The Shangri-Las were an American pop girl group of the 1960s. Between 1964 and 1966 they charted with often heartbreaking teen melodramas, and remain best known for "Leader of the Pack" and "Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)".

Early career[link]

The group was formed at Andrew Jackson High School in Cambria Heights, a part of Queens, New York City, in 1963. It consisted of two sets of sisters: Mary Weiss (lead singer) (born 1948) and Elizabeth "Betty" Weiss (born 1946), and identical twins Marguerite "Marge" (4 February 1948–28 July 1996)^[1] and Mary Ann Ganser (4 February 1948–14 May 1970).^[2][3][4] The girls often appeared as a trio, as Betty Weiss rarely appeared on stage until late 1965, preferring to avoid touring.

They began playing school shows, talent shows, and teen hops, coming to the attention of Artie Ripp, who arranged the group's first record deal with Kama Sutra. Their first recording in December 1963 was "Simon Says", later issued on the Smash label, on which Betty Weiss sang lead. They also recorded "Wishing Well" / "Hate To Say I Told You So", which became their first release in early 1964 when leased to the small Spokane label.^[5]

Initially, the girls performed without a name. But when they signed their first deal, they began calling themselves the Shangri-Las, after a Queens restaurant.

Some discographies list The Beatle-ettes and The Bon Bons, who both issued singles in 1964, as early versions of The Shangri-Las. However, they are different groups.^[6]

Mary Weiss was the main lead singer; Betty, however, took lead on "Maybe", "Shout" and a number of B-sides and album tracks. Mary Ann Ganser took lead on "I'm Blue",^{[citation needed]} which is a cover of the Ikettes biggest hit at the time, and was included on their 1965 album "Shangri-Las 65!". Mary Ann also takes the lead on "Sophisticated Boom Boom" b-side of "Long Live Our Love".^{[citation needed]}

Success at Red Bird Records[link]

	"Remember (Walking In The Sand)" noicon In 2004, The Shangri-Las' 1964 recording of "Remember (Walking In The Sand)" placed #395 on Rolling Stone's list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
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In April 1964, when the girls were still minors, their parents signed with Red Bird Records; Mary was 15, Betty was 17, and the Ganser twins 16. Having been hired by record producer George "Shadow" Morton, they had their first success with the summer hit, "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" (U.S. #5, UK #14). Billy Joel, a then-unknown working as a session musician, played on the demo of "Remember (Walkin' In The Sand)".^[7] The demo was nearly seven minutes long, too long for Top 40 radio. Morton had hired the group to perform on the demo, but Red Bird released a re-recorded version. Morton faded the new version out around 2:16.

The recordings for Morton featured lavish production with heavy orchestration and sound effects, and their next and biggest hit, "Leader of the Pack" (U.S. #1, UK #11), climaxes with roaring motorcycles and breaking glass. UK re-issues peaked at #3 in 1972 and #7 in 1976. The song epitomized the "death disc"; other examples include Ray Peterson's "Tell Laura I Love Her", Jan and Dean's "Dead Man's Curve", J Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers's "Last Kiss," Mark Dinning's "Teen Angel," and Twinkle's "Terry".

By the end of 1964 the group was an established act. They performed with the Beatles, toured with R&B artists such as The Drifters and James Brown (who, according to Mary Weiss, was surprised to discover the girls were white), and Cashbox magazine listed them as best new R&B group. They also promoted Revlon cosmetics. In March 1965 they toured the UK with Dusty Springfield and The Zombies.^[8]

Because Betty did not tour until summer of 1965, and because she often did not appear in photos, many fans believed the Shangri-Las were a trio.

The group alternated between touring with their own band and local bands. Among the latter were the Sonics, as well as the Iguanas, featuring a young Iggy Pop.

Public image[link]

The Shangri-Las' 'tough girls' persona set them apart from other girl groups. Having grown up in a rough neighborhood of Queens, they were less demure than their contemporaries. Rumors about supposed escapades have since become legend, for example the story that Mary Weiss attracted the attention of the FBI for transporting a firearm across state lines. In her defense, she said someone tried to break into her hotel room one night, and for protection she bought a pistol.

Whatever truth these stories may have, they were believed by fans in the '60s, and they helped cement the group's bad-girl reputation. According to Weiss, that persona helped fend off advances from musicians on tours.

