A Thank You to Bill Murray on Bill Murray Day

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Considering his reputation now, Bill Murray’s “Apology” to Saturday Night Live audiences in 1977 seems like a big joke. His plea to “give him a chance” and admitting he hadn’t had a chance to be funny so far in his tenure is in retrospect, a bizarre moment in Murray’s career. But he got it out of his system, and more importantly, showed something of his personality, the guy behind the characters, and for that decades of audiences are grateful.

Bill Murray is one of the very few stars whose personality sells his films more than even the plots or characters themselves, and his personality is also the reason some of his characters even work. If you think about it, Peter Venkman is kind of an asshole. We’re introduced to him electrocuting people (more or less to entertainment himself), he mocks people to their face, and he’s a tiiiiny bit of misogynist. Had Venkman been played be anyone else, we probably wouldn’t like him very much. Instead, we identify with him…we’re even charmed by him.

The appeal of Murray, as with any beloved movie star, is hard to pin down, but impossible to ignore. Stars are, like their names imply, etherial, mysterious sources of energy we see, but only from a distance. And stars represent something in society, while still being something bigger than themselves. For some, Murray is the extension of the sardonic class clown, or funny uncle you had. For a beloved star, his lovable qualities seem almost to come out in spite of himself. First and foremost, at this stage in his life he seems to just want to be himself, whether playing golf, handing out ice cream, or being a troublemaker, and we’re lucky to be along for the ride.

Today, the Toronto International Film Festival is premiering Murray’s new film Saint Vincent, and doing so they have  declared September the 5th Bill Murray Day. It almost didn’t happen, due to the fact that Murray is really hard to get a hold of. But they tracked him down and he’ll be there, just the way he showed up for Bill Murray Ice Cream Day to hand out Ice Cream to fans who came to watch him filming movie…or taking tickets at a baseball game. The fact is, it’s nice to see someone as well known, and liked as Murray, getting a kick out meeting fans, seeing them smile when he recognizes him. He still enjoys making audiences happy, and that is something which almost 40 years into the business, is nice to see.

What TIFF is doing, declaring a day to celebrate Murray is brilliant, and fitting for one of the stars of Get Low. In Get Low Murray suggested that a man could plan and hold his own funeral, rather than wait until he was gone and couldn’t enjoy the party. Too often we only celebrate the contributions of a beloved figure when something tragic happens or it’s too late. It’s bittersweet to think that Harold Ramis, the other person behind the three films screening on Bill Murray Day, (Stripes, Groundhog Day, and Ghostbusters) passed away just this year. He is someone we never had the chance to celebrate and thank for the laughs, and smiles, and good feelings he gave us.

So while we celebrate Bill Murray, take a lesson that the day is teaching…gratitude is best given when someone is there to receive it.

 

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Lesley Coffin is a feature editor for FF2media and has also written the books Lew Ayres: Hollywood Conscientious Objector (2012) and Hitchcock's Stars (2014), and currently writing a third book. Follow on twitter @filmbiographer for thoughts on movies and cat pictures.
Lesley Coffin
Lesley Coffin
Lesley Coffin is a feature editor for FF2media and has also written the books Lew Ayres: Hollywood Conscientious Objector (2012) and Hitchcock's Stars (2014), and currently writing a third book. Follow on twitter @filmbiographer for thoughts on movies and cat pictures.