Bill Murray Turns to 'Saturday Night: Live' To Fix His Battered Image

Bill Murray’s career has had mythical aspects to it, like many people from his generation. Decades of stories have been discussed online, but I even remember hearing stories at school. Someone knew someone who was eating at a Burger King and Murray came up, ate one of their fries, and said, “No one will believe you if you tell them this happened.” He crashed a college party around the same time, something my (non-partying) friends and I thought was the coolest. The man fought Chevy Chase! Little did I know that these were the actions of someone less-than-fun to work with … or be around.

I admit that my love of Ghostbusters allowed me to see Murray with rose-colored glasses for most of my life. Even then, there was always something bubbling under the surface. I knew that there were multiple attempts over the decades to get a new Ghostbusters film made and that Murray was always the holdout. He would be difficult to contact, and rude in his replies, and I still assumed that he was just holding on to some kind of eccentric artistic integrity. It might be! But it also seems like Murray is a big old prick.

Murray’s behavior has bled more into the open in recent years. The stories have always been there. He made Lucy Liu cry. Sofia Coppola claimed he did not get along with Scarlett Johansson while filming Lost In Translation. Harold Ramis once threw him up against a wall. But these stories sort of added to Murray’s mystique, likely because they weren’t costing anybody money. That all changed with Aziz Ansari’s film Being Mortal. The movie was suspended after Murray harassed a female production assistant whom he then paid $100,000.

After this incident, Geena Davis accused Murray of harassing her, attempting to seduce her, and humiliating her on The Arsenio Hall Show. The Davis story is not significantly different than other stories told about Murray in the past, but now people take it more seriously. Soon after, the man who halted so many Ghostbuster films was front and center for the newest one’s marketing, clearly trying to get back into people’s good graces. Now, he’s appealing to his old stomping grounds for a second chance.

Murray recently appeared on the New Heights podcast and Saturday Night: Live came up. The actor quickly defended the show’s current form. “People always give me a hard time about, ‘Oh, the original show was so great, and it’s lousy now,’” he explained. “And I say, ‘No, it’s not.’ The show that’s on now, they do stuff that’s just as good as anybody ever did, all the time.” He ain’t wrong! But he does sound desperate and took that desperation to the next level.

SNL is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year, and Murray wants in on the action. “I told ‘em I’d like to host one this year,” noted Murray. “So, maybe if I get organized. I think I did it two other times when I was there. I’d like to try it one more time. It might be the last time to try it.” I don’t doubt Murray will appear on SNL in some form this season. Maybe as a host. Still, even a show that regrets not hiring Shane Gillis likely has its limits, and despite Murray’s storied career, he’ll likely continue to find himself stranded on an island of his own making.

The myth has caught up with the man, and the results are not pretty.