The Shangri-Las continued to chart with fairly successful U.S. hit records, specializing in adolescent themes such as alienation, loneliness, abandonment and death. Singles included "Give Him a Great Big Kiss", "Out in the Streets", "Give Us Your Blessings", the top ten hit "I Can Never Go Home Anymore", "Long Live Our Love" (a rare example of a song dedicated to the men at the time fighting overseas in Vietnam), "He Cried" and the spoken-word "Past, Present and Future", featuring music from Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata". Noteworthy B-sides included "Heaven Only Knows", "The Train from Kansas City", "Dressed in Black" and "Paradise" (written by Harry Nilsson).

Among titles in critics' favorites lists is "I Can Never Go Home Anymore", the story of a girl who leaves home for a boy; her pride keeps her from returning to her mother who "grew so lonely in the end/the angels picked her for their friend". Lines from "Give Him a Great Big Kiss" include "When I say I'm in love, you best believe I'm in love, L-U-V", and "Well I hear he's bad." "Hmm, he's good-bad, but he's not evil." "Past, Present and Future" has been said to be about rape, something Weiss disagrees with. She has said it is about "teenage angst," heartbreak and "being hurt and angsty and not wanting anyone near you."^[9][10]

Disintegration and retirement[link]

The group appeared on several TV shows, but in 1966 two of three releases on Red Bird failed to crack the U.S. top 50, although the group remained popular in England and Japan. Mary Ann Ganser left, but returned early in 1967 when Marge—the most outspoken member, sometimes considered the leader^[11]—left. Red Bird Records had folded. The group recorded more tracks with Morton (some of which remain unreleased) and signed with Mercury Records.^[11] However, Morton had begun working with Janis Ian and Vanilla Fudge, and Mercury had little enthusiasm for the group. During their Mercury stint the Shangri-Las had no further hits, and in 1968 they disbanded, amid litigation.

All the Shangri-Las withdrew from the spotlight. Morton said "The Shangri-Las vacated, they vanished". Reportedly, they were angry that they had received few royalties despite the millions of records they had sold.

Mary Weiss moved to New York's Greenwich Village, then to San Francisco. Returning to Manhattan a few years later, and prevented from recording because of lawsuits, she worked as a secretary while taking college classes. She then went into the architectural industry, working in the accounting department of a New York architectural firm. She moved up to be the chief purchasing agent and later ran the commercial furniture dealership. In the late eighties she managed a furniture store and was an interior designer. By 2001 she was a furniture consultant to New York businesses.^[12][13] She married in 1974 but the marriage ended in 1988; she married again several years later, and her second husband now manages her music career.

Betty Weiss also married, and had a daughter (who was raised with the help of her brother George Weiss, who died in 1998), the only member of the group to have a child. She worked for the cosmetics company Charles of the Ritz in Manhattan and later started her own business on Long Island.

Mary Ann Ganser died on March 14, 1970, aged 22. The cause of her death has been variously reported as encephalitis, a seizure disorder, or barbiturates.^[4][14]

Marge Ganser married (becoming Marguerite Ganser Dorste), worked for NYNEX in Valley Stream, New York, and died of breast cancer on July 28, 1996 at 48.^[15]

The group declined offers to perform throughout the 1970s, although they did a few random live performances. But following the successful re-issue of "Leader of the Pack" in the UK in 1976, which renewed interest in the group, Mary and Betty Weiss and Marge Ganser reunited. Contacting Seymour Stein of Sire Records, they spent summer 1977 in New York with producer Andy Paley. Paley said the sessions went well, but they weren't satisfied with all the material and declined to release the record. The tapes are now owned by the Warner Music Group. They did, however, give a live performance at CBGBs; Paley put together a band, including Lenny Kaye, and after two hours rehearsing the Shangri-Las returned to the stage for the first time in a decade. Although the Sire sessions came to naught, the group toyed with signing with another label but were put off by the insistence of record executives that they be a disco vocal group, the musical trend of the day. Mary said she envisioned the Shangri-Las like punk singer Patti Smith. The Shangri-Las split up.

Since the 1980s a trio has called itself the Shangri Las, although unconnected with the original group. The tribute act was put together by Dick Fox, who claimed to have bought the rights to the name, and resulted in legal action from both sides. The original group performed for the last time at a reunion show hosted by Cousin Brucie (Bruce Morrow) in East Rutherford, New Jersey on June 3, 1989.

