Murray honored for comedy – Comedian awarded Mark Twain prize

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WASHINGTON, Oct 24, (Agencies): In an evening filled with jokes about Bill Murray’s elusiveness and quirky personality, it was David Letterman who provided the most touching moment as Murray was honored with the nation’s top prize for comedy.

Murray, 66, received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Sunday night at the Kennedy Center, joining several other “Saturday Night Live” alumni to win the annual award. After he was presented with a bust of Mark Twain, Murray handed it to a man in the first row of the audience and urged the crowd to pass it around.

Known for living outside the Hollywood bubble, Murray admitted he was uncomfortable sitting in a box with his family while more than a dozen of his co-stars and collaborators spoke warmly about his body of work.

“It’s really hard to listen to all those people be nice to you for two days”, Murray said. “You just get real suspicious”.

His acceptance speech followed a heartfelt tribute by the bearded Letterman, who made a rare public appearance since his late-night show ended last June. Murray was a guest on Letterman’s shows 44 times over the years, and the two grew close, even spending time together at Letterman’s vacation home in Montana.

After an appearance in 2003, Letterman told Murray that his then-infant son would be christened that weekend. An hour later, Letterman said, a package was delivered to his office containing a handmade Irish linen christening gown.

“That Saturday, my son, in Bill Murray’s christening gown, was christened at St Ignatius in Manhattan, and we have this memory, we have this gift, we have this gesture for the rest of our lives”, Letterman said.

There were plenty of laughs at Murray’s expense in evening that took on the tone of a gentle roast. Jimmy Kimmel, Aziz Ansari, Sigourney Weaver and Steve Martin were among those who ribbed Murray for being aloof, unpredictable and difficult to reach — and somehow still lovable.

Tribute

“I think you and I are about as close as two people can be, considering that one of them is you”, Martin said in a video tribute.

The show, which was taped for broadcast Friday on PBS, had one major stumble, courtesy of Miley Cyrus, who cursed repeatedly and made an excuse about smoking too many cigarettes after she botched the lyrics to a version of “My Way”. Despite not having a microphone, Murray came to her rescue, joking with the crowd from his seat as Cyrus and the crew set up for a second attempt at the song, which went more smoothly.

After getting his break on “Saturday Night Live”, Murray went on to star in some of the most successful comedies of the 1980s and 1990s before transitioning into more dramatic roles. He was nominated for an Oscar for his soulful turn as a washed-up actor in Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation”.

He’s become a folk hero in the social-media era by turning up unannounced at wedding receptions, kickball games and house parties. He’s also a regular at Chicago Cubs games and celebrity golf tournaments.

This weekend, he got to meet President Barack Obama. And what did the two men talk about? “Putting”, Murray said before the show.

Murray lives in South Carolina, doesn’t have an agent or a publicist and rarely does in-depth videos. He famously forces people offering him scripts to call an 800 number and leave a voicemail. He said he would have been happy to skip the festivities surrounding the prize, especially if his beloved Chicago Cubs hadn’t already advanced to the World Series.

“If this could all have been done in a letter that I received, that would have been enough”, Murray told The Associated Press on the red carpet. “It’s hard to stand still for this. It’s a squirm-a-thon for me”.

The prize was first awarded in 1998 and goes to those who influence society in the tradition of Samuel Clemens, the writer, satirist and social commentator better known as Mark Twain. Other “Saturday Night Live” alumni who’ve received it include Tina Fey, Will Ferrell and last year’s winner, Eddie Murphy.

Breadwinner

In his speech, Murray — the fifth of nine children — also paid tribute to his older brother, Brian Doyle-Murray, who helped him get his start in improvisational theater. His brother had to be the breadwinner for the family after their father died, and Murray said it took courage for Brian to pursue his dreams.

“My brother had more guts than anyone I ever knew, and the only reason I’m here tonight is because of the guts of my brother Brian”, Murray said. “He’s been waiting a long time to hear that”.

The “Caddyshack” and “Lost in Translation” star got a major salute Sunday from America’s top comedians and Hollywood A-listers, who presented him with one of the nation’s top comedy awards.

“I’m confused and I feel like I’m in a hurricane”, Murray told a crowd in Washington after receiving the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor — quickly goading the audience to pass around his trophy, a small bust of the 19th century writer and humorist, to “see how far back it can get”.

“He’s a man who travels around the world spreading joy and foolishness wherever he goes”, Kimmel told the audience.

“Bill Murray could shove you over the side of the Hoover Dam and you’d be like, ‘Hey, Bill Murray!’ all the way down”, Kimmel said of the comedian.

Murray is known for his notoriously bizarre antics, such as crashing a recreational kickball game in New York in 2012 or joining a couple as an uninvited surprise guest in their engagement photos in South Carolina.

Murray took full advantage of his time in Washington, dining with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and stopping by the White House press briefing room Friday decked out in Cubs attire.

“He was wearing a Cubs jacket, which for a White Sox fan is a little troubling”, US President Barack Obama, who met with the comedian despite their opposing baseball allegiances, told reporters.

Murray first rose to fame in 1977 on the cast of “Saturday Night Live”, playing smarmy crooner “Nick the lounge singer”, before landing his first major big screen role in the 1979 hit “Meatballs”.

By 1980, Murray had quit SNL and over the next two decades became one of Hollywood’s biggest comedic stars through such roles as an oblivious groundskeeper in “Caddyshack” (1980), a supernatural investigator in “Ghostbusters” (1984) and a doomed weatherman in “Groundhog Day” (1993).

In recent years, Murray’s roles have taken a more serious turn, including in a handful of Wes Anderson films such as “Rushmore” (1998) and his Oscar-nominated performance as a worn-out movie star in Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation” (2003), for which he won a Golden Globe.

Born in 1950 in a Chicago suburb, Murray was the fifth of nine children. He first got involved in comedy when he followed his older brother Brian Doyle-Murray onto the cast of Chicago’s famed Second City improvisational comedy troupe.

“The only reason I’m here is because of my brother Brian”, Murray told the crowd.

Former recipients of the Mark Twain Prize include Whoopi Goldberg, Tina Fey, Jay Leno and last year’s winner Eddie Murphy. The award ceremony will air on public broadcaster PBS on Friday.

 

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