Bjorn Ulvaeus Biography

Full name: Bjorn Christian Ulvaeus

Date of birth/age: April 25th, 1945

Colour of hair: Dark Blonde

Height: 1.76 m.

Weight: 61 kg.

Education: University - studied Law for one year

Occupations : Songwriter, composer, musician, writer, producer

Musician. Björn Ulvaeus was born on April 25, 1945, in Gothenburg, a city on the west coast of Sweden. His family moved to the small eastern town of Vastervik in 1951, and it was there that Ulvaeus spent the rest of childhood. His parents, Aina and Gunnar Ulvaeus, were both passionate music lovers, and they bought Ulvaeus his first guitar for his 11th birthday. Under the tutelage of an older cousin, Jon Ulfsater, a folk and jazz guitarist, Ulvaeus showed rare talent and promise. As a teenager, he became enamored with rock 'n' roll and skiffle music.

At the same time he began to play and sing in a skiffle group. A few years later he became a member of a Dixieland band and dance orchestra where he played the banjo and guitar. At the beginning of the sixties the group reached the height of its fame in the style of the Kingston Trio. Then in the autumn of 1963 it happened! Via an amateur competition organised by Sweden’s Radio-TV the Hootenanny Singers became popular virtually overnight. Hootenanny was, as most people know now, a big thing in the United States and it was natural the group should be called Hootenanny Singers. Since then Bjorn and his two friends have been something of an institution in Sweden.

By 1990, Björn and Benny had decided to write a new musical. This time they wanted to write exclusively in Swedish, and they chose the Emigrants novel series by author Vilhelm Moberg as basis for their work. The musical Kristina från Duvemåla (Kristina From Duvemåla) opened in October 1995. The show ran for three and a half years at various theatres in the Swedish cities of Malmö, Gothenburg and Stockholm.

Recently, Björn has involved himself heavily in the staging of Mamma Mia!, a musical based on ABBA songs. The show opened in London, England in April 1999 and has since then been staged virtually everywhere, even being turned into a movie which opens in July 2008.

Awards :

Special International Ivor Novello award from The British Academy of Composers and Songwriters

The Music Export Prize twice from the Swedish Ministry of Industry and Trade

Lifetime achievement award from the Swedish Music Publishers Association

Bjorn Borg Biography

Birth Name : Björn Rune Borg

Date of Birth : 6 June 1956, Södertälje, Stockholms län, Sweden

Height : 5' 10¾" (1.80 m)

Nationality: Swedish

Career: Professional tennis player

Bjorn Rune Borg was born on June 6, 1956, in Sodertalje, Sweden. He grew up in this small town near Stockholm. He was interested in the game of tennis since his childhood days. Borg was fascinated by a golden tennis racquet that his father had won in a table-tennis tournament. His father gave him the racquet, with which he would play all day long.

At the age of 14, Borg left school so that he could devote his whole time to the game of tennis. When he was just 15 years of age, Borg became one of the youngest players ever to represent his country in the Davis Cup. He went on to win the debut singles in five sets against the professional Onny Parun, of New Zealand.

In 1980, he faced John McEnroe in the Wimbledon final, which many deem to be the best ever, due to the duel that occurred. After losing the first set, Borg managed to win the next two and had two Championship points during the fourth. McEnroe then managed to level the game, leading to a tie-break situation in which he stopped five match points. Borg finally won his fifth Wimbledon title.

However, on January, 1983, Borg announced his retirement from the game; at that time he was just 26 years of age. It came as an absolute shock to the whole of tennis world. After he retired, he became a drug addict. As a result of a drug overdose, he even attempted suicide. But, he bounced back later with Björn Borg fashion level.

Of course Federer is still active and can add more majors to his record. The major difference is that Borg, except for a short comeback in the 1990s retired basically at the age of 25 while Sampras played into his thirties and Emerson played into his forties.

Awards :

Borg was ranked the World No. 1 in six different stretches between 1977 and 1981, totaling 109 weeks.

Tennis commentators considered him as the best player from 1977 through 1980.

Borg won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award in 1979.

Borg was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987.

On December 10, 2006, the British Broadcasting Corporation gave Borg a Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented by Boris Becker.