In March 2007 Norton Records released a solo album by Mary Weiss (backed by garage rockers, The Reigning Sound) called Dangerous Game. She has been performing in the United States, Spain and France and is working on a new album for 2010.

Influence[link]

The street-wise image of The Shangri-Las—initially a promotional device for "Leader of the Pack"^[8]—contrasted with other "girl groups" of the 1960s, and they were cited as an influence by 70s punk rock-era acts such as the New York Dolls and Blondie, who twice covered "Out in the Streets," and Aerosmith, who covered "Remember (Walking in the Sand)." The Go-Go's, since their early punk rock days in Los Angeles clubs, have been performing live "Remember (Walking in the Sand)".

The line from "Give Him a Great Big Kiss"—"When I say I'm in love, you best believe I'm in love, L-U-V"—was used by the New York Dolls on their 1973 recording "Looking for a Kiss". The New York Dolls' guitarist Johnny Thunders included a cover of "...Great Big Kiss" on his first solo album So Alone. Ian Svenonius also used the line at the beginning of "Today I Met the Girl I'm Going to Marry" by his band Nation of Ulysses on the album 13-Point Program to Destroy America. More recently, Ryan Adams (and the Cardinals) paid homage to that line in their song "Beautiful Sorta" off the album Cold Roses, but they changed it to "When I say L-U-V, you better believe me L-U-V. Give me a beer!" In 2005 Julian Cope parodied the famous line in "Dying to Meet You" from his Citizen Cain'd album. He's heard to say “When I say I’m dead you best believe I’m dead, D-E-A-D” during the outro. In an outtake of "Careless" from their album Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash, The Replacements opened with the line "When I say I'm in debt, you best believe I'm in debt, D-E-T!"

In 1972, "Leader of the Pack" was performed by Bette Midler on her debut album "The Divine Miss M". The opening from "Leader of the Pack"—"Is she really going out with him?"—was recycled both as the opening lines of 1976's "New Rose" by the Damned, the first British punk rock single, and of "Kill" by the parody punk group Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias, as well as the title of the 1979 hit song by Joe Jackson.

Twisted Sister covered, "Leader of the Pack" on their 1985 album, "Come Out and Play", that went Gold.

The Shangri-Las' "Past, Present and Future" was covered in 2004 by ex-ABBA singer Agnetha Fältskog on her album, My Colouring Book.

Australian artist Rowland S. Howard reworked "He Cried" as "She Cried" to tremendous effect.

Although most covers and remakes of The Shangri-Las material focus on the hit singles, some express the group's influence on them by recording songs from The Shangri-Las which were never released as singles by the group. Among these, the Los Angeles rock group Red Kross covered "Heaven Only Knows," an album cut from The Shangri-Las second album "Shangri-Las '65," and Superchunk, Belle and Sebastian, The Shop Assistants and Neko Case recorded versions of "The Train From Kansas City," which was a b-side, and an album cut from The Shangri-Las debut album, "Leader of the Pack."

British singer Amy Winehouse cited The Shangri-Las as an influence and occasionally integrated the hook lyrics from "Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)" into the bridge of her song "Back to Black" during live performances.

Faris Badwan of The Horrors has listed The Shangri-Las as an influence in The Horrors' sound and lyrics, and had added a reworked version of "He Cried" to "She Cried" into The Horrors' song, "Who Can Say," using the lines, "And when I told her I didn’t love her anymore, she cried/and when I told her, her kisses were not like before, she cried/and when I told her another girl had caught my eye, she cried/and I kissed her, with a kiss that could only mean goodbye," in spoken-word with a drum beat similar to that The Shangri-Las used. The song is also originally, "She Cried" by Jay and the Americans, another (if slight) influence over The Horrors.

Atlanta, GA band Black Lips called their 2007 album Good Bad Not Evil, after the line in "Give Him A Great Big Kiss."

Sonic Youth referenced the "very, very close" lyric of Give Him A Great Big Kiss on the Kim Gordon/Kim Deal duet Little Trouble Girl in 1995. Early punk band The Slits also reference the song in Love Und Romance on the 1979 album Cut.

