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William James "Bill" Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian, known for his deadpan delivery in roles ranging from studio comedies to independent dramas.[3] He has frequently collaborated with directors Ivan Reitman, Harold Ramis, Wes Anderson, Sofia Coppola, and Jim Jarmusch. He has earned numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and two Independent Spirit Awards, as well as a nomination for an Academy Award. In 2016, Murray was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Murray rose to fame on The National Lampoon Radio Hour (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on the NBC sketch comedy and variety series Saturday Night Live from 1977 to 1980, where he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series. He then established his stardom acting in a string of successful comedy films such as Meatballs (1979), Caddyshack (1980), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Ghostbusters II (1989), What About Bob? (1991), and Groundhog Day (1993). He also took on supporting roles in Tootsie (1982), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Ed Wood (1994), Kingpin (1996), and Osmosis Jones (2001). His only directorial credit is Quick Change (1990), which he co-directed with Howard Franklin.

He started his long-term collaboration with director Wes Anderson in 1998 with Rushmore earning an Independent Spirit Award. He would continue to appear in many of his films including 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). He also starred in Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation (2003) earning him Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Other notable roles include in Broken Flowers (2005), Get Low (2009), Hyde Park on Hudson (2012), St. Vincent (2014), and On the Rocks (2020).

For his television role in HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge (2014), he earned his second Primetime Emmy Award. He is also known for voicing Garfield in the family comedy film Garfield: The Movie (2004) and its sequel Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006), and Baloo in the live action adaptation of Disney's The Jungle Book (2016). Murray reprised his role as Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) and appeared as Lord Krylar in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023).

Characters/Impressions[]

Characters[]

  • Brian Welles
  • Dick Lanky
  • Francis Jocko Leary Jr.
  • Honker
  • Jerry Eldini
  • Mudhad Asad
  • Nick
  • Niko
  • Richard Herkiman
  • Ron
  • Ronnie Bateman
  • Ronnie Getsetter
  • Todd DiLaMuca
  • X-Police Officer

Impressions[]

February 18, 1978[]

On February 18, 1978, Chevy Chase became the first former cast member to host. When Murray met Chase, he tried to make things as clear as possible. That caused a fistfight just minutes before the show started. Laraine Newman tried to stop it, but luckily, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi stopped it. They pulled together to create one of the best shows of the season.

SNL Career[]

Gallery[]

Preceded by:
Jane Curtin with Dan Aykroyd
Weekend Update Anchor with Jane Curtin
(October 7, 1978May 24, 1980 )
Followed by:
Charles Rocket
Preceded by:
Charles Rocket and Gail Matthius
Saturday Night NewsLine anchor
With Mark King and Charles Rocket

(March 7, 1981March 7, 1981)
Followed by:
Chevy Chase
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