Best Known As: Comic star of Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day
Ironically insincere and yet somehow soft-hearted, Bill Murray is the best-known star to emerge from the cast of TV's Saturday Night Live. On SNL from 1977-80 he created the cheesy lounge crooner, Nick, and other lovably smarmy characters. He then starred in two of the top-grossing comedies of the 1980s: playing a woolly-headed groundskeeper in Caddyshack (1980, co-written by Douglas Kenney) and a slick-talking investigator in Ghostbusters (1984, with fellow SNL alumnus Dan Aykroyd). Murray's comedy hits in the 1990s included Groundhog Day (1993, with Punxsutawney Phil) and the Amish bowling story Kingpin (1996, with Randy Quaid). He also took more serious roles, playing a mobster in Mad Dog and Glory (1993, with Robert DeNiro) and an eccentric businessman in Wes Anderson's Rushmore (1998). He was nominated for a best actor Oscar for his role as a jet-lagged movie star in Tokyo in Sofia Coppola's film Lost in Translation (2003). Murray is an avid golfer and a particular fan favorite at the annual AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Murray's brother Brian Doyle-Murray is also an actor and writer, and was one of the co-writers of Caddyshack.
Bill Murray, leading man and versatile comedian, has a long list of hits and high-grossing comedies to his name, which together have placed him 82nd on the U.K.'s Top 100 List of Movie Stars of All Time. Classic comedy feature films in the early '80s, like Stripes, Meatballs, Caddyshack, and Ghostbusters, put Murray on the map and kept him there.
Other notable appearances by Murray throughout his career include Phil Conners (a man with a bad case of déjà vu) in Groundhog Day (1993), Bob (a psychotherapist's worst nightmare) in What About Bob? (1991), and Bosley, boss extraordinnaire in the feature film spoof of the '70s TV series Charlie's Angels. In the summer of 2001, he appeared as Frank in the live action and animated feature Osmosis Jones.
Murray's ruddy features and oft-noted pock-marked complexion don't seem add up to "what it takes" to be a typical leading man...still he charms the camera and wins over viewers with his sharp, cocky, satirical style. That and a knack for picking winning scripts have secured him a unique niche in Hollywood, winning him many accolades to boot. Take Rushmore, for example. Murray was nominated for and won several awards from film critics, including the Independent Spirit Award, the Lone Star Film & Television Award, and awards from the LAFCA, NYFCC, and the NSFC.
Murray began his long-standing comedy career like many of the greats -- at the Second City. (He differs from most in that his talents easily translated to film.) From Chicago, he then joined the live show National Lampoon's Radio Hour in New York; but while John Belushi and Gilda Radner went on to become original cast members of the instantly successful Saturday Night Live, he opted instead to join the promising but short-lived Howard Cossell Variety Hour. He rejoined his friends in the second season of what had become a hit show, where he developed characters like Todd the nerd and Nick, a sleazy lounge singer. The group was nominated for an Emmy in 1979.
Murray was born into a large Irish Catholic family whose father was a lumber salesman. He has often worked together with one of his brothers, actor Brian Doyle-Murray, who has had bit parts in numerous movies, including Bedazzled, Stuart Little, As Good As It Gets, and many of Bill Murray's early movies. Bill Murray has been married twice and has four children. ~ Sandy Lawson, All Music Guide
First Major Screen Credit: Pinocchio and the Golden Key (1959)
Biography
Of the many performers to leap into films from the springboard of the television sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, Bill Murray has been among the most successful and unpredictable, forging an idiosyncratic career allowing him to stretch from low-brow slapstick farce to intelligent adult drama. Born in Wilmette, IL, on September 21, 1950, Murray was an incorrigible child, kicked out of both the Boy Scouts and Little League. At the age of 20, he was also arrested for attempting to smuggle close to nine pounds of marijuana through nearby O'Hare Airport. In an attempt to find direction in his life, he joined his older brother, Brian Doyle-Murray, in the cast of Chicago's Second City improvisational comedy troupe. He later relocated to New York City, joining radio's National Lampoon Hour. Both Murray siblings were also in a 1975 off-Broadway spin-off, also dubbed The National Lampoon Hour; there Murray was spotted by sportscaster Howard Cosell, who recruited him for the cast of his ABC variety program, titled Saturday Night Live With Howard Cosell.