The Bat For Lashes song What's A Girl To Do? has been widely acknowledged as a Shangri Las pastiche.

Kathleen Hanna of the electropunk group Le Tigre has mentioned that the "one girl calling another" motif and the opening sound of seagulls on the track "What's Yr Take on Cassavetes?" were inspired by The Shangri-Las.^[16]

The Shangri-Las were imitated by groups like The Nu-Luvs, who had a hit with "So Soft, So Warm", which was originally recorded by The Shangri-Las as "Dressed In Black" and used as the b-side to Jay and the Americans' original, "He Cried". Others included the Pussycats and the Whyte Boots, who scored big with their single "Nightmare", originally intended for The Shangri-las, and written, produced and performed by Lori Burton and Pam Sawyer. The Goodees had a hit in early 1969 with "Condition Red", a "Leader of the Pack" inspired tale about a girl who wants to be with her long haired, bearded boyfriend despite her parents' objections.

The Detergents had hits with "Leader of the Laundromat" and "I Can Never Eat Home Any More", both of which parodied The Shangri-Las.

Giddle Partridge and Boyd Rice recently covered "Past, Present, and Future."

Brooklyn band Vivian Girls cite The Shangri-Las as one of their influences.

Finnish rock band HIM is using "Dressed in Black" as an intro song for their current tour promoting their latest album Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice.

Marianne Faithfull has released a cover of "Past, Present and Future" on her 2011 album Horses and High Heels.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• 1964: Leader of the Pack (U.S. #109)
• 1965: Shangri-Las-65!, re-packaged later the same year with a different cover under the title I Can Never Go Home Anymore.

Compilation albums[link]

• 1966: Golden Hits of the Shangri-Las
• 1975: The Shangri-Las Sing
• 1994: Myrmidons of Melodrama
• 1996: The Best of the Shangri-Las
• 2002: Myrmidons of Melodrama (Re-issue)
• 2008: Remembered
• 2008: Greatest Hits
• 2009: The Complete Collection

Singles[link]

All released on Red Bird label except where stated.

• 1964: "Wishing Well"/"Hate to Say I Told You So" (Spokane label, later reissued on Scepter)
• 1964: "Remember (Walking in the Sand)"/"It's Easier to Cry" (U.S. #5, UK #14)
• 1964: "Leader of the Pack"/"What Is Love?" (U.S. #1, UK #11 (1964), UK #3 (1972), UK #7 (1976))
• 1964: "Simon Says"/"Simon Speaks" (recorded in 1963/64, issued on Smash label)
• 1964: "Give Him a Great Big Kiss"/"Twist and Shout" (U.S. #18)
• 1964: "Maybe"/"Shout" (U.S. #91)
• 1965: "Out in the Streets"/"The Boy" (U.S. #53)
• 1965: "Give Us Your Blessings"/"Heaven Only Knows" (U.S. #29)
• 1965: "Right Now and Not Later"/"The Train From Kansas City" (U.S. #99)
• 1965: "I Can Never Go Home Anymore"/"Bull Dog" (U.S. #6)
• 1966: "Long Live Our Love"/"Sophisticated Boom Boom" (U.S. #33)
• 1966: "He Cried"/"Dressed in Black" (U.S. #65)
• 1966: "Past, Present and Future"/"Paradise" (U.S. #59)
• 1967: "The Sweet Sounds of Summer"/"I'll Never Learn" (U.S. #123) (Mercury label)
• 1967: "Take the Time"/"Footsteps on the Roof" (Mercury label)

Notes[link]

References[link]

• "Shangri-Las 77!", footnote 4, by Phil X Milstein, Spectropop

External links[link]

• The Shangri-Las.com
• Out In The Streets, The Story of The Shangri-Las, an extensive article by John J. Grecco]
• "Songs of The Stonewall Club" featuring Mary Weiss & The Shangri-Las
• Article by David Galassie
• Norton Records Mary Weiss' new label. Site includes extensive 2006 interview with Mary, and discography]
• Mary Weiss official web site
• Mary Weiss' page on MySpace
• Mary Weiss Guest List at Discollective
• Leader of the pack, and back
• August 2008 Interview with L.A. Record

Listening[link]

• Interview with Mary Weiss from Fresh Air radio program, NPR Podcast, March 6, 2007
• Interview with Mary Weiss from WFMU-FM, Real Audio archive, October 9, 2007

