Bill Murray

Who is Bill Murray?

Bill Murray started his career in acting with comic roles, but later moved on to do dramatic roles. He is a golf enthusiast - he worked as a caddy in his formative years, and it was here that he developed a keen love for the game. He is also a baseball enthusiast. As a young man, he started on the wrong note, getting arrested for possession of cannabis. He took his life in the right direction when he and his brothers set out to act in the comedy ‘The Second City’. This was followed by roles in ‘Saturday Night Live’. His first successful movie was ‘Meatball”. It was followed by the cult classic ‘Caddyshack’ and box-office hits such as ‘Stripes’, and ‘Tootsie’. His most popular movie was ‘Ghostbusters’. He did dramatic roles in ‘Wild Things’, ‘Cradle Will Rock’, ‘Hamlet’, and in the 2001 critically acclaimed movie ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’. He provided the voice for cartoon characters such as Garfield and Mr. Badger in ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’. He has no agents or managers and no entourage following him around. He is involved in providing affordable housing to low-income seniors through Housing Opportunities and Maintenance for the Elderly (H.O.M.E.), to which he has made a generous donation.

Career

He joined his brother in the cast for the improvisational comedy ‘The Second City’ in Chicago and got to study under Del Close. This gave direction to his life and he took up acting.

In 1975, he was cast in the short-lived ABC variety show, Saturday Night Live. Two years later, NBC invited him to their Saturday Night Live. He was with it for three seasons.

In 1979, he landed his first movie role in the box-office hit, ‘Meatballs’. It was followed by ‘Where the Buffalo’s Roam’ in which he portrayed Hunter S. Thompson. However, the movie flopped.

In 1980, he restored his image as an actor with the cult classic ‘Caddyshack’. The following years saw him act in box-office hits such as ‘Stripes’, and ‘Tootsie’.

In 1984, he co-wrote and acted in ‘The Razor’s Edge’. The movie did not do very well and he was so disappointed that he took four years off, appearing in only cameo roles.

He took time off from movies, except for a cameo appearance in ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ in 1986, to be with his family and to study philosophy and history at the Sorbonne.

In 1988, he returned to movies with ‘Scrooged’. It was followed by the sequel ‘Ghostbusters II’, the next year. He even co-directed the movie ‘Quick Change’ with Howard Franklin.

In 1999, he wrote a semi-autobiographic book ‘Cinderella Story: My Life in Golf’, explaining his love for the game of golf.

Once he decided to take up dramatic roles, his career started sky-rocketing with roles in ‘Wild Things’, ‘Cradle Will Rock’, ‘Hamlet’, and in the 2001 critically acclaimed movie ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’.

In 2004, he provided the voice-over for the cartoon character Garfield in ‘Garfield: The Movie’ and two years later for ‘Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties’.

In 2004, he worked in Wes Anderson’s ‘The Aquatic Life’. He also starred in Jim Jarmusch's ‘Broken Flowers’. The next year, he appeared in cameo roles in ‘The Darjeeling Limited’ and ‘Get Smart’.

After a break from acting, he appeared in a notable role in the movie ‘City of Ember’ in 2008. In the next year, he appeared in a cameo role in the comedy ‘Zombieland’.

In 2012, he took up the role of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the movie ‘Hyde Park on Hudson’. He also starred in Wes Anderson’s ‘Moonrise Kingdom’.

He will be seen starring alongside Johnny Depp and Jude Law in Wes Anderson’s next film ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’, which is set to release in 2014.