clinched the NL Central in late September 2007, along with fellow actors John Cusack, Bernie Mac, James Belushi, and former Cubs player Ron Santo. Murray appears in Santo's documentary, This Old Cub. In 2006, Murray became the sixth recipient of Baseball Reliquary's annual Hilda Award,[68] established in 2001 "to recognize distinguished service to the game by a fan."[69]
He sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during a 2016 World Series game at Wrigley Field.[70]
In 1987, he made a sizable donation to assist in the development and building of the Nathalie Salmon House. This home has been able to provide affordable housing for low-income seniors. Michael and Lilo Salmon, the founders of Housing Opportunities and Maintenance for the Elderly (HOME), have credited Murray with performing "miracles" for them.
Murray has been known for his mood swings, leading Dan Aykroyd to refer to him as "The Murricane".[45][72] Murray has said of his reputation: "I remember a friend said to me a while back: 'You have a reputation.' And I said: 'What?' And he said: 'Yeah, you have a reputation of being difficult to work with.' But I only got that reputation from people I didn't like working with, or people who didn't know how to work, or what work is. Jim, Wes and Sofia, they know what it is to work, and they understand how you're supposed to treat people."[73][74]
In the book Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, as Told By Its Stars, Writers and Guests, Chevy Chase recalls being confronted by Murray shortly before an SNL broadcast in which Chase had returned to guest host. The issue, likely to do with Chase's insistence on doing the "Weekend Update" segment that had been taken over by Jane Curtin, led to Murray and Chase trading insults, with Murray telling Chase to go have sex with Jacqueline Carlin, Chase's wife at the time, while Chase commented that Murray's face looked "like something Neil Armstrong had landed on". The argument eventually turned physical.[75] Murray later said of the incident, "It was an Oedipal thing, a rupture. Because we all felt mad he had left us, and somehow I was the anointed avenging angel, who had to speak for everyone. But Chevy and I are friends now. It's all fine."[76] The two later starred together in Caddyshack in 1980.
According to Den of Geek, Murray did not get along with Sean Young during the production of Stripes and has refused to work with her ever again.[77]
Murray has said in interviews that he did not get along with film director Richard Donner while filming Scrooged, stating that they would disagree with each other.[78][79][80][81] Donner said of Murray: "He's superbly creative, but occasionally difficult — as difficult as any actor."[82]
Both Murray and Richard Dreyfuss have confirmed in separate interviews that they did not get along with each other during the making of What About Bob?[80][83] In addition, the film's producer Laura Ziskin recalled having a disagreement with Murray that led him to toss her into a lake.[72][84][85][86] Ziskin confirmed in 2003, "Bill also threatened to throw me across the parking lot and then broke my sunglasses and threw them across the parking lot. I was furious and outraged at the time, but having produced a dozen movies, I can safely say it is not common behavior."[84][85][87]
Murray also had a falling out with film director and longtime collaborator Harold Ramis during the production of Groundhog Day. According to screenwriter Danny Rubin, "They were like two brothers who weren't getting along." As a result, Groundhog Day ultimately served as the final film collaboration between Murray and Ramis. Murray eventually reconciled with Ramis just before Ramis's death in February 2014.[88][89][90][91]
During the making of Charlie's Angels, Lucy Liu allegedly threw punches at Murray after he told her that she could not act.[92] However, Murray claims that he and Liu only had an argument rather than a feud and that they have "made peace" since then.[93] Murray has also denied a claim that he head-butted McG, the director of the film.[94]
Lost in Translation director Sofia Coppola said that the central scene of Scarlett Johansson and Murray lying on the bed together took multiple takes because the actors did not seem to be getting along. She eventually stopped for the day and started again the next morning.[95]
Daniel Edward Aykroyd is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, musician, and filmmaker. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on Saturday Night Live (1975–1979). A musical sketch he performed with John Belushi on SNL, the Blues Brothers, turned into an actual performing band and then the 1980 film The Blues Brothers.
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, actor and writer.
Groundhog Day (film)
Groundhog Day is a 1993 American comedy fantasy film directed by Harold Ramis and written by Ramis and Danny Rubin. It stars Bill Murray as Phil Connors, a TV weatherman who, during an assignment covering the annual Groundhog Day event, is caught in a time loop, repeatedly reliving the same day. Andie MacDowell and Chris Elliott co-star.
Bonnie Hunt
Bonnie Lynn Hunt is an American comedienne, actress, director, producer, and writer. Her film roles include Rain Man, Beethoven, Beethoven's 2nd, Jumanji, Jerry Maguire, The Green Mile, Cheaper by the Dozen, and Cheaper by the Dozen 2.
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters is a 1984 American fantasy comedy film produced and directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz and Egon Spengler, eccentric parapsychologists who start a ghost-catching business in New York City. Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis co-star as their client Dana Barrett and her neighbor Louis Tully.
Caddyshack
Caddyshack is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Harold Ramis, written by Brian Doyle-Murray, Ramis, and Douglas Kenney, and starring Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe and Bill Murray. Doyle-Murray also has a supporting role.
