Willam James Murray, also known as Bill Murray, was born in Evanston, Illinois, on September 21, 1950.
Murray is a renowned comedian and actor, best known for his performances in 'Ghostbusters', 'Charlie's Angels', 'Caddyshack', and 'Lost In Translation'. He is also the recipient of one Golden Globe Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards.
Here is a collection of Murray's most famous quotes divided into four categories: quotes on life, success and fame, funny quotes, and famous quotes.
Famous Bill Murray Quotes
As mentioned in the introduction, this section deals with some of Murray's most famous quotes.
"Common sense is like deodorant. The people who need it most never use it."
"I had a hilarious experience with Garfield. I only read a few pages of it, and I kind of wanted to do a cartoon movie, because I had looked at the screenplay and it said 'Joel Cohen' on it."
"Well that feels good. Keep talking." (responding to a fan who wrote, "You are absolutely amazing!!! I love you.")
“Just the very thought of someone my age going to visit old girlfriends had instant appeal. Even women think, ‘That would be interesting.’ Not comfortable, but interesting. It is not a comfortable film at any point.” - 'Tears Of A Clown', www.smh.com.au, Garth Pearce, December 10, 2005.
"You're supposed to have one hand up and one hand down. As you're trying to going up, you're trying to pull someone up at the same time."
"It’s fun to watch someone like John Goodman, and yet it takes work. People say ‘he’s not acting, he’s being himself.’ Well it’s hard to be yourself, it’s the hardest job there is."
“A movie like ‘Caddyshack,’ I can walk on a golf course, and some guy will be screaming entire scenes at me and expecting me to do it word for word with him." - www.imdb.com.
"One of the things I like about acting is that, in a funny way, I come back to myself."
"I've retired a couple of times. It's great, because you can just say, 'Oh, I'm sorry. I'm retired.'"
"You can tell how boring a person is by the lack of fear in their eyes when someone is flipping through photos on their phone."
“I improvise whenever I feel it’s important, or whenever I think that something’s there. It’s nice to have a script that’s so well written that I don’t have to improvise.
I mean, I used to have to re-write whole movies; this is kind of nice.” - '1-on-1 With Bill Murray On The Life Aquatic', www.movieweb.com, Brian B., December 20, 2004.
“I count on the kindness of strangers.” - www.wbur.org, October 24, 2015.
"I don't really read the reviews, but I remember one a long time ago I read that said that I had a face like a potato."
"' Groundhog Day' was one of the greatest scripts ever written. It didn't even get nominated for an Academy Award."
“The automatic things you do are basically those things that keep you from doing the better things you need to do.” - 'Bill Murray Talks The 'Kasbah' - And The Merits Of A Life Lived Phoenless', www.wbur.org, October 24, 2015.
Bill Murray Quotes About Success And Fame
Needless to say, Murray has often talked about fame and success. Here, you will get some of his best quotes on this subject.
(Here, at Kidadl, you will get all the famous quotes from the renowned American actor Bill Murray.)
"I realized the more fun I had, the more relaxed I was working, the better I worked."
“Awards are meaningless to me, and I have nothing but disdain for anyone who actively campaigns to get one.” - www.sfgate.com, Daily Dish, March 2, 2004.
"I've had some success in movies, so I really don't think about success. You like to have it, but I'm not desperate for it."
"This is not a dress rehearsal; this is your life."
"That's the reason I'm not the one that's dead because the attraction of the fast life is very powerful."
“I'm just an obnoxious guy who can make it appear charming, that's what they pay me to do.” - www.blankonblank.org, T. J. English, October 1988.
“There’s only a couple of times when fame is ever helpful. Sometimes you can get into a restaurant where the kitchen is just closing. Sometimes you can avoid a traffic violation. But the only time it really matters is in the emergency room with your kids.” - 'Bill Murray: The ESQ+A', www.esquire.com, Scott Raab, May 23, 2012.
“I try to be available for life to happen to me. We’re in this life, and if you’re not available, the sort of ordinary time goes past, and you didn’t live it. But if you’re available, life gets huge. You’re really living it.” - www.charlierose.com, Charlie Rose, February 10, 2014.
"You’ll never be good if you don’t know that you are."
“The secret is to have a sense of yourself, your real self, your unique self. And not just once in a while, or once a day, but all through the day, the week and life.” - 'His Holiness, the Bill Murray', www.edition.cnn.com, David G. Allan, March 7, 2018.
"I've never made any horrible, horrible movies. If you don't ruin your reputation, you can always get work."
"I always want to say to people who want to be rich and famous: 'Try being rich first.' See if that doesn't cover most of it."
Bill Murray Quotes About Life
This section consists of Murry's most famous quotes about life.
"I think midlife crisis is just a point where people's careers have reached some plateau and they have to reflect on their personal relationships."
