Bill Murray of “Caddyshack” and “Ghostbusters” fame could’t have a better weekend — his beloved Cubs made it to the World Series and the “Saturday Night Live” legend collected America’s top prize for comedy.
He proved his worthiness by ad libbing to the aid of Miley Cyrus. More on that later.
Sunday at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Murray accepted the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor — and immediately handed the trophy to someone in the front row, directing it be passed around.
As The Hill reported, TV’s Jimmy Kimmel said: “I was under the impression we were honoring Bill Cosby tonight. I wanted to get things off to an awkward start.”
But then he said: “Of course we’re not honoring Bill Cosby. We’re here to honor a man who travels around the world spreading foolishness and joy wherever he goes, Mr. Bill Murray.”
SNL colleague Jane Curtin said: “Man, Bill, they honored everybody before you. I hear next year they’re honoring Mitch McConnell.”
“The show, which was taped for broadcast Friday on PBS, had one major stumble, courtesy of Miley Cyrus, who cursed repeatedly and made an excuse about smoking too many cigarettes after she botched the lyrics to a version of ‘My Way.’ Despite not having a microphone, Murray came to her rescue, joking with the crowd from his seat as Cyrus and the crew set up for a second attempt at the song, which went more smoothly.”
SNL alumni, guests hosts and cameos have won the vast majority of Twain prizes since they began in 1998:
- 1998 – Richard Pryor
- 1999 – Jonathan Winters
- 2000 – Carl Reiner
- 2001 – Whoopi Goldberg
- 2002 – Bob Newhart
- 2003 – Lily Tomlin
- 2004 – Lorne Michaels
- 2005 – Steve Martin
- 2006 – Neil Simon
- 2007 – Billy Crystal
- 2008 – George Carlin (posthumously)
- 2009 – Bill Cosby
- 2010 – Tina Fey
- 2011 – Will Ferrell
- 2012 – Ellen DeGeneres
- 2013 – Carol Burnett
- 2014 – Jay Leno
- 2015 – Eddie Murphy
Other coverage:
Murray: If #Cubs lost “I would have had to have been there because I do not trust the media to report the story” https://t.co/necFnRs1KE
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) October 24, 2016
Watch Bill Murray accept his prestigious Mark Twain Prize at the Kennedy Center https://t.co/wlxjBVr88Q pic.twitter.com/WcpdPWRD1q
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) October 24, 2016
Bill Murray calls D.C. a “goofy, funny town” while accepting Mark Twain Prize https://t.co/w9h940rcZV pic.twitter.com/tjNUFOoDmm
— The Hill (@thehill) October 24, 2016
Tales from the red carpet at Bill Murray’s Mark Twain Prize ceremony https://t.co/wdbypufZOS
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 24, 2016
Bill Murray accepts Mark Twain Prize for American Humor https://t.co/vjeKp67XA0
— TIME (@TIME) October 24, 2016
Bill Murray proclaims himself Cubs-fan-in-chief https://t.co/PFVpC7JJty
— Quartz (@qz) October 23, 2016