On the NBC network, a program also named Saturday Night Live was creating a much bigger sensation; when, after one season, the show's breakout star Chevy Chase exited to pursue a film career, producer Lorne Michaels tapped Murray as his replacement. Murray too became a celebrity, developing a fabulously insincere and sleazy comic persona which was put to good use in his first major film, the 1979 hit Meatballs. He next starred as the famed gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson in the film biography Where the Buffalo Roam, a major disaster. However, 1980's Caddyshack was a masterpiece of slob comedy, with Murray memorable as a maniacal rangeboy hunting the gopher that is slowly destroying his golf course. The film launched him to the ranks of major stardom; the follow-up, the armed services farce Stripes, was an even bigger blockbuster, earning over 40 million dollars at the box office. Murray next appeared, unbilled, in 1982's Tootsie before starring with Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis in 1984's Ghostbusters. The supernatural comedy was one of the decade's biggest hits, earning over 130 million dollars and spawning a cartoon series, action figures, and even a chart-topping theme song (performed by Ray Parker Jr.).
Murray now ranked among the world's most popular actors, and he next fulfilled a long-standing dream by starring in and co-writing an adaptation of the W. Somerset Maugham novel The Razor's Edge. Few fans knew what to make of his abrupt turn from broad farce to literary drama, however, and as a result the film flopped. Murray spent the next several years in self-imposed exile, making only a cameo appearance in the 1986 musical comedy Little Shop of Horrors. After much deliberation, he finally selected his comeback vehicle -- 1988's Scrooged, a black comic retelling of Dickens' A Christmas Carol. While it performed moderately well, it was not the smash many predicted. Nor was 1989's Ghostbusters II, which grossed less than half of the first picture. The 1990 crime comedy Quick Change, which Murray co-directed with Howard Franklin, was also a disappointment, but 1991's What About Bob? was an unqualified hit. In 1993, Murray earned his strongest notices to date for Groundhog Day, a sublime comedy directed by longtime conspirator Ramis.
Beginning with 1994's acclaimed Ed Wood, in which he appeared as a transsexual, Murray's career choices grew increasingly eccentric; in 1996 alone, he starred in the little-seen Larger Than Life as a motivational speaker, co-starred as a bowling champion in Kingpin, and appeared as himself in the family film Space Jam. In 1998, Murray took on a similarly eccentric role in Wes Anderson's Rushmore. Playing a business tycoon competing with an equally eccentric 15-year-old (Jason Schwartzman) for the affections of a first grade teacher (Olivia Williams), Murray did some of his best work in years and won the Best Supporting Actor award from the New York Film Critics Circle. The film's success helped to put the actor back in the forefront, and he drew further exposure that year from his appearance as a sleazy lawyer in the relentlessly trashy Wild Things. The following year, he could be seen in Cradle Will Rock, Tim Robbins' look at the often contentious relationship between art and politics in 1930s America.
Though the mere thought of Murray as Polonius in a film adaptation of William Shakespeare's Hamlet may have elicited dumbounded looks and confused laughter early in his career, that was precisely how the versatile thespian ushered in the new millennium in director Micheal Almereyda's modern updating of the classic drama. Subsequently landing laughs as the superspy point person Bosley in the big screen adaptation of the classic 1970's television hit Charlie's Angels, Murray's interpretation of the character would be taken over by popular comic Bernie Mac in the film's 2003 sequel. After taking a brief voyage into gross-out territory with the Farrelly brother's Osmosis Jones in 2001, a re-teaming with Rushmore director Anderson resulted in a small but memorable supporting performance in the same year's The Royal Tenenbaums.