“It's hard to be an artist. It's hard to be anything. It's hard to be.” - 'Popping Bubbly With Bill Murray', www.dazeddigital.com, Stephen Applebaum, February 27, 2014.
"Grab this day by the neck and kiss it."
“No one really wants to admit they are lonely, and it is never really addressed very much between friends and family. But I have felt lonely many times in my life.” - www.theguardian.com, October 21, 2005.
“If people really want to find you, they find you.” - www.wbur.org, October 24, 2015.
“There are people who drove me crazy, but they got the job done. And when I see that person again, I nod my head. Respect.” - www.esquire.com, Scott Raab, May 23, 2012.
"Life is a game, and it’s much more fun if you play it as your own game, so stay light and loose and relaxed."
"And I don’t like to work. I only like working when I’m working."
“People only talk about what a joyous experience it is, but there is terror: Your life, as you know it, is over.” - Bob Harris, 'Lost In Translation', 2003.
“I don't want to have a relationship with someone if I'm not going to work with them.” - www.geektyrant.com, Joey Paur.
“I think if you can take care of yourself, and then maybe try to take care of someone else, that’s sort of how you’re supposed to live.” - www.imdb.com.
“I’ve killed myself so many times, I don’t even exist anymore.” - Phil, 'Groundhog Day', 1993.
“Don’t think about your errors or failures; otherwise, you’ll never do a thing.” - Old Stone Face Cracks', www.theguardian.com, Garth Pearce, October 22, 2005.
"Every moment that you share someone else's pain, feel what they feel, makes you more human."
“Melancholy is kind of sweet sometimes, I think. It's not a negative thing. It's not a mean thing. It's just something that happens in life, like autumn.” - www.movieweb.com, December 20, 2004.
"We're born alone. We do need each other. It's lonely to really effectively live your life, and anyone you can get help from or give help to; that's part of your obligation."
"Friendship is so weird. You just pick a human you’ve met and you’re like, ‘Yep, I like this one,’ and you just do stuff with them."
"I don't want to be that guy mumbling into his drink at a bar."
Funny Bill Murray Quotes
Bill Murray is second to none when it comes to comedy. This section features some of his funniest quotes that will brighten your day.
"You can handle just about anything that comes at you out on the road with a believable grin, common sense, and whiskey."
“If you're gonna cuss with somebody, you're not gonna cuss with me, you little cuss!” - Badger, 'Fantastic Mr. Fox', 2009.
"I don't have to take this abuse from you -- I have hundreds of people waiting in line to abuse me!"
"Just beat my record for most consecutive days without dying."
"My back hurts. My legs ache. I’m only four!"
“There aren’t many downsides to being rich, other than paying taxes and having relatives asking for money. But being famous, that’s a 24-hour job right there.” - www.imdb.com, Personal Quotes.
"I do absolutely nothing. I go home and stay there. I wash and scrub up each day, and that's it. One month I actually grew a moustache, just so I could say that I'd done something."
“Movie acting suits me because I only need to be good for ninety seconds at a time.” - www.imdb.com.
"Those are my people, you know? The ones who are going to crash and burn."
"People are like music. Some speak the truth, and others are just noise."
'The first 45 minutes of the original Ghostbusters is some of the funniest stuff ever made."
"The cool part about naming your kid is you don’t have to add six numbers to make sure the name is available."
"Whatever you do, always give 100%. Unless you’re donating blood."
"We're Americans! Do you know what that means? It means our forefathers were kicked out of every decent country in the world."
"The critics. When they're right, they're right for the wrong reasons. And they're usually wrong."
- 'Bill Murray: My Dinner With Santa', www.esquire.com, December 23, 2016.
"My iPhone has 2 million times the storage of the 1969 Apollo 11 computer. They went to the moon. I throw birds at pig houses."
"If Google doesn’t know the answer, then it’s not a question."
“In the immortal words of Jean-Paul Sartre: 'Au revoir, gopher!” - Carl Spackler, 'Caddyshack', 1980.
“I have a brother who gives socks for Christmas. He gives socks. Every year, I get a pair of socks from him.” - 'Bill Murray: My Dinner With Santa', www.esquire.com.
“Couldn't you have rented me like, a Porsche or some car that I might really drive? I'm a stalker in a Taurus.” - Don Johnston, 'Broken Flowers', 2005.
"People say I'm difficult. Sometimes that's a badge of honor."
"I really don't know what's going to come out of my mouth."
"Disneyland. The world's biggest people trap, built by a mouse."
“Human sacrifice! Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria!” - Dr. Peter Venkman, 'Ghostbusters', 1984.
"You know…they say an elephant never forgets. What they don’t tell you is, you never forget an elephant."
"Bank guard: What kind of clown are you?
Murray: The crying on the inside kind, I guess."
- 'Quick Change', 1990.
"Every pizza is a personal pizza if you try hard and believe in yourself."
