Happy Birthday Bill Murray – 60 today. Top quotes

Posted on 21 September 2010
By Pierce King
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To celebrate the birthday of the comedy God Bill Murray, Purple Revolver will be featuring the Groundhog Day legend all week.

Bill was born in Wilmette, Illinois on Sept, 21, 1950 and started out of Saturday Night Live with a cast of other 80s movie leading lights including John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd and John Candy.

Ghostbusters hero Bill is infamously hard to get hold of, only checking his answer machine every two weeks and hand picks his movie projects.

Purple Revolver’s favourite film of his is Scrooged, with all its sardonic huomour it proves why after suffering his constant mood swings on set Dan Ackroyd dubbed him ‘The Murricane.’

Here are our top Bill Murray movie quotes…

* Scrooged (1988) – (After throwing water on the waiter he thought was on fire): “A-Ha! Oh, I’m sorry, I thought you were Richrad Pryor!”

* Ghostbusters (1984)
Stantz: “Everything was fine, until dickless here cut off the power grid.”
Mayor: “Is that true?”
Venkman: “Yes, Your Honor, this man has no dick.”

* Stripes (1981)
John Winger: “Cut it out! Cut it out! Cut it out! The hell’s the matter with you? Stupid! We’re all very different people. We’re not Watusi. We’re not Spartans. We’re Americans, with a capital ‘A’, huh? You know what that means? Do ya? That means that our forefathers were kicked out of every decent country in the world. We are the wretched refuse. We’re the underdog. We’re mutts! Here’s proof: his nose is cold! But there’s no animal that’s more faithful, that’s more loyal, more loveable than the mutt. Who saw “Old Yeller?” Who cried when Old Yeller got shot at the end?” [raises his hand]
John Winger: (sarcastically) “Nobody cried when Old Yeller got shot? I’m sure.” [hands are reluctantly raised]
John Winger: “I cried my eyes out. So we’re all dogfaces, we’re all very, very different, but there is one thing that we all have in common: we were all stupid enough to enlist in the Army. We’re mutants. There’s something wrong with us, something very, very wrong with us. Something seriously wrong with us – we’re soldiers. But we’re American soldiers! We’ve been kicking ass for 200 years! We’re 10 and 1! Now we don’t have to worry about whether or not we practiced. We don’t have to worry about whether Captain Stillman wants to have us hung. All we have to do is to be the great American fighting soldier that is inside each one of us. Now do what I do, and say what I say. And make me proud.”

* What About Bob (1991) “Baby steps, get on the elevator…baby steps get on the elevator…
Ah, I’m on the elevator. [Elevator door shuts] Aaahhhhhhhhh!!!”

* Scrooged (1988) “Oh my gosh, does that suck? You guys have got America’s favourite old fart, reading a book, sitting in front of a fireplace. Now, I have to kill all of you.”

* Kingpin (1996) After winning bowling championship: “Finally, Big Ern is above the law.

* Caddyshack (1980) “So I jump ship in Hong Kong and make my way over to Tibet, and I get on as a looper at a course over in the Himalayas. A looper, you know, a caddy, a looper, a jock. So, I tell them I’m a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama, himself.”

* Where the Buffalo Roam (1980) Playing Hunter S Thompson
Dr. Hunter S. Thompson: “Hi sir, it’s Harris from the Post. Can I get you anything sir?”
Candidate: “How’s the family Harris?”
Dr. Hunter S. Thompson: “Oh the family, well that’s bad news. The screwheads finally came and took my daughter away. Let me ask you a question sir, what is this country doing for the doomed? There are two kinds of people in this country, the doomed and the screwheads. Savage tribal thugs who live off their legal incomes, brow deep out there; no respect for human dignity. They don’t know what you and I understand, you know what I mean.”
Candidate: “You ever play football, Harris?”
Dr. Hunter S. Thompson: “Yes sir, thank you sir. I played in college, and they’re gonna get your daughter too sir. I’ve heard their rallies, they like Julie but Tricia… and they really hate you sir. You know that one and a half of the State Senate of Utah are screwheads. You know I was never really frightened by the bopheads and the potheads with their silliness never really frightened me either, but these goddam screwheads, they terrify me. And the poor doomed, the young, and the silly, the honest, the weak, the Italians… they’re doomed, they’re lost, they’re helpless, they’re somebody else’s meal, they’re like pigs in the wilderness.”
Candidate: “Come here Harris, come here. Fuck the doomed!”

* Scrooged (1988)
Female TV exec: “Have you seen this morning’s paper Frank?
Francis Cross: “Ooh, who’s that, she’s pretty?”
Female TV exec: “She’s dead Frank. Apparently, this 80 year-old Grandma was watching your Scrooged promo last night and she just keeled over. It scared her to death.”
Francis Cross: (head in hands) “This is terrific! I knew that ad worked. You cannot buy publicity like this. Gyaahh!”

Do you have a favourite quote that we’ve missed out? Hit us up in the comments below.