Bill Murray Gives New Bedford a Shout-Out on Letterman (VIDEO)
Actor Bill Murray is known almost as much for his eccentric behavior off-screen as he is for his memorable characters on it. In fact, there's an entire website devoted to stories of people who have encountered Murray--encounters that usually involve something ridiculous, and ending with Murray proclaiming, "No one will ever believe you."
Murray is also a noted New Bedford fan, often spotted hanging out in the city and frequently taking the fast ferry to the Vineyard. So it comes as no surprise that, in a written statement read by David Letterman on Thursday night's "Late Show" while Murray looked on, the actor gave a shout-out to the city and "Kevin, Rudy and Frank at the Maaco."
"They're not going to charge me for the primer," deadpanned Murray, who was on the show to promote his new film The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Reached on Saturday morning, Kevin at Maaco, which is located on Potomska Street, said it was actually the second time they'd painted Murray's vehicle, which he described as "an older Jeep Wagoneer."
"He said he was going on Letterman, and I said, 'give us a plug,' and he did, so it's all good," Kevin said.
He also said Murray hasn't visited the shop personally--rather, his assistant has dropped off and picked up the vehicle--but they have spoken to him on the phone.
"He's a pretty good guy," Kevin said.
And unlike most Murray encounters, this is one people will believe.
Here's the video (with the New Bedford reference coming just after the 3:15 mark):