Bill Murray
Murray at the premiere of Get Low at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	William James Murray (1950-09-21) September 21, 1950 (age 61) Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, comedian, writer, golfer
Years active	1973–present
Spouse	Margaret Kelly (1981–1996) Jennifer Butler (1997–2008)
Children	With Kelly: 2, With Butler: 4
Family	Brothers: John Murray, Joel Murray, Brian Doyle-Murray Nancy Murray (sister)

William James "Bill" Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor, comedian and golfer. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack (1980), Ghostbusters (1984), and Groundhog Day (1993). Murray gained additional critical acclaim later in his career, starring in Lost in Translation (2003), that earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor nomination, and a series of films directed by Wes Anderson, including Rushmore (1998), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) and Moonrise Kingdom (2012).

Early life[link]

Murray was born and raised in Wilmette, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, the son of Lucille (née Collins), a mail room clerk, and Edward Joseph Murray II, a lumber salesman.^[1][2] Murray's father died in 1967 from complications of diabetes when Bill was 17 years old.^[3][4] Murray, along with his eight siblings, was raised in an Irish American family.^[5] Three of his siblings are actors: John Murray, Joel Murray and Brian Doyle-Murray. A sister, Nancy, is an Adrian Dominican nun in Michigan, who has traveled the United States in a one-woman programme, portraying St. Catherine of Siena.^[6]

As a youth, Murray read children's biographies of American heroes like Kit Carson, Wild Bill Hickok and Davy Crockett.^[7] He attended St. Joseph grade school and Loyola Academy. During his teen years, he worked as a golf caddy to fund his education at the Jesuit high school.^[7][8] One of his sisters had polio and his mother suffered several miscarriages.^[7] During his teen years he was the lead singer of a rock band called the Dutch Masters and took part in high school and community theatre.

After graduating, Murray attended Regis University in Denver, Colorado, taking premedical courses. However, he quickly dropped out, returning to Illinois.^[9] In 2007, however, Regis awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree.^[10]

Around 1971, police arrested Murray at Chicago's O'Hare Airport for trying to smuggle 9 pounds of marijuana which he had allegedly intended to sell.^[8][9]

Career[link]

Second City[link]

With an invitation from his older brother, Brian, Murray got his start at The Second City in Chicago, an improvisational comedy troupe, studying under Del Close.^[11] In 1974, he moved to New York City and was recruited by John Belushi^[12] as a featured player on The National Lampoon Radio Hour.

[edit] Saturday Night Live

In 1975, an Off Broadway version of a Lampoon show led to his first television role as a cast member of the ABC variety show Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell that featured animal acts and little kids with loud voices.^[11] That same season, another variety show titled NBC's Saturday Night premiered. Cosell's show lasted just one season, canceled in early 1976.

After working in Los Angeles with the "guerrilla video" commune TVTV on a number of projects, Murray rose to prominence in 1976. He joined the cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live for the show's second season, following the departure of Chevy Chase.^[13]

A Rutland Weekend Television sketch Eric Idle brought for his appearance on SNL developed into the 1978 mockumentary All You Need Is Cash with Murray (alongside other SNL cast members) appearing as "Bill Murray the K", a send-up of New York radio host Murray the K, in a segment of the film that is an obvious parody of the Maysles Brothers's documentary The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit.

During the first few seasons of SNL, Murray was in a romantic relationship with fellow cast member Gilda Radner.^[14]

Film career[link]

Murray at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival

Murray landed his first starring role with the film Meatballs in 1979. He followed this up with his portrayal of famed writer Hunter S. Thompson in 1980's Where the Buffalo Roam. In the early 1980s, he starred in a string of box-office hits including Caddyshack, Stripes, and Tootsie.

Murray became the first guest on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman on February 1, 1982. He would later appear on the first episode of The Late Show with David Letterman in August 1993, when the show moved to CBS. On January 31, 2012 – 30 years after his first appearance with Letterman, Murray appeared again on his talk show.

Murray began work on a film adaptation of the novel The Razor's Edge. The film, which Murray also co-wrote, was his first starring role in a dramatic film. He later agreed to star in Ghostbusters, in a role originally written for John Belushi. This was a deal Murray made with Columbia Pictures in order to gain financing for his film.^[15] Ghostbusters became the highest-grossing film of 1984. But The Razor's Edge, which was filmed before Ghostbusters but not released until after, was a box-office flop.

