An iconic figure in American cinema since the 1980s, Bill Murray never ceases to surprise, charm, make people laugh and smile—and even move them. Today, the actor is celebrating his 65th birthday. LEC would like to wish him a happy birthday and, on the occasion of your teen language trip to the U.S., we’re taking this opportunity to profile him!
Bill Murray, an actor from Illinois
Bill Murray was born in Chicago, in the state ofIllinois, a region you might have the chance to explore on an upcoming teen language study trip to the USA. Born into a family of Irish descent, he initially pursued a college degree in medicine, but quickly dropped out. His true passion? Comedy—a field he would go on to conquer after moving to the Big Apple.
From Saturday Night Live to the big screen
In New York—another city you might visit during a teen language study trip to the U.S.—he rose to fame by joining the cast of the legendary show *Saturday Night Live*. It was the late 1970s, and soon Bill Murray would become a movie star…
Tootsie, Ghostbusters…
After making a name for himself in *Tootsie* in 1982, his breakthrough came in 1984: he played one of the lead roles in the comedy Ghostbusters. The film was a massive hit, so much so that a sequel was made at the end of the same decade.
… Lost in Translation and Broken Flowers
In the 1990s, the success continued unabated: this was the era ofGroundhog Day and Space Jam. The early years of the third millennium, meanwhile, served to cement his image as a sad clown: we see him in a melancholic mood in Lost in Translation, The Life Aquatic, and Broken Flowers. A filmography that’s more than enough to make anyone’s head spin—Bill Murray, speaking on the subject with his characteristic humor, remarked:“Nothing prepared me for being this awesome. It’s kind of a shock.”