Happy Birthday! Bill Murray Turns 66 Years Old Today

Legendary actor and comedian Bill Murray turns 66 years old today.

Murray, a Saturday Night Live veteran and the only actor to play a significant role in both Ghostbusters film franchises, is an iconic figure in Hollywood not only for his talent but for the ways he chooses to use his celebrity. There are stories, videos, and memes all over the internet telling true, believable, or fantastical Bill Murray stories -- and that doesn't even consider things like him playing a survivalist version of himself in Zombieland.

Before rising to fame as an actor, Murray grew up working as a golf caddy to fund his high school education. He went on to take pre-med courses at Regis University in Denver but dropped out.

Instead, obviously, he went into show business and has starred in dozens of films over the years, from obscure gems like Cradle Will Rock and Broken Flowers to bombs like Garfield to classics like Groundhog Day, Caddyshack, and The Royal Tenenbaums. This year, he appeared not only in Ghostbusters but also in The Jungle Book (he voiced Baloo), along with a pair of guest appearances in Angie Tribeca and Vice Principals.

Murray is a regular in Wes Anderson movies, appearing in not only Tenenbaums but Rushmore, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Moonrise Kingdom. He has another, as-yet-untitled Anderson project scheduled for 2018.

Three of those collaborations (The Royal Tenenbaums, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Moonrise Kingdom) went on to be named in The BBC's recent hundred greatest films of the 21st Century. So did Sofia Coppolla's Lost in Translation, for which Murray was nominated for an Academy Award.

While the Oscar itself has eluded him, Murray has won dozens of awards in his long career, including Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Critics Choice Awards. He's considered both a viable blockbuster actor and a critical favorite.

Happy birthday, Bill Murray!