William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor, comedian and writer. Known for his deadpan delivery, he first rose to fame on Saturday Night Live, a series of performances that earned him his first Emmy Award, and later starred in comedy films—including Meatballs (1979), Caddyshack (1980), Stripes (1981), Tootsie (1982), Ghostbusters (1984), Ghostbusters II (1989), What About Bob? (1991), Groundhog Day (1993), and Kingpin (1996). His only directorial credit is Quick Change (1990), which he co-directed with Howard Franklin.
Murray later starred in Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation (2003), which earned him a Golden Globe and a British Academy Film Award, as well as an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. He also frequently collaborated with directors Wes Anderson and Jim Jarmusch. He received Golden Globe nominations for his roles in Ghostbusters, Rushmore (1998), Hyde Park on Hudson (2012), St. Vincent (2014), and the HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge (2014), for which he later won his second Primetime Emmy Award. Murray received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2016.
Last Updated: June 9, 2021