Bjork Biography

Birth Name : Björk Guðmundsdóttir

Date of Birth : 21 November 1965, Reykjavik, Iceland

Height : 5' 4" (1.63 m)

Occupations : Musician, songwriter, actress, fashion model

Born in 1965 in the Icelandic capital city of Reykjavik, the daughter of Gudmundur Gunnarsson (an electrician) and Hildur Hauksdóttir who divorced before her second birthday, Björk grew up in a hippie-type community with her mother and her seven siblings. She started to study classical music at the age of 5 and released her first album in 1977 (mainly traditional Icelandic folk songs and international hits translated to Icelandic) when she was only 11.

During her teenage years Björk became involved in several bands, most of them punk: Spit & Snot (1977), Exodus (1979-80), Jam 80 (1980), Tappi Tíkarrass (1981-83) (featured the documentary Rock in Reykjavik (1982)) and Kukl (1984-86). She then formed the pop group The Sugarcubes with Einar Örn Benediktsson and Sigtryggur Baldursson and eventually other members Þór Eldon (with whom she had a son in 1986), Margrét Örnólfsdóttir and Bragi Ólafsson. The band released its first single in 1986 and its first album, "Life's Too Good", in 1988, and discovered international success, especially in UK. During her Sugarcubes years, Björk also collaborated with the Icelandic jazz group Gudmundar Ingólfssonar Trio for the album "Gling-Glo" in 1990, and featured 808 State's "Ooops", which was the start of her electronic music interest. The Sugarcubes eventually split after a few albums in 1992 and in 1993.

In 2000, the diminutive Icelandic pop star appeared on the big screen in the critically acclaimed film by Danish director Lars von Trier, Dancer In The Dark. Though it was rumored that tension grew between the director and his star, who also scored the film, Bjork won the Best Actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival for her performance. Further acclaim arrived in early 2001, when Bjork and von Trier were nominated for a Best Song Academy Award for I've Seen It All. She made fashion history when she wore her infamous "swan dress" while performing the song at the 2001 Academy Award Ceremony.

Bip Ling Profile

Name : Bip Ling

Occupation : Model, Artist, presenter

Bip Ling is a London-based blogger, DJ, model, presenter and artist. Creativity is in her genes; she is the daughter of Tanya Ling, the artist and designer renowned for her fashion illustrations. In 2009 Bip launched bipling.com, using animated illustrations, video and musings on her colourful life to create a phenomenon in the already-crowded blog space. She was signed by Storm Models in 2011 and landed her first big campaign, as the face of Forever 21 in UK, shortly thereafter. Remember her name.

Bip Ling (born Bipasha Ling) is a 21 year old DJ, Model, art-dealer and author of blog www.bipling.com. Born on 23rd June, Ling grew up in Wimbledon, London, and is the daughter of UK fashion designer and artist Tanya Ling. Her mother, who has worked for Vogue and designer Christian Lacroix, was named as ‘one of the most important trendsetters in Britain’ by British Vogue. Her father, William Ling, is the owner of London’s Fashion Illustration Gallery.

Bindi Irwin Biography

NAME: Bindi Sue Irwin

OCCUPATION: Television Personality

BIRTH DATE: July 24, 1998 (Age: 13)

PLACE OF BIRTH: Queensland, Australia

ZODIAC SIGN: Leo

Bindi Sue Irwin was born July 24, 1998 at 9:46 PM in Nambour, Queensland, Australia. The daughter of Steve and Terri Irwin, Bindi has been surrounded by animals her entire life. As an infant and toddler, Bindi was especially fond of snakes and her parents taught her to love animals. Bindi was even named after two animals: Bindi (meaning "little girl" in Australian Aborigine), Steve's favorite female crocodile, and Sue after the family dog, Sui. When she was just one year old, Bindi already recognnised and was able to make the sounds for all the animals in the zoo!

2002 was also the year that Wildlife Warriors, a wildlife conservation charity, was founded by Steve and Terri. When Bindi started working, she always donated 10% of her wages to this wonderful organization. On December 1, 2003 at the age of five, Bindi became a big sister to Robert Clarence Irwin, named after their paternal grandfather Robert who founded Beerwah Reptile Park.

