The Film History of Bill Murray Quiz

Answer: Tripper

Among discerning filmgoers 'Meatballs' will never be confused with 'Citizen Kane', but it's worth watching simply to observe Bill Murray's performance as Tripper Harrison, a counselor at a crazy summer camp. Remember the chant, 'It Just Doesn't Matter'?

Answer: Dan Aykroyd

In a holistic sense, the plot for this film (and much of the dialogue) is incredibly inane, but the individual performances make it a comedy classic. None of the performances is more memorable than Murray's turn as Carl Spackler. Who can forget his famous Dalai Lama speech? 'Do you know what the Lama says? Gunga galunga...gunga, gunga-galunga.' Rumor has it that he improvised that speech and more for this film (nor really a rumor, actually! Murray apparently always improvises.) Pure comic genius!

Answer: Stripes

Again working with Ivan Reitman, and co-starring his director from 'Caddyshack' Harold Ramis, Murray puts it all on the screen for his fans--the smarm; playing it dumb but lovable, and actually making the audience care for his otherwise shiftless character John Winger. In the classic words of Winger, 'We're America, we're ten and one!'

Answer: Venkman

Murray portrays Dr. Peter Venkman, though I had a hard time being convinced that this clown actually had the patience to acquire a Ph.D. Again, Ivan Reitman directs Murray in a role that was initially meant to go to the late John Belushi. Though I'm a huge Belushi fan, I'm not sure that he would have been able to pull of such a cutesy role. Murray was perfect!

Answer: False

Indeed, he was not recognized by the academy. In fact, Murray's first Oscar nomination did not come until his 2003 performance in 'Lost in Translation'. 'The Razor's Edge' is an interesting film, and Murray provides a good performance. He also wrote the screenplay, showing off his diverse talents.

Answer: Dentists

'Little Shop of Horrors' was a musical adapted to film, and unfortunately it did not entirely click with fans. In my opinion the show was stolen by two actors, Steve Martin, who played the sadistic Orin Scrivello, D.D.S., and Bill Murray, who portrayed Arthur Denton, a masochistic dental patient.

Answer: True

The first time had been in the film 'Little Shop of Horrors'. This pairing was more successful comedically, with Bill Murray once again showing off his extensive acting repertoire in this role as an enormously insecure (but loveable) hypochondriac. Remember the line, 'Baby step to four o'clock. Baby step to four o'clock.'?

Answer: Andie MacDowell

Certainly 'Groundhog Day' would not have worked without Bill Murray's crafty acting, but would it have survived without the demure Andie MacDowell as well? I think not!

Answer: Bowling

Perhaps the greatest bowling film ever produced, 'Kingpin' was directed by the Farrelly brothers and starred Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid and Vanessa Angel, alongside Bill Murray. Aside from his scene stealing performances, Murray also sported the all-time worst comb-over in the history of mankind.

Answer: Rushmore

The 1998 film 'Rushmore' was only the first of several collaborations between Murray and Anderson. Murray has also appeared in 2001's 'The Royal Tenenbaums' and the 2004 film 'The Life Aquatic', both directed by Anderson. His roles in these Anderson films are more dramatic, but one can't watch Bill Murray without cracking a smile, even in his deepest moments. Let's hope for many more films to come from Mr. Murray. Thank you for having a go at this quiz, please try some of my other stuff if you enjoyed this one.