5 Stars
This was my 200th book of the year and the one that completed my 2016 Challenge. Perfect timing is perfect : )
Now, let's get on with the show . . . .
“Do you have any regrets?
“Garfield, maybe.”
As the opening lines of this book state . . . .
“Bill Murray has shown up everywhere, from the sideline of the 1986 NFC Championship Game, wearing an old-fashioned leather football helmet, to the Mediterranean island of Yeronisos, volunteering as a digger on a 2006 NYU archeological expedition.”
At this point Murray sightings/random interactions have reached almost Urban Legend proportion. He may photobomb your wedding photos - or if you’re a hipster invite himself to participate in your game of kickball – or even just appear right behind you andgrab you in the pu$$y cover your eyes while asking you to “guess who?”
Over the course of the years, Bill has “developed an onscreen persona: the wiseass slacker who gets the girl” . . . .
Along the way he has made nearly the entire world fall in love with him. The Tao of Bill Murray provides a bit of backstory regarding his entire acting repertoire, providing details of how his improvisational skills made for some of the most memorable of moments . . . .
And how his . . . . unconventional approach to work had him miss every practice yet somehow manage to nail a pretty intricate scene . . . .
He is an actor who makes directors like Sophia Coppola say things like . . .
“My wish came true. Bill Murray did my movie.”
And demonstrates that . . . .
“In both comedic and dramatic roles, he brings the ineffable spark of Billness.”
But rather than being some puff piece on Murray’s filmography or a snoozer of a biography, this book focuses on the more important things in life. Like using your best “Carl Spangler” voice to prank call one of you best friends who just so happens to be married to Kelly Lynch of Road House fame . . .
“No matter what time, two in the morning, it’s ‘Patrick Swayze’s fucking your wife right now.’ It was kind of funny, the first dozen or so times.”
For me, as a lifetime lover of Chicago Cubs baseball, the highlights of The Tao of Bill Murray were hands-down the various moments shared regarding Bill’s time at Wrigley Field where he prefers to sit “up among the weird and the damned.” . . . .
Bill’s love of the game shines as he remembers the time he filled in for legendary broadcaster Harry Caray (who was recovering from a stroke) in 1987. As Bill says, “that was the peak of my performing career. That was the peak – what I was born for.” And he shows he has zero shame when telling Amaris Ramirez “I’m going to be in the hospital – I’m very sick. Could you hit two home runs for me today?” He is a fan of epic proportions who is able to cross all boundaries of fandom due to his celebrity status – placing bets with players about whether or not they can steal bases or even showing up in the dugout during the game bearing gifts of beer and chili cheese fries. Most importantly, even though the Cubs haven’t won a series since 1908, Bill reminds us all that this could be our year . . . .
Highly recommended to any Bill Murray fan!
Now, let's get on with the show . . . .
“Do you have any regrets?
“Garfield, maybe.”
As the opening lines of this book state . . . .
“Bill Murray has shown up everywhere, from the sideline of the 1986 NFC Championship Game, wearing an old-fashioned leather football helmet, to the Mediterranean island of Yeronisos, volunteering as a digger on a 2006 NYU archeological expedition.”
At this point Murray sightings/random interactions have reached almost Urban Legend proportion. He may photobomb your wedding photos - or if you’re a hipster invite himself to participate in your game of kickball – or even just appear right behind you and
Over the course of the years, Bill has “developed an onscreen persona: the wiseass slacker who gets the girl” . . . .
Along the way he has made nearly the entire world fall in love with him. The Tao of Bill Murray provides a bit of backstory regarding his entire acting repertoire, providing details of how his improvisational skills made for some of the most memorable of moments . . . .
And how his . . . . unconventional approach to work had him miss every practice yet somehow manage to nail a pretty intricate scene . . . .
He is an actor who makes directors like Sophia Coppola say things like . . .
“My wish came true. Bill Murray did my movie.”
And demonstrates that . . . .
“In both comedic and dramatic roles, he brings the ineffable spark of Billness.”
But rather than being some puff piece on Murray’s filmography or a snoozer of a biography, this book focuses on the more important things in life. Like using your best “Carl Spangler” voice to prank call one of you best friends who just so happens to be married to Kelly Lynch of Road House fame . . .
“No matter what time, two in the morning, it’s ‘Patrick Swayze’s fucking your wife right now.’ It was kind of funny, the first dozen or so times.”
For me, as a lifetime lover of Chicago Cubs baseball, the highlights of The Tao of Bill Murray were hands-down the various moments shared regarding Bill’s time at Wrigley Field where he prefers to sit “up among the weird and the damned.” . . . .
Bill’s love of the game shines as he remembers the time he filled in for legendary broadcaster Harry Caray (who was recovering from a stroke) in 1987. As Bill says, “that was the peak of my performing career. That was the peak – what I was born for.” And he shows he has zero shame when telling Amaris Ramirez “I’m going to be in the hospital – I’m very sick. Could you hit two home runs for me today?” He is a fan of epic proportions who is able to cross all boundaries of fandom due to his celebrity status – placing bets with players about whether or not they can steal bases or even showing up in the dugout during the game bearing gifts of beer and chili cheese fries. Most importantly, even though the Cubs haven’t won a series since 1908, Bill reminds us all that this could be our year . . . .
Highly recommended to any Bill Murray fan!
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