Bindi made her first broadcast appearances as early as two, and has been featured in programs such as The Crocodile Hunter Diaries, and the 2002 film The Wiggles: Wiggly Safari. In 2006 her father Steve was killed by a stingray during a shoot, putting Bindi at the very center of an international media frenzy. At the age of eight, Bindi found herself acting as family spokesperson, giving interviews with important TV personalities such as David Letterman, Ellen DeGeneres, and Larry King. With a number of film projects already in the works before the loss of her father, Bindi's personal tragedy coincided with her first major forays into the film industry. Bindi Kidfitness was released on DVD and CD in 2006 and became an instant success. She was named Australia's Ambassador of Tourism, involving a busy touring schedule with live appearances in several world cities promoting Australian eco-tourism. In addition, a Discovery Kids television network program entitled Bindi the Jungle Girl went into production shortly thereafter. The 26-piece series is expected to debut in the fall of 2007.

Billy Zane Profile

Birth Name : William George Zane Jr.

Date of Birth : 24 February 1966, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Height : 6' (1.83 m)

Occupation : Actor, producer, director

William George Zane Jr., better known as Billy Zane, was born on February 24, 1966, in Chicago, Illinois, USA to parents William George Zane Sr. and Thalia Zane. Both of his parents ran a medical technical school. Billy also has a sister named Lisa Zane, an actress born in 1961. Billy was bitten by the acting bug early on. In his early teens, he attended Harand Camp of the Theater Arts in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. In 1982, he attended the American School in Switzerland.

Zane's theatre credits include performances in American Music at the Second Stage Theatre and The Boys in the Backroom with Tim Robbins' experimental group, The Actor's Gang.

Three weeks in Hollywood and Zane already landed a small role in the blockbuster Back to the Future (1985), playing one of Biff's bullies.

Zane also found work on the small screen, including a starring role in the 1986 television movie, The Brotherhood of Justice with Kiefer Sutherland. In addition, Zane portrayed serial killer Kenneth Bianchi in the highly-acclaimed telefilm, Two of a Kind: The Case of the Hillside Strangler. He also starred in six episodes of David Lynch's internationally acclaimed series, Twin Peaks.

Mainly a B-movie actor, Billy Zane enjoyed a few brief moments in the sun most impressively for his supporting role as the villain Caledon Hockley in the historic blockbuster, "Titanic" (1997). The intense actor began his career playing an assortment of villains and oddballs in occasionally notable films like "Dead Calm" (1989) and "Orlando" (1993), but following a run of supporting roles in big budget Hollywood films and a not-so-well-received starring turn as "The Phantom" (1996), he took up residence in the realm of macho low-budget action films and sci-fi thrillers. A prolific working actor to say the least, Zane churned out numerous B-movies and cable telepics yearly, occasionally turning heads in acclaimed independent dramas like "The Believer" (2001) and John Sayles' "Silver City" (2004), though his curious movie choices made it difficult for him to rise to the status of a solid Hollywood supporting player, for which he unquestionably had the looks and talent.

He took over Timothy Olyphant's role as Christina Applegate's ex-boyfriend on Samantha Who?; Olyphant had to depart because of scheduling conflicts with his role in Damages. The show, however, was not renewed for the 2009–2010 season.

Billy Ray Cyrus Biography

Birth Name : William Ray Cyrus

Date of Birth : 25 August 1961, Flatwoods, Kentucky, USA

Height : 6' (1.83 m)

Occupations : Singer-songwriter, actor, producer, philanthropist

Singer, songwriter, actor. Born on August 25, 1961, in Flatwoods, Kentucky. Once famous for his international hit country song, “Achy Breaky Heart,” his hunky good looks, and mullet hairstyle, Billy Ray Cyrus has built a career as an actor as well as a singer. The son of a politician, he started his singing career performing gospel music in a group with his father.

Cyrus went on to form the band Sly Dog in the early 1980s, and later found success as a solo artist, signing a recording contract with Mercury Records in 1990. His first album, Some Gave All (1992), hit the top of the pop and country charts, driven in part of the success of the single “Achy Breaky Heart.” The up-tempo song about heartbreak became a huge sensation, inspiring its own dance.

Despite his attempts, Cyrus wasn't able to replicate the success of Some Gave All. He quickly followed the album with It Won't Be the Last in the summer of 1993. Initially, the album sold well, entering the pop charts at number three, but it fell far short of expectations by only reaching platinum status. Storm in the Heartland, delivered in the fall of 1994, managed to go gold, even though it was ignored by country radio. However, by the time it finished its chart run, Cyrus had slipped from the public's eye. When he returned with the harder-edged, introspective Trail of Tears in 1996, the album only spent four weeks on the charts and didn't even go gold. Shot Full of Love followed in 1998 and Southern Rain was issued two years later.

