You never know when Bill Murray will randomly show up at your next party. The actor has a penchant for playfully interrupting the social gatherings of strangers before vanishing like the mythical creature of cool that he is. There’s even a website tracking his whereabouts and spoofing his stunts, all of which seem to end with Murray telling a group of shocked strangers, “No one will ever believe you.” There are endless stories about the wryly jovial screen star surprising fans and being awesome, but we’ve gathered 14 of the best Murray moments for your enjoyment.
Earlier this week, news surfaced that Murray interrupted Charleston wedding photographer Raheel Gauba’s engagement photo session on the steps of a Meeting Street building. Almost newlyweds Erik Rogers and Ashley Donald seemed distracted during the shoot. “I thought who the heck is bothering them,” Gauba told the Post and Courier . “I turn around and it’s Bill Murray with his shirt up, belly out, tapping his belly and trying to make them laugh.” Gauba invited Murray to join the couple for a photograph, and, naturally, the actor accepted. “I took the shot and off he goes,” Gauba said. Just like Batman, we’re guessing.
The Charleston engagement photo isn’t Murray’s first dalliance with soon-to-be wedded bliss. He also popped up at a stranger’s bachelor party to offer some sound advice about love. The above video cuts right to the good stuff, but you can watch a longer version over here. From one of the partygoers:
Over Memorial Day weekend, 20 of my buddies from Boston College got together in Charleston for our friend EJ’s bachelor party. At one point during dinner at a steakhouse, one guy goes to the bathroom downstairs and sees Bill Murray sitting with some people with a fishing vest on. We talked to the waiter to see if we could send him some drinks, to which Bill declined. One of my buddies then went down and asked if he’d come up and say a few words for EJ and got a “No thanks.” My buddy comes back up dejected and tells us it’s not going to happen. Two minutes later, Bill fucking Murray walks into the room and gives this speech.
Marina Cockenberg of CollegeHumor posted photo evidence of Murray crashing her friend’s kickball game in 2012. Team member Chris DiLella was with his pals playing in a field on New York City’s Roosevelt Island when Murray appeared out of nowhere and joined them. “My favorite moment — he gave us all high-fives… and then posed for a picture with us. Our team lost that day… but we still felt like winners at the end,” DiLella shared. Apparently the Ghostbusters star even picked up someone’s mom in his arms for another photo before dashing off with three young boys — presumed to be his sons.
In an act of art imitating life, Murray partied with a Norwegian student in Scotland and her friends after a celebrity golf tournament. Taking in the sights and sounds of St. Andrews, Murray wound up at a house party with the young Scandinavians. Twenty-year-old student Lykke Stavnef met him in a bar and invited him to the shindig. “He was just like the character in Lost in Translation,” she stated. While there, Murray drank vodka from a coffee cup and helped wash a stack of dishes piling up in the kitchen.
Austin, Texas is host to a number of festivals favored by celebrities for their casual atmosphere. Murray took advantage of the chill vibes by bartending at the city’s Shangri-La during the South by Southwest Festival. You can listen to the nightspot bartender’s first-hand account of the experience in the above video and see Murray in action. Did we mention this Murray stunt involves the Wu-Tang Clan?
Who else would kick off the 50th Chicago Air and Water Show by jumping out of an airplane, 13,500 feet above the city? The Windy City sports fan looked slightly nauseous before making his leap, but always the good sport, the skydive went off without a hitch.
One moment you’re slinging back beers at Karaoke One 7 in New York City, the next you’re performing a duet of an Elvis song with Bill Murray and sipping (ok, chugging) Chartreuse.
Clearly, Murray’s love for karaoke is well documented. While attending the annual Caddyshack Charity Golf Game in Florida, the actor took to the stage for an epic performance, belting out a bluesy rendition of “The House of the Rising Sun” (made popular by The Animals). There was some magical tambourine action, too. He reportedly sang for almost an hour, backed by a live band for several covers, including Van Morrison’s “Gloria.”
Bill Murray doesn’t just show up to a poetry reading. He shows up with two black eyes, reading Sarah Manguso, Cole Porter, and Billy Collins. “No one loves Poet’s House more than Bill,” Poet’s House Vice President Frank Platt said during the 16th annual Poetry Walk Across the Brooklyn Bridge in 2011. The black eyes were a result of makeup from shooting Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom. Murray flew to the Poet’s House event directly after leaving the set. Our favorite part of his “Forgetfulness” reading? That deep breath at the start.
Members of a construction team who built the new Poets House’s location at 10 River Terrace were joined by Murray in 2009 for a poetry reading. Appropriately, he read “Poet’s Work” by Lorine Niedecker (and some Emily Dickinson) before giving a touching speech thanking the workers.
Indie filmmaker David Walton Smith was shooting a commercial for the Trident Academy, which also happens to be the same school where one of Murray’s sons attends classes. The actor was volunteering his time for a spot in the commercial. Instead of asking for an autograph that day, Smith decided to do something more memorable. He filmed himself and the crew walking down a hallway with Murray, set it to slow motion, and created a credits sequence to mimic a Wes Anderson film.
Unless you’re a fan of horror or genre films, you might not know about the Scream Awards. Celebrating the most scream-worthy in cinema, the Spike TV-produced event hosted the Ghostbuster himself in 2010. Murray accepted the award for Zombieland, which won best horror movie of the year. Rising out of the stage in his Ghostbusters gear, the actor charmed the audience with a few funnies and gave a shout out to comedic stars of the past like Gilda Rader, Rodney Dangerfield, and John Candy.
Murray is the only man to conduct the Cornell Big Red Marching Band by waving around a jacket like a matador. His skills know no bounds.
This.