Harold Ramis
Harold Allen Ramis was an American actor, director, writer, and comedian. His best-known film acting roles were as Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989) and Russell Ziskey in Stripes (1981); he also co-wrote those films. As a director, his films include the comedies Caddyshack (1980), National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), Groundhog Day (1993), and Analyze This (1999). Ramis was the original head writer of the television series SCTV, on which he also performed, as well as a co-writer of Groundhog Day and National Lampoon's Animal House (1978). The final film that he wrote, produced, directed and acted in was Year One (2009).
Stripes (film)
Stripes is a 1981 American buddy military comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Warren Oates, P. J. Soles, Sean Young, and John Candy. Several actors including John Larroquette, John Diehl, Conrad Dunn, and Judge Reinhold were featured in their first significant film roles. Joe Flaherty, Dave Thomas, Timothy Busfield, and Bill Paxton also appeared early in their careers.
Caddyshack II
Caddyshack II is a 1988 American sports comedy film and a sequel to Caddyshack. The film stars Jackie Mason, Dan Aykroyd, Robert Stack, Dyan Cannon, Randy Quaid, Chevy Chase, Jonathan Silverman, and Jessica Lundy. It was written by various outside writers, but is credited to the first draft by Peter Torokvei and Harold Ramis, who also co-wrote and directed the first, and is directed by Allan Arkush. The film garnered a PG rating, in contrast to the original's R rating.
Ghostbusters II
Ghostbusters II is a 1989 American film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Ramis, Ernie Hudson and Rick Moranis. The sequel to the 1984 film Ghostbusters, it sees the Ghostbusters reunite to combat a new threat to New York City.
Ernie Hudson
Earnest Lee "Ernie" Hudson is an American character actor. He has appeared in dozens of film and television roles throughout his career, but is perhaps best known for his roles as Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters film series, Sergeant Darryl Albrecht in The Crow (1994), and Warden Leo Glynn on HBO's Oz. Hudson has also acted in the films Leviathan (1989), The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992), Airheads (1994), The Basketball Diaries (1995), Congo (1995), and Miss Congeniality (2000). He had a cameo in the remake of Ghostbusters (2016).
Douglas Kenney
Douglas Clark Francis Kenney was an American comedy writer of magazine, novels, radio, TV, film and actor who co-founded the magazine National Lampoon in 1970 as well as a screenwriter later on. Kenney edited the magazine and wrote much of its early material. He would go on to write, act and produce some of the most popular comedies of all time before his death.
Joel Murray
Joel Murray is an American actor. He has had prominent roles in television series such as Mad Men, Grand, Love & War, Dharma and Greg, and Shameless. He has also appeared in films such as God Bless America and Monsters University.
Rami Malek
Rami Said Malek is an American actor. His breakthrough role was as a computer hacker in the USA Network television series Mr. Robot (2015–present), for which he received several accolades, including the 2016 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. In 2018, he portrayed Freddie Mercury in the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, for which he won several awards, including the Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and BAFTA Award for Best Actor, and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Michael Shannon
Michael Corbett Shannon is an American actor and musician. He has been nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his roles in Revolutionary Road (2008) and Nocturnal Animals (2016). He earned Screen Actors Guild Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for his role in 99 Homes (2014), and a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play for Long Day's Journey into Night (2016).
Ghostbusters (song)
"Ghostbusters" is a song written by Ray Parker Jr. as the theme to the film of the same name starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson. Debuting at #68 on June 16, 1984, the song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 11, 1984, staying there for three weeks, and at number two on the UK Singles Chart on September 16, 1984, staying there for three weeks. The song re-entered the UK Top 75 on November 2, 2008, at No. 49.
Ghostbusters (franchise)
Ghostbusters is a supernatural comedy franchise created in 1984. Its first installment was the film Ghostbusters, released on June 8, 1984, by Columbia Pictures. It centers on a group of eccentric New York City parapsychologists who investigate and capture ghosts for a living. For the film, the franchise licensed action figures, novelizations, and other original Ghostbusters-themed products. After the initial success, they released original material in other fields such as comic books, video games, television series, and several theme park attractions.
Ghostbusters (2016 film)
Ghostbusters is a 2016 supernatural comedy film directed by Paul Feig and written by Feig and Katie Dippold. The film stars Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, and Chris Hemsworth. It is the third feature film in the Ghostbusters franchise, and serves as a reboot of the series. The story focuses on four women who begin a ghost-catching business in New York City.
Groundhog Day (musical)
Groundhog Day is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin, and book by Danny Rubin. Based on the 1993 film of the same name written by Rubin and Harold Ramis, the musical made its world premiere at The Old Vic in London in summer 2016 and opened at the August Wilson Theatre on Broadway on 17 April 2017. The plot centres around Phil Connors, an arrogant Pittsburgh TV weatherman who, during an assignment covering the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, finds himself in a time loop, repeating the same day again and again.
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