Cyrus went on to appear as a celebrity contestant on the immensely popular dance competition show, "Dancing with the Stars" (2005- ), and was tapped to host the reality talent search "Nashville Star" (USA, 2003-07; NBC, 2008). As part of the new Cyrus multi-media domination, he hit the big screen as himself in the live concert video, "Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: The Best of Both Worlds" (2008) and reprised his practical papa role in the blockbuster feature film spin-off "Hannah Montana The Movie" (2009). Cyrus family controversy began brewing in 2008, however, when Cyrus appeared alongside his blanket-clad teen daughter in a Vanity Fair photo shoot that brought the family's close-knit, conservative, Christian values into question. Disney further distanced itself from the teen star's increasingly un-Disney shenanigans when she performed a pole dance at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards, a performance that was defended as "artistic" by Daddy Cyrus.

Billy Joel Profile

NAME: William Martin Joel

OCCUPATION: Songwriter, Singer

BIRTH DATE: May 09, 1949 (Age: 62)

PLACE OF BIRTH: Bronx, New York

ZODIAC SIGN: Taurus

Musician. William Martin Joel was born on May 9, 1949, in the Bronx, New York, to Howard and Rosalind Joel. Shortly after he was born, the family moved to a section of America's famous "first suburb," Levittown on Long Island. Although his father was an accomplished classical pianist, it was Joel's mother who pushed the young boy to study piano. He began playing at the age of four and showed an immediate aptitude for the instrument. By the time he was sixteen, Billy Joel was already a pro, having joined his third band before he could drive.

It wasn't long before the artist, inspired by the Beatles' iconic Ed Sullivan Show performance, committed heart and soul to a life in music. He dropped out of high school to pursue a performing career, devoting himself to creating his first solo album Cold Spring Harbor, which was released in 1970. The terms of Joel's contract with Family Productions turned out to be onerous and the artist was unhappy with the quality of the album they released. It wasn't a commercial success.

Disillusioned with trying to make it as a rock star, Joel moved to Los Angeles to fly under the radar for a while. In early 1972, he got a gig working as a lounge pianist under the pseudonym Bill Martin. His time playing at The Executive Room on Wilshire Boulevard would later be immortalized in his song "Piano Man," which describes a no-name lounge's down-and-out patrons. By late 1972, an underground recording of Joel's "Captain Jack" had been released on the East Coast and was garnering positive attention. Executives from Columbia Records sought out the lounge player and gave Joel a second chance to become a rock star.

Joel started work on River of Dreams in early 1993. Its cover art was a colorful painting by Christie Brinkley that was a series of scenes from each of the songs on the album. The eponymous first single was the last top 10 hit Joel has penned to date, reaching #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 & ranking at #21 on Billboard's 1993 year-end Hot 100 chart. In addition to the title track, the album includes the hits "All About Soul" (with Color Me Badd on backing vocals) and "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)," written for his daughter, Alexa. A radio remix version of "All About Soul" can be found on The Essential Billy Joel (2001), and a demo version appears on "My Lives" (2005).

Billy Bob Thornton Profile

NAME: Billy Bob Thornton

OCCUPATION: Film Actor, Director

BIRTH DATE: August 04, 1955 (Age: 56)

PLACE OF BIRTH: Hot Springs, Arkansas

ZODIAC SIGN: Leo

Actor, screenwriter, director. Born August 4, 1955, in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Brought up in suburban Arkansas, he moved to Los Angeles, California, determined to make his living as an actor. Initially surviving working odd jobs and writing scripts, he made his film debut in the wilderness thriller, Hunter's Blood (1987). In the same year, he was cast in the television movie, The Man Who Broke a 1,000 Chains, which featured Sonia Braga, Val Kilmer, and Kyra Sedgwick.

