50 Fun Facts About Bill Murray

In which Chicago suburb was Bill Murray born in 1950?

He was one of nine children in an Irish Catholic family and attended Loyola Academy, a Jesuit school in Wilmette.

How many siblings does Bill Murray have?

Three of them, John, Joel and Brian Doyle-Murray, are also actors, and his sister Nancy is a Dominican nun who tours a one-woman show as Catherine of Siena.

What job did the teenage Murray do to pay for his Jesuit high school education?

He was inducted into the Caddie Hall of Fame in 2015, and Caddyshack became one of his first hits.

Why was Murray arrested at O'Hare Airport on his 20th birthday in 1970?

He gave the game away by joking to a fellow passenger that there was a bomb in his luggage. He was sentenced to probation.

Murray briefly studied pre-med at which Denver school before dropping out?

The school gave him an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree in 2007.

At which Chicago improv troupe did Murray get his start, studying under Del Close?

His older brother Brian Doyle-Murray got him the invitation, and by 1974 he was on The National Lampoon Radio Hour in New York.

In 1975 Murray joined the cast of a short-lived ABC variety show hosted by which sportscaster?

The show, confusingly titled Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell, lasted one season and was cancelled in early 1976.

Whose departure from Saturday Night Live opened the spot Murray filled in the show's second season?

Murray famously confronted Chase backstage when Chase returned to host in 1978. They made Caddyshack together the following year.

Which SNL castmate was Murray romantically involved with during his early seasons?

His SNL run from 1977 to 1980 earned him a Primetime Emmy for writing.

What was Murray's first starring film role, in 1979?

He played camp counsellor Tripper. Caddyshack and Stripes followed in 1980 and 1981.

Which gonzo journalist did Murray portray in the 1980 film Where the Buffalo Roam?

Johnny Depp later played the same writer in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Murray was the very first guest on which talk show, on February 1, 1982?

He was also on the first Late Show episode when Letterman moved to CBS in 1993 and was Letterman's final guest in May 2015.

Murray agreed to star in Ghostbusters partly to get Columbia to finance which passion project?

The W. Somerset Maugham adaptation, which he co-wrote, flopped, and he took a four-year break from acting afterwards.

For whom was Murray's Ghostbusters role of Peter Venkman originally written?

Ghostbusters became the highest-grossing film of 1984 and, at the time, the highest-grossing comedy ever.

During his four-year acting hiatus in the mid-1980s, where did Murray study philosophy and history?

He also haunted the Cinémathèque and made only one cameo, in Little Shop of Horrors, before returning with Scrooged in 1988.

Which 1990 film is Murray's only directing credit, shared with Howard Franklin?

He plays a bank robber dressed as a clown who cannot get out of New York.

Which director fell out with Murray on the set of their 1993 time-loop comedy?

Screenwriter Danny Rubin said they were 'like two brothers who weren't getting along'. They reconciled shortly before Ramis's death in 2014.

Who co-starred with Murray in Frank Oz's What About Bob? (1991)?

Dreyfuss is one of several co-stars with whom Murray reportedly feuded on set.

In which 1996 film did Murray appear as Bill Murray alongside Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes?

That same year he played the con-man Ernie McCracken in the Farrelly brothers' Kingpin.

Which 1998 film began Murray's long collaboration with director Wes Anderson?

He won supporting-actor prizes from the New York, Los Angeles and National Society of Film Critics for playing Herman Blume.

How many Wes Anderson films had Murray appeared in as of The Phoenician Scheme in 2025?

He is also godfather to Anderson's daughter.

Which Shakespeare character did Murray play in Michael Almereyda's 2000 Hamlet?

That same year he sang Luther Billis in a concert version of South Pacific at Lincoln Center.

In The Royal Tenenbaums, Murray plays Raleigh St. Clair, the husband of which character?

Raleigh is a meek neurologist and writer; Gwyneth Paltrow played his secretive wife.

What product is Murray's character Bob Harris in Tokyo to advertise in Lost in Translation?

Murray has said Lost in Translation is his favourite of his own films. He lost the Oscar to Sean Penn for Mystic River.

