Bill Murray on the Bill Murray 'No One Will Ever Believe You' Urban Legend
Comic, actor, and ghostbuster Bill Murray is interviewed in this month's issue of GQ, where he claims that he thought Garfield was a Coen brothers movie. He also responds to a famous, often-repeated urban legend in which he features prominently.
The legend, in case you haven't heard it before, usually goes something like this: "My [brother/buddy/cousin] was in [Chicago/New York/Los Angeles] a couple years ago, just walking around, when all of a sudden some guy runs up from behind him and [gives him a bear hug/puts his hands over his eyes/puts him in a headlock and gives him a noogie]. So he spins around and it's freaking Bill Murray, man. Bill Murray! From Ghostbusters, man! No, no—the tall one. You know, he was in Caddyshack? Anyway, Murray looks at my [brother/buddy/cousin] right in the eye, and says, 'No one will ever believe you.' And then he just walks away! How nuts is that, dude?!"
Great story, right? And maybe, if you're the kind of person who believes Murray deserves a Nobel Prize for Groundhog Day, sort of plausible? GQ's Dan Fierman asked him about it during their interview, in an attempt to get a definitive answer. Here's what Murray said:
[long pause] I know. I know, I know, I know. I've heard about that from a lot of people. A lot of people. I don't know what to say. There's probably a really appropriate thing to say. Something exactly and just perfectly right. [long beat, and then he breaks into a huge grin] But by God, it sounds crazy, doesn't it? Just so crazy and unlikely and unusual?
Basically. The whole interview is very much worth reading, if you're a fan.