Bill Murray (Part 1)

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12 Mar 2024

Bill Murray (Part 1)

Bill Murray, born on September 21, 1950, is an esteemed American actor and comedian known for his deadpan delivery. His career spans a wide range of roles, from studio comedies to independent dramas. Murray has collaborated with various directors, including Ivan Reitman, Harold Ramis, Wes Anderson, Sofia Coppola, Jim Jarmusch, and the Farrelly brothers. Over the years, he has received numerous awards, including a BAFTA Award, two Emmy Awards, and a Golden Globe Award. In 2016, he was honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Murray gained recognition on The National Lampoon Radio Hour and later became a prominent figure on Saturday Night Live from 1977 to 1980. During his time on SNL, he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series. He achieved stardom with roles in popular comedy films such as Meatballs 1979, Caddyshack 1980, Stripes, Ghostbusters , Ghostbusters II , What About Bob , and Groundhog Day . His filmography also includes supporting roles in movies like Tootsie , Little Shop of Horrors , Ed Wood , Kingpin , and Osmosis Jones. Murray co-directed the film Quick Change with Howard Franklin, marking his only directorial credit.

Beginning in 1998 with "Rushmore," Murray established a long-term collaboration with director Wes Anderson, earning an Independent Spirit Award. He continued to feature in many of Anderson's films, such as "The Royal Tenenbaums" (2001), "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" (2004), "Fantastic Mr. Fox" (2009), "Moonrise Kingdom" (2012), "The Grand Budapest Hotel" (2014), "Isle of Dogs" (2018), and "The French Dispatch" (2021). His role in Sofia Coppola's "Lost in Translation" (2003) earned him Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Other notable performances include "Broken Flowers" (2005), "Get Low" (2009), "Hyde Park on Hudson" (2012), "St. Vincent" (2014), and "On the Rocks" (2020).

In the HBO miniseries "Olive Kitteridge" (2014), Murray earned his second Primetime Emmy Award. He is also recognized for lending his voice to Garfield in the family comedy films "Garfield: The Movie" (2004) and its sequel "Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties" (2006), as well as voicing Baloo in the live-action adaptation of Disney's "The Jungle Book" (2016). Murray reprised his role as Peter Venkman in "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" (2021).

Bill Murray, born on September 21, 1950, in Evanston, Illinois, is the son of Lucille Murray ne Collins; 1921–1988, a mail-room clerk, and Edward Joseph Murray II , a lumber salesman. He grew up in Wilmette, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, with his eight siblings, raised in an Irish Catholic family. Murray's paternal grandfather hailed from County Cork, while his maternal ancestors were from County Galway. Three of his siblings, John Murray, Joel Murray, and Brian Doyle-Murray, are also actors. Another sibling, Nancy, is an Adrian Dominican nun in Michigan, known for her one-woman programs portraying Catherine of Siena and Dorothy Stang. Unfortunately, his brother Ed Murray passed away in 2020.

Their father died in 1967 at the age of 46 from complications of diabetes when Bill was 17.
During his youth, Murray immersed himself in reading children's biographies of American heroes like Kit Carson, Wild Bill Hickok, and Davy Crockett. He attended St. Joseph's grade school and Loyola Academy. In his teenage years, Murray worked as a golf caddy to fund his education at the Jesuit high school. He also served as the lead singer of a rock band called the Dutch Masters and participated in high school and community theater. One of his sisters had polio, and his mother experienced several miscarriages.

After graduating from Loyola Academy, Murray enrolled at Regis University in Denver, Colorado, to pursue pre-medical courses. However, he quickly dropped out and returned to Illinois. In 2007, Regis University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree. On his 20th birthday, September 21, 1970, Murray was arrested at Chicago's O'Hare Airport for attempting to smuggle 10 lb (4.5 kg) of cannabis, allegedly intended for sale. The discovery occurred after Murray made a joke to a fellow passenger about having a bomb in his luggage. He was convicted and sentenced to probation.

Bill Murray's career took off with his first starring role in the film Meatballs in 1979. Following this, he portrayed Hunter S. Thompson in Where the Buffalo Roam.
In the early 1980s, he collaborated with writer-director Harold Ramis and starred in successful films like Caddyshack , Stripes, and Tootsie . Murray made history as the first guest on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman on February 1, 1982. He continued to make notable appearances on Letterman's shows, including being the final guest when Letterman retired on May 20, 2015.

Murray worked on a film adaptation of the novel The Razor's Edge, which he co-wrote and was his first starring role in a drama. To secure financing for The Razor's Edge, Murray agreed to star in Ghostbusters, a role initially intended for John Belushi. Ghostbusters became the highest-grossing film of 1984 and, at the time, the highest-grossing comedy ever. However, The Razor's Edge was a box-office flop.

Disheartened by the failure of The Razor's Edge, Murray took a four-year hiatus from acting. During this time, he studied philosophy and history at Sorbonne University, frequented the Cinémathèque in Paris, and spent time with his family in their Hudson River Valley home. Murray returned to films with Scrooged in 1988 and Ghostbusters II in 1989. Despite his brief break, Murray continued to establish himself as a versatile actor with a mix of comedic and dramatic roles.