Had not Bill wandered into the Art Institute of Chicago one fateful night long ago we might not have gotten cult classic films from Bill such as Ghostbusters, Caddyshack, and many more
Saturday Night Live alum and comedy legend Bill Murray opened up about how art saved his life in a recent public appearance.
Had not Bill wandered into the Art Institute of Chicago one fateful night long ago we might not have gotten cult classic films from Bill such as Ghostbusters, Caddyshack, and many more. In a clip that the RetirementUnity.com X (formerly Twitter) account shared on the platform, the Emmy-winning actor revealed that years ago dead set on taking his own life. During the early stages of his career, when he was acting in Chicago, he initially struggled.
“When I started acting in Chicago, I wasn’t very good,” he admitted.
“I remember my first experience on the stage I was so bad I just walked out…onto the street and started walking,” Bill further explained. “I walked for a couple of hours and I realized I walked [in] the wrong direction.” He noted that he not only walked in the wrong direction of where he was living, but he also walked in the “wrong direction in terms of a desire to stay alive.”
Bill revealed during a recent public appearance how a painting saved his life
Bill divulged that at the time and at that moment he was prepared to commit suicide, and had begun thinking of where he’d stop on his walk to do so.
“I then thought if I’m gonna die where I am I might as well just go over to the lake, and maybe I’ll float for a while after I’m dead,” Bill said. “So I walked over towards the lake, and as I got there I realized I hit Michigan Avenue.” Since he understood that Michigan Avenue “runs North too” he had started heading North, which landed him in front of Chicago’s Art Institute.
Although Bill said he felt like he didn’t “have any place being” at the Art Institute, but he “walked inside” anyway. He explained that when he walked in he was “ready to die, and was pretty much dead” until he saw a particular painting.
“I walked in and there was a painting there, and I don’t even know who painted it, but I think it’s called The Song of the Lark,” Bill confessed. “It’s a woman working in a field and there’s a sunrise behind her. I’ve always loved this painting and I saw it that day and just thought ‘well, look there’s a girl who doesn’t have a whole lot of prospects, but the sun [is] coming up anyway, and she’s got another chance at it.’”
Bill expressed that he found inspiration in that painting, saying: “I think [the painting] gave me some sort of feeling that…I am person and get another chance everyday the sun comes up.”
At the end of the clip RetirementUnity.com shared, there was a photo of the painting Bill was referring to. The painting The Song of The Lark was created in 1884 by artist Jules Adolphe Breton.
