- Born
- Birth nameWilliam James Murray
- Nicknames
- Billy
- The Murricane
- Height6′ 1½″ (1.87 m)
- Bill Murray is an American actor, comedian, and writer. The fifth of nine children, he was born William James Murray in Wilmette, Illinois, to Lucille (Collins), a mailroom clerk, and Edward Joseph Murray II, who sold lumber. He is of Irish descent. Among his siblings are actors Brian Doyle-Murray, Joel Murray, and John Murray. He and most of his siblings worked as caddies, which paid his tuition to Loyola Academy, a Jesuit school. He played sports and did some acting while in that school, but in his words, mostly "screwed off." He enrolled at Regis College in Denver to study pre-med but dropped out after being arrested for marijuana possession. He then joined the National Lampoon Radio Hour with fellow members Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, and John Belushi. However, while those three became the original members of Saturday Night Live (1975), he joined Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell (1975), which premiered that same year. After that show failed, he later got the opportunity to join Saturday Night Live (1975), for which he earned his first Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy-Variety or Music Series. He later went on to star in comedy films, including Meatballs (1979), Caddyshack (1980), Stripes (1981), Tootsie (1982), Ghostbusters (1984), Ghostbusters II (1989), Scrooged (1988), What About Bob? (1991), and Groundhog Day (1993). He also co-directed Quick Change (1990). Murray garnered additional critical acclaim later in his career, starring in Lost in Translation (2003), which earned him a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for Best Actor, as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He also received Golden Globe nominations for his roles in Ghostbusters, Rushmore (1998), Hyde Park on Hudson (2012), St. Vincent (2014), and the HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge (2014), for which he later won his second Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie.- IMDb Mini Biography By: John Sacksteder and Pedro Borges
- SpousesJennifer Butler(July 4, 1997 - June 13, 2008) (divorced, 4 children)Mickey Kelley(January 25, 1981 - January 29, 1994) (divorced, 2 children)
- ChildrenCaleb James MurrayJackson William MurrayCooper Jones MurrayLincoln Darius Murray
- ParentsEdward Joseph Murray IILucille Murray (Collins)
- RelativesBrian Doyle-Murray(Sibling)Joel Murray(Sibling)John Murray(Sibling)Nancy Murray(Sibling)Edward Murray(Sibling)Andy Murray(Sibling)Peggy Murray(Sibling)Laura Murray(Sibling)
- Deadpan expression
- In the later years of his career, he frequently plays depressed characters (Lost in Translation (2003), Broken Flowers (2005), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), Rushmore (1998), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001))
- During the early years of his career, he frequently played loud, sarcastic, and often rude and mean, anti-heroes (Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Caddyshack (1980), the two Ghostbusters films, Groundhog Day (1993))
- Soft mellow voice
- Has no agent, no business manager, or favorite hair and make-up artist. He travels without an entourage.
- Murray and Dan Aykroyd reprised their Ghostbusters (1984) characters to visit a terminally ill child who was a fan of the film and wanted to meet them.
- Accidentally broke Robert De Niro's nose during the filming of Mad Dog and Glory (1993).
- Was bitten by the groundhog twice on the Groundhog Day (1993) set in 1992.
- Appeared in Zombieland (2009) as a favor to Woody Harrelson, movie co-star and big "Bill Murray" fan.
- I'm a nut, but not just a nut.
- If you walk up to some random person on the street, grab them by the shoulder, and say 'Did you just see what I saw?!'....you'll find that no one wants to talk to you.
- The truth is, anybody that becomes famous is an ass for a year and a half. You've got to give them a year and a half, two years. They are getting so much smoke blown, and their whole world gets so turned upside down, their responses become distorted. I give everybody a year or two to pull it together because, when it first happens, I know how it is.
- There aren't many downsides to being rich, other than paying taxes and having relatives asking for money. But being famous, that's a 24 hour job right there.
- I'm over the Oscar thing. I feel that if you really want an Oscar, you're in trouble. It's like wanting to be married - you'll take anybody. If you want the Oscar really badly, it becomes a naked desire and ambition. It becomes very unattractive. I've seen it. The nice thing is that I'm over here in Europe making a movie and so I don't need to worry about it.
- Rushmore (1999) - $9,000
- Groundhog Day (1993) - $10,000,000
- What About Bob? (1991) - $8,000,000
- Ghostbusters II (1989) - $7,000,000
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