Bill Murray's Real Name: William James Murray

Quick answer: Bill Murray's real name is William James Murray. He was born on September 21, 1950, in Evanston, Illinois, a suburb north of Chicago, and grew up in nearby Wilmette. "Bill" is the usual short form of William (Britannica).

Early life

Murray was the fifth of nine children in an Irish Catholic family. His father, Edward, a lumber salesman, died when Bill was 17. He caddied at a local golf club, an experience that later fed into Caddyshack. He went to Loyola Academy, briefly attended Regis University in Denver, and then joined his older brother Brian Doyle-Murray at Chicago's Second City improv theater.

Saturday Night Live

After working on The National Lampoon Radio Hour in New York, Murray joined NBC's Saturday Night Live in 1977, replacing Chevy Chase. Memorable characters included Nick the Lounge Singer and nerd Todd DiLaMuca. He won an Emmy as part of the writing team (Britannica).

Comedy stardom

• Meatballs (1979)
• Caddyshack (1980): as greenskeeper Carl Spackler.
• Stripes (1981)
• Ghostbusters (1984): as Dr. Peter Venkman, returning for Ghostbusters II (1989), Afterlife (2021) and Frozen Empire (2024).
• Scrooged (1988) and What About Bob? (1991).
• Groundhog Day (1993): as weatherman Phil Connors.

The Wes Anderson years and an Oscar nomination

Murray's partnership with director Wes Anderson began with Rushmore (1998). It continued through The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel and others. For Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation (2003) he won a Golden Globe and BAFTA and received a Best Actor Oscar nomination. He won an Emmy for HBO's Olive Kitteridge (2015).

In 2016 he received the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor (Kennedy Center).

Personal life

Murray has been married and divorced twice, to Margaret Kelly and then Jennifer Butler, and has six sons. He famously has no agent, and producers reach him through a voicemail line.