A Short History of Bill Murray’s Offscreen Antics
Every couple of months, Bill Murray returns to the news for something other than his onscreen work. His public shenanigans usually include random encounters with strangers and lengthy speeches. Earlier this year, for instance, he crashed a couple’s engagement-photo shoot.
Explains the photographer, Raheel Gauba: “I’m looking through the lens, the couple seems stunned and distracted. I think to myself – oh great, someone is bothering them – I turn around and I see Mr. Murray standing there with his shirt pulled up and belly proudly on display which he is patting pretty loudly in an attempt to make the couple laugh.”
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Bill Murray MCs Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival
Three years after stopping by the 2007 edition of Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Festival, Murray was invited to introduce the proceedings: “I’ve got a feeling you’re gonna be visited my some ghosts,” he tells the crowd, attempting to strum a few chords as the host walks onstage.
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Bill Murray Owns a Minor League Baseball Team
According to the website of the Charleston River Dogs, currently the Single-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, Bill Murray is not only one of the team’s co-owners, he’s their Director of Fun. A bio notes that the actor “has caught and thrown out ceremonial first pitches and coached first base,” but Murray didn’t make headlines until he enlivened a rain delay by running and sliding across the infield tarp.
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Bill Murray Wins AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Murray, a 13 handicap, teamed with pro D.A. Points to shoot a 35-under-par 251 over the four-day event, even quoting his famous “Cinderalla story” Caddyshack monologue while lining up the final putt. He misses, but when he runs up and alley-oops the rolling ball into the hole, the crowd still screams.
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Bill Murray Bartends at SXSW
According to the Shangri-La’s actual bartender, Murray arrived at some point in the afternoon but took off to go see his “Coffee and Cigarettes” co-star RZA perform elsewhere in Austin. Later, however, he returned with both RZA and GZA, then got behind the bar and began pouring drinks for its patrons.
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Bill Murray Crashes a Kickball Game
According to Chris DiLella, one of the players in this totally random New York City kickball game, Murray simply "popped out of nowhere": "He was bouncing the ball, ran over to second base, played for a bit, gave us all high-fives and let us pose with him in the picture."
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Bill Murray Gives a Bachelor Party Toast
Eating dinner at the same restaurant where a younger man is having his bachelor party, Murray pops by to give a toast and offer advice to the groomsmen who might be considering marriage. “Don’t just think, ‘OK let’s make a date. Let’s plan this and make a party and get married,'” the actor, twice divorced, tells the room. “Buy a plane ticket for the two of you to travel around world and go to places that are hard to go to and hard to get out of. And if you come back to JFK and you’re still in love with that person, get married at the airport.”
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Bill Murray Sings “House of the Rising Sun”
Hosting his annual Caddyshack Charity Golf Tournament, Murray followed his round by singing “House of the Rising Sun” in some live band karaoke at the Murray Bros. Caddyshack Restaurant. This event might have been scheduled (his set reportedly lasted for 45 minutes) but Murray is apparently such a fan of karaoke that he’s also sang alongside complete strangers, popping into a group’s Manhattan room to perform songs like Elvis’ “Marie’s the Name.”
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Bill Murray Takes a Cab Driver for a Ride
Rolling Stone's new Bill Murray profile, "Being Bill Murray," opens with the actor in the backseat of a cab. Upon learning that his driver is a sax player who has little time to practice, Murray offers to drive the car while the man plays in the back seat. Eventually, they go get barbeque and the driver entertains everyone on the street. "It was awesome," Murray told Rolling Stone's Gavin Edwards. "I think we'd all do that."
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Bill Murray Turns up at a Birthday Dinner – and Turns Up
Invited by chef Bret McKee, Murray appeared at a birthday party "in the middle of freaking nowhere" and made his mark during the post-dinner dancing, getting buck to Tommy Tutone's "867-5309/Jenny" and DJ Snake and Lil Jon's "Turn Down for What." "The party was in the middle of freaking nowhere, with people Bill didn't know," McKee told Edwards. "And he was great – he was just hanging out like a regular dude. A couple of the guests were old country people, and they were showing him their moose calls."
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Bill Murray Does the Dishes
In 2006, Murray traveled to St. Andrews to play a celebrity golf tournament in the city with the oldest course in the world. After the tournament, he met a young Norwegian woman named Lykke Stavnef, and rather than calling it a day when his fellow players retired to their quarters, he went with her to a nearby house party. Once there, he helped the host wash the dishes. "Nobody could believe it when I arrived at the party with Bill Murray," Stavnef told the Telegraph. "We met him in the bar and he made some jokes. He was just like the character in Lost in Translation."