In 2003 Murray essayed the role that would offer what was perhaps his most heartfelt combination of personal drama and touching comedy to date in director Sofia Coppola's acclaimed indie film Lost in Translation. Cast as a washed up American actor who strikes up a tentative friendship with the young wife of a superstar photographer while on a stay in Japan to endorse a popular brand of whiskey, Murray's low-key charm proved the perfect balance to co-star Scarlett Johansson's youthful malaise. Virtually across the board, critics were bowled over by the subtle depth of Murray's performance, leading to Best Actor honors from The New York Film Critics Circle, The Boston Society of Film Critics, The Los Angeles Film Critics Association, The San Francisco Film Critics Circle, The National Society of Film Critics, The Golden Globes, and The Independent Spirit Awards. But the one award that remained elusive to Murray was Oscar. Though nominated, the prize ultimately went to Sean Penn for Mystic River.
In 2004, along with providing the voice for a CGI version of Garfield the cat, Murray once again teamed up with director Wes Anderson, starring as as a world-renowned oceanographer in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. While The Life Aquatic was met with mixed reviews, Murray's performance in the 2005 Jim Jarmusch film Broken Flowers netted virtually unanimous acclaim. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
The family lived in poverty, and Lucille Murray pressured her children to work.[4] As a youth, Murray read children's biographies of American heroes like Kit Carson, Wild Bill Hickok and Davy Crockett.[5] He attended St. Joseph's grade school and Loyola Academy. During his teenage years, he worked as a caddy to fund his education in a Jesuit High School.[5][6] The 1960s were tough on Murray and his family. His father had diabetes, one of his sisters had polio and his mother had several miscarriages.[5] 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.[5]
In 1975, an Off Broadway version of a Lampoon show led to his first television role as a cast member of the ABCvariety showSaturday Night Live with Howard Cosell that featured animal acts and little kids with loud voices.[4] 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 a number of projects, Murray rose to prominence in 1976. He joined the cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live for the show's second season, following the departure of Chevy Chase.[9]
During the first few seasons of SNL Murray was in a serious, romantic relationship with fellow cast member Gilda Radner.[citation needed]
Murray began work on a film adaptation of the novel The Razor's Edge. The film, which Murray also co-wrote, was his first starring role in a dramatic film. He later agreed to star in Ghostbusters, in a role originally written for John Belushi. This was a deal Murray made with Columbia Pictures in order to gain financing for his film.[citation needed]Ghostbusters became the highest-grossing film of 1984. But The Razor's Edge, which was filmed before Ghostbusters but not released until after, was a box-office flop.
Upset over the failure of Razor's Edge, Murray took four years off from acting to study philosophy and history at the Sorbonne, frequent the Cinematheque in Paris, and spend time with his family in their Hudson River Valley home.[8] During that time, his second son, Luke, was born.[5] With the exception of a cameo appearance in the 1986 movie Little Shop of Horrors, he did not make any appearances in films, though he did participate in several public readings in Manhattan organized by playwright/director Timothy Mayer and in a production of Bertolt Brecht's A Man's Man.[5]
Murray returned to films in 1988 with Scrooged and the sequel Ghostbusters II in 1989. In 1990, Murray made his first and only attempt at directing when he co-directed Quick Change with producer Howard Franklin. His subsequent films What About Bob? (1991) and Groundhog Day (1993) were box-office hits and critically acclaimed.
After a string of films that did not do well with audiences, he received much critical acclaim for Wes Anderson's Rushmore for which he won several awards. Murray then experienced a resurgence in his career as a dramatic actor. After dramatic roles in Wild Things, Cradle Will Rock, Hamlet (as Polonius), and The Royal Tenenbaums, he garnered considerable acclaim for the 2003 film Lost in Translation. He received a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA award, as well as an Academy Award nomination. In an interview included on the Lost in TranslationDVD, Murray states that this is his favorite movie in which he has appeared. Also in 2003, he appeared in a short cameo for the movie Coffee and Cigarettes, in which he played himself "hiding out" in a local coffee shop.
