Top 10 Most Awesome Real Life Bill Murray Moments

Bill Murray loves his hometown of Chicago, so much that he’ll jump out of a plane to prove it. At the 50th anniversary of the Chicago Air and Water Show, he joined the Army’s Golden Knights, who had previously skydived with former President George H. W. Bush, in a tandem jump, landing on North Avenue Beach. But it wasn’t just devotion to the city that motivated the Oscar-nominated actor; his jump was also in support of USO Illinois, a group that helps wounded war veterans. The best part for fans, of course, was Murray’s calm, cool and collected face on the ground, on the plane and flying through the air.

He’s famous for his acting and his antics, but Bill Murray has also, on several occasions, shared his singing with the world. His guitar playing, well, that’s another story. He knows only one song on guitar, or at least that’s what he told the crowd at the 2007 Crossroads guitar festival before launching into his rendition of the Van Morrison hit Gloria. While the crowd was definitely into his singing and best effort on guitar, he didn’t have to carry the whole song by himself for long. Legendary guitarist Eric Clapton emerged from backstage right after the first chorus to play with Murray and take the lead long enough to finish off the song.

When you hear Bill Murray and karaoke, you probably think of the famous karaoke scene from Lost in Translation. In 2011, though, a group of friends who had rented a room in a New York City karaoke bar got the live version. They saw Murray was also in the bar and invited him to join them. The star accepted, along with two women, and remained part of the group until closing. During that time he belted out some Elvis tunes, sang duets and even took it in stride when the group joked about picking the Ghostbusters theme.

To say that Bill Murray is a sports fan is quite the understatement. He’s a fan of pro teams and college teams alike. In 2011, he attended a college football game between Cornell University and Harvard in secret. Once the game ended and Cornell’s Big Red Band took the field, Murray shed his anonymity and spontaneously became their conductor. Well, at least he acted like he was conducting them while waving a red jacket over his head. At one point, though, Murray and the band really seemed to be in sync. The football crowd, of course, loved it, but who wouldn’t love a surprise Bill Murray performance?

When you get advice from Bill Murray, you remember it the rest of your life. In 2014, Murray decided to join a total stranger’s bachelor party and give a speech offering some words of wisdom, not for the groom who had already made up his mind, but for his friends: when you find that special someone, travel around the world with them first, including the places that are hard to get into and out of, and if you’re still in love when you land, marry them. It’s advice that only Bill Murray could give, and possibly only someone in Murray’s position could follow, but it’s extremely memorable nonetheless.

Bill Murray isn't just part owner of the Charleston RiverDogs, he's also their unofficial Director of Fun. He showed just what that title means in 2012 when the New York Yankees-affiliated Class A baseball team was experiencing a rain delay. When the tarp covered the field, Murray swung into action, first by running on it and then using it as his very own giant slip and slide before heading to his team's dugout, high-fiving those he passed to the vocal delight of the crowd. Now that's some team spirit!

As a celebrity who clearly enjoys interacting with fans, you'd think Bill Murray would be happy signing an autograph when asked. Sometimes, though, an autograph just isn't enough and he'll go the extra mile. That's what filmmaker David Walton found out when Murray agreed to appear in a trailer for a fake film about walking down a hallway in slow motion called Les Cineastes. While this is clearly a very nice gesture on Murray's part, we'd also kind of like to see this fake film turned into a real feature.

Sometimes Bill Murray isn’t the only celebrity in a Bill Murray moment. On stage at a private function during the 2012 AT&T Pro-Am golf tournament, the band coaxed Murray and fellow acting legend Clint Eastwood on stage to sing “Brandy, (You’re a Fine Girl)” by 70s band Looking Glass. Murray knew the song, because of course he did, and jumped right into it. Eastwood, on the other hand, didn’t know the lyrics and said so on stage. That didn’t stop Murray from trying to get the Dirty Harry star to join in. He eventually succeeded in getting Clint to sing one line.

When a story starts with Bill Murray hanging with members of the Wu-Tang Clan, you know it’s going to be a great one. Well, in 2010, Bill Murray was hanging with members of the Wu-Tang Clan in the Shangri-La bar at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. Then, all of a sudden, he was behind the bar serving drinks, the only explanation being... because he’s Bill Murray! According to the bartender who was officially working, Murray would take people’s drink orders and no matter what they had asked for, would hand them a shot of tequila.


Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honourable mentions:


Washing Dishes at a College Party (2006)


Poetry Reading (2011)


Crashing an Engagement Photo (2014)

Bill Murray isn't just a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, you could argue that he's their number one fan, as he is undoubtedly their top celebrity supporter. In 2016, when the Cubs broke one of the longest droughts in all of professional sports to win the World Series, Murray was, of course, in attendance. FOX Sports, who were airing the game, decided to make Murray their correspondent in the locker room interviewing the victorious team. The Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein even sprayed Murray with champagne. While Murray admitted the celebratory beverage burned his eyes a bit, he clearly was having the time of his life.