Which awards did Murray win for Lost in Translation?

He also took the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead and was the favourite for the Academy Award he did not win.

Bill Murray agreed to voice Garfield after mistaking writer Joel Cohen for one half of which duo?

He nevertheless returned for Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties in 2006.

Murray's oceanographer Steve Zissou in The Life Aquatic was based on which real explorer?

The film bombed at the box office and split critics but has since built a cult following.

Which director made Broken Flowers (2005), Coffee and Cigarettes and The Dead Don't Die with Murray?

Roger Ebert wrote of Broken Flowers that 'no actor is better than Bill Murray at doing nothing at all'.

Which US president did Murray play in Hyde Park on Hudson (2012)?

The film covers the 1939 visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. It earned Murray a Golden Globe nomination.

Which animal did Murray voice in Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox?

He also voiced Baloo in the 2016 Jungle Book and appeared in Anderson's stop-motion Isle of Dogs.

In Zombieland (2009), whom does Murray play?

He briefly returned as himself in Zombieland: Double Tap. His character was famously killed off after being mistaken for a zombie.

Which character did Murray play in the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot?

He had joked he would only return to the franchise if his character was killed off in the first reel. He came back as Venkman in Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021).

Which Trump adviser did Murray play when he returned to SNL in 2018?

Fred Armisen played journalist Michael Wolff in the same sketch.

Which Sofia Coppola-directed streaming holiday special starred Bill alongside George Clooney and Miley Cyrus?

It was nominated for the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Television Movie.

Murray reprised which of his films for a 2020 Super Bowl commercial?

He steals the groundhog and drives it around in an orange Jeep Gladiator, reliving the day over and over.

Which Marvel film did Murray join the cast of in 2021?

He played Lord Krylar in the Quantum Realm.

How does Murray famously field script offers, having no agent or manager?

The system reportedly cost him roles in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Monsters, Inc. and Little Miss Sunshine.

Which minor-league baseball team did Murray found and part-own until selling his stake in 2023?

He was inducted into the South Atlantic League Hall of Fame in 2012 for his ownership activities.

What is Murray's lifetime batting average from his two at-bats for the Grays Harbor Loggers in 1978?

One hit in two trips to the plate. He is a fixture at Cubs, Bears and Bulls games when in Chicago.

The restaurant Bill runs with his brothers borrows its name from which of his films?

The first opened at the World Golf Village near St. Augustine in 2001; a second opened near O'Hare in 2018.

Murray recorded the 2017 album New Worlds with which classical musician?

It mixes singing and literary recitations and was released by Verve. A filmed sequel, The Cradle of Civilization, hit cinemas in 2022.

What nickname did Dan Aykroyd give Murray because of his mood swings?

Murray says he only got a difficult reputation 'from people I didn't like working with'.

Which honour for American humour did the Kennedy Center award Murray in 2016?

He led the Wrigley Field crowd in 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' during the Cubs' World Series that same autumn.

Where does Murray primarily live?

He has homes in the other places too. In 2007 Swedish police pulled him over on suspicion of driving a golf cart while drunk.

Which Green Party candidate did Murray support in the 2000 presidential election?

He had earlier donated $1,000 to Bob Kerrey's 1988 Senate campaign in Nebraska.

Which older brother invited Bill to join Chicago's Second City improv troupe?

Brian went on to co-write Caddyshack and act alongside his brother; another brother, Joel, co-founded the William Murray Golf apparel brand in 2016.

For which film did Murray receive his only Academy Award nomination?

He was widely considered a favourite for the 2004 Best Actor prize but lost to Sean Penn for Mystic River.

What was Murray's first Primetime Emmy for, during his Saturday Night Live years?

He was a national presence on the show from 1977 to 1980; his second Emmy came decades later.

In 1974 John Belushi recruited Murray as a featured player on which comedy programme?

That gig led to the Off-Broadway National Lampoon Show and, in 1975, his first TV job on Howard Cosell's short-lived variety series.

In 2007 Swedish police pulled Murray over on suspicion of drunkenly driving what?

The golf-obsessed actor was inducted into the Caddie Hall of Fame in 2015.