The movie producer Bill Murray threw into a lake: “It is not common behaviour”
It will surprise no one to learn that movie sets can be breeding grounds for disagreement. Films are massive undertakings, with countless moving parts and creative forces all trying to pull in the same direction—so naturally, clashes happen. Most of the time, these result in arguments, and when someone exits a project, it’s chalked up to “creative differences”.
What doesn’t usually happen, though, is a producer getting thrown into a lake by the star—unless that star is Bill Murray, of course.
The production of 1991’s What About Bob? has gone down in Hollywood infamy. This comedy about a mental patient who follows his psychiatrist on holiday was Murray’s first effort after the one-two punch of Ghostbusters II disappointing at the box office and Quick Change – which he co-directed – outright bombing. The movie was a return to form for the beloved star, and he received some of his best reviews in years. From the outside, it seemed like What About Bob? was a resounding success. However, anyone involved with the film knew that it was a borderline miracle that a successful movie emerged from such a troubled production.
For starters, Murray and co-star Richard Dreyfuss clashed from day one, with the Jaws star later telling The AV Club, “Terribly unpleasant experience. We didn’t get along, me and Bill Murray.” Horrifyingly, though, Dreyfuss explained that he and Murray didn’t just argue and drive each other crazy – he claimed Murray got violent, too.
One night, when Murray came back from dinner having had one too many tipples, he allegedly screamed in Dreyfuss’ face, “Everyone hates you! You are tolerated!” and then hurled a glass ashtray at his head. Thankfully, he missed his target. “He was an Irish drunken bully,” Dreyfuss stated. “I didn’t talk about it for years.”
Worryingly, Murray’s alleged violence wasn’t just directed at Dreyfuss. Producer Laura Ziskin – who would later produce the phenomenally successful Spider-Man movies for Sony – told the Los Angeles Times in 2003 that Murray tossed her in a lake after a particularly tense discussion. She claimed he did it playfully but insisted that the argument itself was extremely unfriendly.
In addition, Ziskin claimed: “Bill also threatened to throw me across the parking lot and then broke my sunglasses and threw them across the parking lot. I was furious and outraged at the time, but having produced a dozen movies, I can safely say it is not common behaviour.”
For years, Murray’s troubling antics on the What About Bob? were rumoured, but after Ziskin’s claims emerged in 2003, people like Dreyfuss and director Frank Oz began speaking about their experiences more and more. It all led to an allegation by Dreyfuss’ son Ben in 2022 after Murray’s movie Being Mortal was shut down thanks to accusations of yet more “inappropriate behaviour”.
Ben took to social media to claim: “Everyone walked off the production and flew back to LA, and it only resumed after Disney hired some bodyguards to physically separate my dad and Bill Murray in between takes.” Ben also asserted that Murray tore Ziskin’s glasses off her face “because he wanted an extra day off,” and when Dreyfuss saw what had happened, he “complained about his behaviour.”
All in all, there’s been more than enough smoke over the years to believe there truly was fire on the What About Bob? set. By most accounts, Murray acted extremely unprofessionally at best and downright abusive at worst. It’s no wonder that author Kim Manners wrote about Murray’s treatment of Ziskin in The Keys to the Kingdom, her biography of Disney executive Michael Eisner, and later posted on social media, “Note that Laura Ziskin was a beloved, petite woman and Bill Murray was not.”