Upset over the failure of Razor's Edge, Murray took four years off from acting to study philosophy and history at the Sorbonne, frequent the Cinematheque in Paris, and spend time with his family in their Hudson River Valley home.^[12] During that time, his second son, Luke, was born.^[7] With the exception of a cameo appearance in the 1986 movie Little Shop of Horrors, he did not make any appearances in films, though he did participate in several public readings in Manhattan organized by playwright/director Timothy Mayer and in a production of Bertolt Brecht's A Man's A Man.^[7]

Murray returned to films in 1988 with Scrooged and the sequel Ghostbusters II in 1989. In 1990, Murray made his first and only attempt at directing when he co-directed Quick Change with producer Howard Franklin. His subsequent films What About Bob? (1991) and Groundhog Day (1993) were box-office hits and critically acclaimed.

After a string of films that did not do well with audiences (one of the exceptions being his role in the 1996 comedy Kingpin), he received much critical acclaim for Wes Anderson's Rushmore for which he won Best Supporting Actor awards from the New York Film Critics Circle, National Society of Film Critics, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (tying with Billy Bob Thornton). Murray decided to take a turn towards more dramatic roles. Murray then experienced a resurgence in his career as a dramatic actor, taking on roles in Wild Things, Cradle Will Rock, Hamlet (as Polonius), and The Royal Tenenbaums.

In 2003, he garnered considerable acclaim for Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation, and went on to earn a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, and an Independent Spirit Award, as well as Best Actor awards from a number of film critic organizations.^[16] He was considered a favorite to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, although Sean Penn ultimately won the award for his performance in Mystic River. In an interview included on the Lost in Translation DVD, Murray states that this is his favorite movie in which he has appeared. Also in 2003, he appeared in a short cameo for the movie Coffee and Cigarettes, in which he played himself "hiding out" in a local coffee shop.

During this time, Murray still appeared in comedic roles such as Charlie's Angels and Osmosis Jones. In 2004, he provided the voice of Garfield in Garfield: The Movie, and again in 2006 for Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties. (Later, Murray claimed that he only took part because he was under the misguided impression the screenplay, actually co-written by Joel Cohen, was the work of Joel Coen). In 2004, he made his third collaboration with Wes Anderson in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. His dramatic role in Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers was also well received.

In 2005, Murray announced that he would take a break from acting,^[17] as he had not had the time to relax since his new breakthrough in the late 1990s. He did return to the big screen, however, for brief cameos in Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited and in Get Smart as Agent 13, the agent in the tree. In 2008, he played an important role in the post-apocalyptic film City of Ember, and in 2009, played himself in a cameo role in the zombie comedy Zombieland.

Murray provided the voice for the character Mr. Badger for the 2009 animated film Fantastic Mr. Fox. Though there was speculation that he might return to the Ghostbusters franchise^[18] for the rumored Ghostbusters 3,^[19] he dispelled such speculation in a recent interview with GQ. In March 2010, Bill Murray appeared on Late Show with David Letterman and talked about his return to Ghostbusters III, stating "I'd do it only if my character was killed off in the first reel".^[20] In an interview with GQ, Murray said: "You know, maybe I should just do it. Maybe it'd be fun to do." In the interview, when asked "Is the third Ghostbusters movie happening? What's the story with that?", Bill Murray replied, "It's all a bunch of crock."^[21] Despite this comment, later reports by Dan Aykroyd^[22] and Stefano Paginini^[23] suggest the movie is well underway, and the script has already been approved.

Golf-related work[link]

Bill Murray golfing

Murray is an avid golfer who often plays in celebrity tournaments. His 1999 book Cinderella Story: My Life in Golf, part autobiography and part essay, expounds on his love of the game. In 2002, he and his brothers starred in the Comedy Central series, The Sweet Spot, which chronicled their adventures playing golf. Caddyshack, one of Murray's earliest film roles, has him playing assistant greens-keeper Carl Spackler who lives in the golf course's tool shed. The title of his book is derived from a scene he played in Caddyshack, narrating his own golf fantasy (which was listed as #92 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes list).

