February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
And while his droll delivery is now a trademark instead of a hindrance, Murray is eyeing a break after a string of successful films that showcased his range.
While many actors would welcome the resurgence and work until they got the Oscar or whatever it is actors strive for these days, he can do without for the time being.
Really, he’s just exhausted.
Murray, who will be spending more time at home in upstate New York, has come a distance from his humble Irish roots.
Growing up in a large Catholic family in the suburbs of Chicago, Murray was one of nine children of Lucille and Edward Murray, a lumber salesman.
Bill, along with brothers Brian, Edward, Andy, John, Joel and sisters Peggy, and Laura, Nancy, made for a tight fit.
“Our house was a wreck,” Murray once recalled. “A constant claustrophobic mess.”
The movie actor recalled his parents being fodder for him and his siblings’ comedic antics early on.
“My father was a very difficult laugh,” Murray recalled in his book, “Cinderella Story: My Life in Golf.”
“Adults found him very funny. But his children had a tough time cracking him up. One of my strongest childhood impressions is falling off my dinner table while doing a Jimmy Cagney impression. I hit my head very hard on the metal foot of the table leg, and it hurt terribly. But when I saw my father laughing, I laughed while crying at the same time. I guess that was some kind of beginning.”
Lucille, on the other hand, was a perfect subject for mimicry.
“All of us kids ended up ‘doing Mom,'” Murray writes. “There are four of us who’ve tried show business. Five if you insist on counting my sister the nun, who does liturgical dance.”
After college proved to be the wrong path for Murray, he followed in older brother Brian’s footsteps and joined Chicago’s famous “Second City” comedy troupe.
Breaking in
After a successful run with “Second City,” Murray became a national figure as a cast member and writer for “Saturday Night Live,” the weekly sketch comedy show. Joining the show in what many consider to be its heyday, Murray was a regular from 1977 to 1980.
Taking the plunge from SNL to comedic stardom has only worked for a handful of alums, but Murray found his niche quickly.
His first major role out of the gate was Carl, a borderline-psychotic Vietnam veteran groundskeeper in the golf cult classic “Caddyshack.”
It wasn’t before long that Murray was starring in “Ghotsbusters,” one of the highest-grossing comedies of all time.
As his celebrity grew, Murray tried to keep a low profile and avoided the trappings of fame. As the movie roles began to level off in the mid-1990s, he spent more time golfing, which was by now a passion for the actor. He is a fixture on the charity circuit, and known for adding to the fun on the course with his antics.
Murray is also among the legions of long-suffering Cubs fans, and his hometown team’s recent playoff runs prompted Murray to have live satellite feeds written into his on-location movie contracts so he didn’t miss a play.
Rejuvination
It looked for a while that Murray was going to happily settle into the role of retired, but successful, comedic actor. One of the few of the old guard could call their post-SNL careers a success, Murray remained a household name but kept from doing what he considered needless films.
Then indie credibility came knocking. Wes Anderson’s 1998 film “Rushmore” catapulted Murray into stardom with a new fan base.
His portrayal of a twisted school headmaster in competition with an awkward student earned him rave reviews and heralded a new, credible turn at drama.
Anderson’s subsequent films have made good use of Murray, but it was with Sofia Coppola’s “Lost In Translation” that he became a bona fide star to people who aren’t old enough to recall “Caddyshack.”
While Murray, who was now well into his 50s, wasn’t typical leading man material, his hands-off chemistry with screen ing