Born September 21, 1950, in Wilmette, Illinois, William James Murray is the fifth of nine children born to Lucille and Edward Murray. Bill was quite the troublemaker as a child, as he got kicked out of both the Boy Scouts and Little League baseball because of his behavior.
Bill Murray smuggles weed
Like his older brothers, Murray worked as a caddy to help pay for tuition to Loyola Academy, an all-boys Jesuit school. The strict teachings at Loyola did not help Murray, however, and during a brief move to Denver where he was studying pre-medicine at Regis College, he was arrested for attempting to smuggle nearly nine pounds of marijuana through Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. At 20 years old, Murray was a troubled soul.
Bill Murray on saturday night live
To turn his life around, Murray joined brother Brian in Chicago’s Second City improvisational comedy group. He found joy in entertaining and performing, and then moved to New York City to try his hand at the National Lampoon Hour on radio.
Fellow radio comedians John Belushi, Gilda Radner and Dan Aykroyd left National Lampoon in 1975 to debut on the new Saturday Night Live sketch comedy show, but Murray instead was spotted by Howard Cosell and joined his variety program on ABC, entitled Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell.
Bill Murray in meatballs
Meanwhile, Saturday Night Live on NBC was becoming a big-time show and so, when Chevy Chase left the show to pursue a movie career, Bill Murray jumped at the chance of joining his former radio coworkers.
From 1977 to 1980, Murray shone on SNL, gaining a reputation as a quick-witted, cynical comedic actor. Like many successful actors on SNL, Murray soon moved on to movies, making his big-screen debut in 1979′s Meatballs.
Bill Murray takes on caddyshack
In 1980, Murray was quick to show off his nuttier and more dramatic side in Where the Buffalo Roam, as he played the semi-biographical role of druggy journalist Hunter S. Thompson. Murray’s comedy was always his safety net, however, and he saw much success that same year in Caddyshack.
Following that comedy hit, the tall, sarcastic comedian won over audiences with Ghostbusters (a true blockbuster) and the strange musical, Little Shop of Horrors.
Bill Murray repeats groundhog day
Though other films in the 1980s like Ghostbusters II didn’t very well at the box office, Murray was still recognized as an enigmatic comedian with a talent for improvisation. He often frustrated directors by completely changing scenes to suit his shtick, often altering takes for the better. He flashed hints of his dramatic prowess in 1984′s Razor’s Edge but returned to his money-making comedy in the early 1990s, scoring hits with What About Bob? (1991) and Groundhog Day (1993).
Bill Murray does rushmore
Following these two successes, Murray showed his tendency to take a wide range of roles by playing a transsexual in Ed Wood, a motivational speaker in the quirky Larger Than Life and a business tycoon in Rushmore, a role which garnered him a New York Film Critics Circle award for Best Supporting Actor in 1998.
Though critics harshly criticized several movies Murray made during the late ’90s, Murray was never affected by the opinions of others, and continued to handpick roles of interest as the year 2000 came around.
Bill Murray gets lost in translation
Though recognized for his work as Polonius in a modernized Hamlet in 2000, and Bosley in Charlie’s Angels that same year, Murray gained real acclaim in 2001 after playing Raleigh St. Clair in The Royal Tenenbaums. This role set off a long string of successful dramatic roles (save his voice-over work for Garfield in 2004), highlighted by an Oscar-nominated performance as Bob Harris in Lost in Translation in 2003.
Further exciting roles in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Broken Flowers (winner of the Grand Prix at the 2005 Cannes International Film Festival) have cemented Murray as a top-tier actor in Hollywood. As a result, further work in 2005′s The Lost City is much anticipated.
On a personal note, Bill Murray is the father of six boys; he had two sons with ex-wife Mickey Kelley and four sons with current wife Jennifer Butler.
To buy a cigarette is the perfect type of a perfect pleasure. It is exquisite, and it leaves one unsatisfied. What more can one want?
