Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go on an overnight drunk, and in 10 days I’m going to set out to find the shark that ate my friend and destroy it. Anyone who wants to tag along is more than welcome.
– Steve Zissou – The Life Aquatic
Oh Bill Murray. Is there anything you do that isn’t brilliant? (For the record I choose to believe the Garfield movie doesn’t exist).
Seriously. I grew up with Bill on the big screen on a regular basis. I was a bit too young to catch his SNL stint, but by the time Ghostbusters came out, I was 6 and ready to see it. I can remember being terrified by the scene in the NY public library, laughing at slimer and Rick Moranis, and thinking Dick getting melted marshmallow dumped on him was the greatest thing ever. Of course it wasn’t until I was older that I was able to go back and watch Ghostbusters and truly appreciate the brilliance that went into making the film. Seriously, go back and just watch Bill. Every line is delivered perfectly. I highly doubt any actor could have pulled that role off as perfectly as he did.
Of course, as time went on, Bill’s star began to fade. By the 90s most of his films are forgettable, with maybe the exception of Groundhog Day and Rushmore. Speaking of Rushmore, I’d say that was when he rose like a phoenix out of the ashes of his career. Somehow Wes Anderson was able to reach back in time and yank the Bill Murray from 1984 and place him in the body of Bill Murray 1998. Since then, he’s had a string of brilliant films where he’s been able to showcase his ability to act, as well as his comedic skills. If you have any doubt about it, go watch Zombieland.
Now as strong as my appreciation for Bill is, IAM: fist_intheair definitely has me beat. Nikko Hurtado from Hesperia, CA. did this piece on him recently, and I was floored when I saw it.
Regardless of your current feelings towards Bill, you must have some fond memory of at least one of his performances. Was it his turn as Ernie McCracken in Kingpin? Or maybe you’re a bit older and prefer him in Meatballs (fun fact: I went to the camp across the lake from Camp White Pine outside Haliburton, ON, where Meatballs was filmed). Obviously fist_intheair prefers Steve Zissou, so what was/is your favorite Bill role?
BME/News and Modblog highlight only a small fraction of what
I’m floored with EVERY piece i see from Nikko! His stuff is sick!!! One day me and him will have a session….
I’ve heard that Bill Murray will walk around Central Park late at night, find someone walking alone, come up behind them and tap them on the shoulder. After a very brief conversation he’ll say “No one is ever going to believe you” and then walks away.
I hope it’s true. I hope so bad!
While Bill is an awesome comedian, no one needs his head swollen any bigger then it already is.
also IMO, his SNL days were his best. that and ‘What about bob!?’
Hahaha! That sounds exactly like the kind of stunt Bill would pull. There was an article once about him showing up to some college loft party in new york with some really expensive bottle of booze and just waltzed right in and hung out, even helped clean some glasses because there was none left. What a gem!
Kingpin all the way…I love his humor, he was such a “dick” but a funny dick. I aspire to be like that in my life.
Zombieland for the win! im sorry but Bill’s role in that was pure genious….pretending to be a zombie JUST to play golf…I swear if the world DID ever get zombiefied and bill DIDN’T get eaten….then no doubt he WOULD just do exactly that just to carry on being Bill….
And secondnly that tattoo is just lovely, for me the best parts of it are the detail and colouring. Especially in the beard, hat and bills age lines..just beautiful….the tattoo and Bill 😀
AMAZING
Nikko is the man.
I would travel from Oz just to go see him and get him to fill up a large portion of my body with his spectacular art.
jenm toronto did a nice billmurray too
I heard a brilliant story about him crashing a party at St Andrews when the Open was on, and being a total gentleman, washing the dishes and making everyone midnight snacks. Sounds like a total dude.
I remember watching What About Bob when I was a kid but none of his other ones. I watched more John Candy films than Bill Murray films when I was a kid.
I’ve always been a Bill Murray fan, old enough to watch him do his thing on SNL and so on down the line. Of all Bill’s movies, however, the one that stands out far and above all of them is the remake of The Razor’s Edge. He is brilliant in the part and does justice to a classic.