Bill Murray Biography, Net worth and More — William James Murray is an American actor and comedian. Known for his deadpan delivery.
Murray rose to fame on The National Lampoon Radio Hour before becoming a national presence on Saturday Night Live from , where he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series.
ALSO READ: Who is Anne Diamond, Biography, Family and More
Who is Bill Murray ?
Murray was born on September 21, 1950, in Evanston, Illinois, to Lucille Murray (née Collins; , a mail-room clerk, and Edward Joseph Murray II , a lumber salesman. He was raised in Wilmette, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago.
Murray and his eight siblings grew up in an Irish Catholic family. His paternal grandfather was from County Cork, while his maternal ancestors were from County Galway.
Three of his siblings, John Murray, Joel Murray, and Brian Doyle-Murray, are also actors. A sister, Nancy, is an Adrian Dominican nun in Michigan; she has traveled the United States in two one-woman programs, portraying Catherine of Siena and Dorothy Stang.
His brother Ed Murray died in 2020. Their father died in 1967 at the age of 46 from complications of diabetes when Bill was 17.
As a youth, Murray read children’s biographies of American heroes like Kit Carson, Wild Bill Hickok, and Davy Crockett He attended St. Joseph’s grade school and Loyola Academy.
During his teen years, he worked as a golf caddy to fund his education at the Jesuit high school, and was the lead singer of a rock band called the Dutch Masters and took part in high school and community theater.
After graduating from Loyola Academy, Murray attended Regis University in Denver, Colorado, taking pre-medical courses, but quickly dropped out and returned to Illinois.
Decades later, in 2007, Regis awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree. On September 21, 1970, his 20th birthday, the police arrested Murray at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport for trying to smuggle 10 lb (4.5 kg) of cannabis, which he had allegedly intended to sell. It was discovered after Murray joked to the passenger next to him that he had packed a bomb in his luggage. Murray was convicted and sentenced to probation.
Early Experiences with Comedy
After his run-in with the law, Bill Murray was invited by his brother to join a comedy troupe in Chicago. After achieving success as a comedian, he traveled to New York and joined “The National Lampoon Radio Hour.” This eventually led to Murray appearing in an off-Broadway adaptation of a “National Lampoon” show, which in turn caught the attention of the producers of “Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell.”
Saturday Night Live
Although the first iteration of “Saturday Night Live” was canceled in 1976, it was picked up by NBC who booked Bill Murray on the show. This marked the first real, mainstream breakthrough for Bill Murray, who appeared on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” From 1977 to 1980.
Film Career
Although Murray had starred in 1979’s “Meatballs,” it was only after his departure from “Saturday Night Live” that he started to experience mainstream success in film. In 1980, he starred in “Where Buffalos Roam.”
This proved to be the beginning of a long string of successful roles for Bill Murray in the 1980s, and he appeared in films like “Tootsie,” “Stripes,” and “Caddyshack.” In particular, the last film won Bill Murray considerable praise. In his youth, Bill Murray had worked as a caddie in real life.
Murray continued to take on comedic roles, starring in “Charlie’s Angels” and voice acting for several “Garfield” movies. That being said, his most prominent role of this period was in another Wes Anderson flick – this time playing the lead in “The Life Aquatic.”
Murray had experienced enormous success during the last few decades and took another break from acting after the release of “The Life Aquatic.” In 2009, he returned for yet another Wes Anderson movie, this time providing the voice for Mr. Badger in the animated film “Fantastic Mr. Fox.”
He followed this up with another voice acting role in 2016’s “The Jungle Book,” playing Baloo. Voice acting roles continued to be a source of success for Murray going forward, as he appeared in Wes Anderson’s next animated movie, “Isle of Dogs.” In 2019, it was announced that Murray would appear in Anderson’s next film, “The French Dispatch.”
Ghostbusters Salary
In order to secure the rights to the highly-coveted “Ghostbusters” script, Columbia Pictures agreed to some very generous salary terms as negotiated by Michael Ovitz, the principal partner at talent agency CAA.
All three principal actors (Aykroyd, Murray, Ramis) plus the film’s director Ivan Reitman, would split 30% of the movie’s gross revenues at the box office, home video sales and network licensing deals. In the end this turned into $300 million split four ways. That’s $75 million per person. After adjusting for inflation, that’s the same as $200 million PER PERSON!
For the sequel, the four principals got an even sweeter deal. They each received a $6 million upfront salary and then split 35% of the gross. “Ghostbusters II” was slightly less successful, earning around $215 million at the box office. One could conservatively assume that between salary and backend points, each of the four earned $50 million off the sequel. That’s the same as $110 million after adjusting for inflation.
So, in total without adjusting for inflation, Bill Murray earned approximately $125 million from the first two Ghostbusters. After adjusting for inflation he earned $310 million in today’s dollars.
As of June 2023, Bill Murray’s net worth is estimated to be roughly $180 Million.
Personal Life
Bill Murray has been married twice. In 1981, he married Margaret Kelly, whom he had met during the filming of “Stripes.” The couple had two children together before they divorced in 1996.
The reason behind their divorce was because Murray was having an affair with Jennifer Butler, whom he married in 1997. Bill Murray had four children with Butler before they divorced in 2008.
ALSO READ: Who is Charlie Wilson, Biography, Net worth, Family & More
THANK YOU for constantly reading stories on AtinkaNews. You are free to share this story via the various social media platforms . Kindly follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and Twitter.