Murray's love for golf is also displayed in Space Jam, Lost in Translation, and Zombieland.

On February 13, 2011, Murray, playing with tournament champion D. A. Points, won the Pro-Am championship at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Outside of show business[link]

He is a partner with his brothers in Murray Bros. Caddy Shack, a restaurant located near St. Augustine.^[24]

He is a part-owner of the St. Paul Saints independent minor-league baseball team and occasionally travels to Saint Paul, Minnesota to watch the team's games.^[25] He also owns part of the Charleston RiverDogs, Hudson Valley Renegades, and the Brockton Rox. He invested in a number of other minor league teams in the past, including the Utica Blue Sox, Fort Myers Miracle, Salt Lake Sting (APSL) and Salt Lake City Trappers. He was also a part-owner of the Auburn Astros (now the Auburn Doubledays) in Auburn, New York.^{[citation needed]}

Being very detached from the Hollywood scene, Murray does not have an agent or manager and reportedly only fields offers for scripts and roles using a personal telephone number with a voice mailbox that he checks infrequently.^[26] This practice has the downside of sometimes preventing him from taking parts that he had auditioned for and was interested in, such as that of Sulley in Monsters, Inc., Bernard Berkman in The Squid and the Whale, Frank Ginsburg in Little Miss Sunshine and Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.^[27] He also regretted losing the chance to play Eddie Valiant in Who Framed Roger Rabbit when he heard that he was considered for the role, which he says he would have definitely accepted.^[28]

Personal life[link]

Eric Clapton and Murray kicking off the Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2007

During the filming of Stripes, Murray married Margaret Kelly on Super Bowl Sunday in Las Vegas on January 25, 1981.^[7][11] Later, they re-married in Chicago for their families.^[11] Margaret gave birth to two sons, Homer (born 1982) and Luke (born 1985). Luke is an assistant basketball coach at Towson University, located outside of Baltimore, MD. Following Murray's affair with Jennifer Butler, the couple divorced in 1996. In 1997, he married Butler. Together, they have four sons: Caleb (born January 11, 1993), Jackson (born October 6, 1995), Cooper (born January 27, 1997), and Lincoln (born May 30, 2001). Butler filed for divorce on May 12, 2008, accusing Murray of domestic violence, infidelity, and sex, drug and alcohol addiction.^[29] Their divorce was finalized on June 13, 2008.

Murray has homes in Los Angeles, California; Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts;^[30] Charleston, South Carolina; and Rockland County, New York, just outside of New York City.^[31]

During the 2000 presidential campaign, Murray supported Green Party candidate Ralph Nader.^[32]

Murray is a fan of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago pro sports teams, especially the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bears and the Chicago Bulls. (He was once a guest color commentator for a Cubs game during the 1980s.)^[33] Murray is an avid Quinnipiac University basketball fan, where his son served as head of basketball operations. Murray is a regular fixture at home games. He cheered courtside for the Illinois Fighting Illini's game against the University of North Carolina in the NCAA Basketball Tournament's championship game in 2005. He is a fixture at home games of those teams when in his native Chicago. After traveling to Florida during the Cubs playoff run to help "inspire" the team (Murray told Cubs slugger Aramis Ramírez he was very ill and needed two home runs to give him the hope to live),^[34] he was invited to the champagne party in the Cubs' clubhouse when the team clinched the NL Central in late September 2007, along with fellow actors John Cusack, Bernie Mac, James Belushi, and former Cubs legend Ron Santo. Murray appeared in Santo's documentary, This Old Cub.

As a Chicago native, Murray appeared at the 50th annual Chicago Air & Water Show in August 2008. He performed a tandem jump with the U.S. Army Parachute Team Golden Knights.^[35] He was the M.C. for Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival on July 28, 2007, where he dressed in various guises of Clapton as he appeared through the years. He was MC again in 2010. Also because of his roots in the Chicago area, the founders of Housing Opportunities and Maintenance for the Elderly (H.O.M.E.) Michael and Lilo Salmon, were able to contact him through his former sister-in-law for support. In 1987 he made a sizeable donation to assist in the development and building of the Nathalie Salmon House. This home has been able to provide affordable housing for low-income seniors. Michael and Lilo Salmon credited him as performing "miracles" for them.

Filmography[link]

References[link]

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