In 2005, Murray announced that he would take a break from acting,[10] as he had not had the time since his new breakthrough in the late 1990s. He did return to the big screen, however, for brief cameos in Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited and in Get Smart as Agent 13, the agent in the tree. In 2008, he played an important role in the post-apocalyptic film City of Ember.
Murray is an avid golfer who often plays in celebrity tournaments. His 1999 book Cinderella Story: My Life in Golf, part autobiography and part essay, expounds on his love of golf. In 2002, he and his brothers starred in the Comedy Central series, The Sweet Spot, which chronicled their adventures playing golf. Murray played Carl Spackler in Caddyshack.
In 2007, he was briefly detained by Stockholm police for suspicion of drunk driving in a golf cart. [11]
While at a golf tournament with British golfer Ian Poulter in St Andrews, Scotland, Murray was invited by a student of the university to a house party. Murray went with him and the student reported in Scottish papers that he acted just like he had in the karaoke scene of Lost in Translation, being incredibly fun and energetic. Upon realizing that there were no clean glasses in the house for him to have a drink from, Murray volunteered to do the dishes and was said to be very amiable and unpretentious.[12] In Space Jam, Bill Murray plays himself and plays upon his love for golf. In 2009 Murray was playing with Hal Sutton, Jeff Sluman and Fred Paglia, when an errant tee shot of his struck a bystander in the head. Murray didn't finish out the round, shaken by the incident. "I wasn't sure I was in bounds or not," Murray said in an AP report, "and I saw this NBC golf cart coming at me and he said, ‘I hate to be the one to tell you this but you hit a lady. She's down on the ground.' That is, you know, sobering."
The woman, Gail DiMaggio, was taken to a hospital, but she was alert enough to welcome Murray to her house. DiMaggio's husband, apparently just seconds before impact, had said he hoped Murray hit the ball in their direction.[13]
Outside of show business
He is a partner with his brothers in Murray Bros. Caddy Shack, a restaurant chain located near St. Augustine.[14]
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.[16] This practice has the downside of sometimes preventing him from taking parts that he had auditioned for and was interested in, such as that of Sulley in Monsters, Inc, Bernard Berkman in The Squid and the Whale, Frank Ginsburg in Little Miss Sunshine and Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.[17] He also regretted losing the chance to play Eddie Valient in Who Framed Roger Rabbit when he heard that he was considered for the role and that he would have definitely accepted.[18]
Personal life
During the filming of Stripes, Murray married Margaret Kelley on Super Bowl Sunday in Las Vegas on January 25, 1981.[4][5] Later, they re-married in Chicago for their families.[4] Margaret gave birth to two sons, Homer (born 1982) and Luke (born 1985). But, following Murray's affair with Jennifer Butler, they divorced in 1996. In 1997, he married Jennifer 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.[19] Their divorce was finalized on June 13, 2008.
Murray is a huge fan of Chicago pro sports teams, especially the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago Bears. (He was once a guest color commentator for a Cubs game during the 80s.) [23] He also is a Michael Jordan fan and has made cameo appearances in Space Jam and Jordan documentaries. Murray is an avid Quinnipiac University basketball fan, where his son served as head of basketball operations. Murray is a regular fixture at home games. He cheered courtside for the Illinois Fighting Illini's game versus the University of North Carolina in the NCAA Basketball Tournament's championship game in 2005. 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 told Cubs slugger Aramis Ramirez he was very ill and needed two home runs to give him the hope to live),[24] 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 legend Ron Santo. Murray appeared in Santo's documentary, This Old Cub.
As a Chicago native, Murray appeared at the 50th annual Chicago Air & Water Show in August 2008. He performed a tandem jump with the U.S. Army Parachute Team Golden Knights.[25] He was the M.C. for Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival on July 28, 2007, where he dressed in various guises of Clapton as he appeared through the years.
