Movies
Murray is a Southcoast and Vineyard regular— and he was apparently vacationing at just the right moment.
Bill Murray popped up at a Bill Murray movie marathon in New Bedford on August. 3, 2026. Drew Pion/Zeiterion
You cannot pin him down. You cannot predict his movements.
The elusive butterfly that is Bill Murray lands again.
This time, at a New Bedford Bill Murray movie marathon.
Some 400 movie-goers who attended the first of The Zeiterion’s “Bill Murray Movie Marathon Monday” paid to see “What About Bob?”
They ended up seeing both Bob and Bill.
After the credits rolled, Rosemary Gill, President and CEO of the theater, told the crowd: “Look who’s making an appearance!” as a cardboard cutout of Murray was brought on stage — followed by the man himself.
The crowd erupted.
Murray walked on dressed in a colorfully printed shirt, shorts, and sneakers, with one bandaged wrist and a water bottle and gift bag in his other hand.
“I can’t believe there’s this many people,” he told the crowd in a video posted by the Z. “I’m so happy people are going to the movies again. … I think you should keep coming. What movie’s on next Monday?”
The crowd shouts back, “Caddyshack!”
“Well that one’s also pretty funny,” Murray says.
The butterfly that is Bill Murray flits through this area often. He’s been known to spontaneously pop up in coffee shops, sit down for some Portuguese food, jump on stages to sing. He’s dined at Clarke Cooke House in Newport, at Café Mimo in New Bedford’s North End … and on and on. Selfies with Bill Murray are a Southcoast summer badge of honor.
The Z posted to Instagram last week: “At this point, Bill Murray popping up in New Bedford and beyond has become part of local lore. …We have a feeling there are more Bill sightings out there…”
In 2019, Murray — whose son Luke is now the head basketball coach at Boston College — dined on Polish pierogis and vodka at Patti’s Pierogis in Fall River with Rhode Island native and seasonal Martha’s Vineyard resident Peter Farrelly.
Later, the duo popped up at Roy Carpenter’s Beach in South Kingston, R.I., where local band Steve Smith and The Nakeds — a Farrelly and Murray favorite — were playing.
Farrelly suggested that, if he played “Gloria,” Bill would run up to sing, Smith said previously.
“He was like a dog. He heard the music start, and his ears went up,” Smith said with a laugh.
Knowing what to plant to lure the butterfly is key.
“My philosophy with Bill Murray is that he’s like a butterfly. Yeah, you can’t coax him to land on your finger. You can only hope that he does. So we just created a really beautiful flower to attract him,” Penny Pimentel, Senior Director of Marketing and Communications told Boston.com Tuesday.
“We’re doing a Bill Murray Movie Monday Marathon for the month of August that we created as a tribute to the lore of Bill Murray, who passes through New Bedford on his way to the Vineyard, shows up at restaurants, does selfies with people. We thought: if we do a series that honors his comedic genius and New Bedford’s love for him, could we attract him to the theater?”
The flower was planted. But the theater didn’t know if they’d get a cameo until the butterfly actually landed.
“The stars aligned — he was coming through town on his way to the Vineyard,” she said. We learned about 24 hours in advance that it was likely, but we didn’t know for sure until it happened.”
Knowing his love of New Bedford, some theater-goers might’ve thought it was possible. But, even without Murray’s name on the bill, 400 people packed the house to see a movie from 1991.
“That’s how much people love Bill Murray,” Pimentel said. “When he surprised the crowd by walking out, the roar from that crowd matched any exclamation I’ve ever heard in that theater.”
“There are four more films to go, and he’ll be passing through New Bedford again,” she adds. “So there’s a chance that he’ll show up at another film.”
In a Facebook reel posted by local radio station WBSM, Murray is seen walking on stage, waving, and walking off. He then walks back on, the crowd cheering for nearly a minute and a half. He grabs a mic.
“Does anyone have any questions? … You with the pigtails, speak up. Anyone else, without pigtails?”
For some 12 minutes, he answers questions and chats.
Favorite movie he’s done?
Jim Jarmusch’s 2005 film “Broken Flowers.”
“When I made that, I thought I should stop. I couldn’t possibly make a better movie than that one,” Murray says. “Turns out, I have no other skills so I went back to movies.”
Was he rooting for Cape Verde at the world cup? (New Bedford has a significant Cape Verde population.)
“I absolutely was rooting for Cape Verde at the World Cup. … I think they were the second-best team, as far as I was concerned.” (The crowd loved this.)
Life advice?
Murray held the bag up. “Don’t be walking around with a bag when you don’t know what’s inside it.”
Will he come back next week?
“Depends what’s in the bag.”
As for what’s in the bag?
“We don’t know!” Pimental told Boston.com. “He walked in with it.”
Classic.
Lauren Daley is a freelance culture writer. She can be reached at [email protected]. She tweets @laurendaley1, and Instagrams at @laurendaley1. Read more stories on Facebook here.
Lauren Daley is a longtime culture journalist. As a regular contributor to Boston.com, she interviews A-list musicians, actors, authors and other major artists.
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