Though he spent almost a decade struggling to make a name for himself, actor Billy Bob Thornton took matters into his own hands when he wrote, directed and starred in the career-making independent drama, "Sling Blade" (1996), which earned the then-unknown performer an Oscar for Best Screenplay and another nomination for Best Actor. Ever since his sudden rise to stardom, Thornton became a prominent leading man and supporting player whose short-lived but high-profile marriage to offbeat starlet Angelina Jolie overshadowed his exemplary work in films like "Monster's Ball" and "The Man Who Wasn't There" (2001). After their divorce, Thornton receded a bit from the public eye, though he continued his streak of fine performances in "Bad Santa" (2003) and "Friday Night Lights" (2004), two wildly different films that displayed his prowess for disappearing into what ever character he played. Occasionally, Thornton incorporated his own personal issues - namely his battles with eating and obsessive-compulsive disorders, like a fear of Louis XIV furniture - into his characters, as he did in "Bandits" (2001). Despite his seemingly bizarre personal life, Thornton nonetheless maintained a steady stream of quality work that always kept him near the top of the game.

Thornton took on his second anti-Christmas-themed film with "The Ice Harvest" (2005), director Harold Ramis' film noir with pitch black comic undercurrents, playing the potentially untrustworthy partner in crime of a mob accountant (John Cusack) who steals a bundle from his boss and endures a perilous Christmas Eve as they prepare to flee. For his next feature, Thornton wasted his talents as a lifestyle coach for losers in "School for Scoundrels" (2006), a lame and rather predictable comedy from Todd Phillips about a top secret confidence-building class run by a deviant huckster (Thornton) whose tough love tactics and compulsion for prying into his students' lives leads them to overcome their deep-rooted anxieties to exact revenge. Thornton remained productive in the following year, starring in "The Astronaut Farmer" (2007), a satirical look at an astronaut forced to leave NASA to save his family's farm, and "Mr. Woodcock" (2007), which featured Thornton as a sadistic gym teacher who terrorizes a best-selling self-help author (Seann William Scott) in his youth and is now ready to marry the writer's widowed mother (Susan Sarandon). He next played a government agent hunting down two fugitives (Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan) in the paranoid thriller "Eagle Eye" (2008).

Billie Piper Celebrity

Billie Piper Celebrity

Birth Name : Lianne Paul Piper

Date of Birth : 22 September 1982, Swindon, Wiltshire, England, UK

Height : 5' 5" (1.65 m)

Occupation : Actress, singer

Billie Piper was born in Swindon, Oxfordshire in 1982. Her parents were Paul Piper and Mandy Kent. Billie has a younger brother, Charlie, and two younger sisters, Harley and Ellie. She went to school in Swindon including the Sylvia Young Theatre School. In her autobiography she claims that eating disorders were a significant problem at the school although this has been denied by the school.

In 1998, Piper's debut entitled Because We Want To ranked number one in the UK billboard list. After the debut, another single was released entitled Girlfriend followed by her first ever album she named Honey to B.

With her talents and charisma, Piper received awards and was named Best Female Start in 1999. However, in 2003, Piper returned to her acting career and took acting lessons in Los Angeles California. She immediately landed in good roles in the BBC TV Series The Canterbury Tales and Bella and the Boys TV drama. Her latest TV series Doctor Who earned her awards and recognition in the entertainment industry. However, contradicting reports were released in May 10, 2006 that Piper considered quitting after she was turned down for her interest to be a female doctor in the same series.

Usually in these circumstances we never hear of the person again. And this was looking to be the case for Billie until, shockingly at the time, she ended up marrying DJ/personality Chris Evans. Nobody, including us, you and your neighbour's cat could figure out what on earth they were thinking, but as days passed we all saw the tabloids taking photos of the pair merrily drinking away at their local pub. And drinking some more, and some more. They divorced (and stayed friendly) in 2007.

Bill Paxton Biography

Birth Name: William Paxton

Birth Place: Fort Worth, TX

Date of Birth / Zodiac Sign: 05/17/1955, Taurus

Profession: Actor; director; producer

Bill Paxton moved to Los Angeles at 18, where he found work in the film industry as a set dresser for Roger Corman's New World Pictures. He made his film debut in the Corman film Crazy Mama (1975), directed by Jonathan Demme. Moving to New York, Paxton studied acting under Stella Adler at New York University. After landing a small role in Stripes (1981), he found steady work in low-budget films and TV.

After graduation, Paxton moved to Los Angeles and began working for the film director Roger Corman as a set designer. His experiences working behind the camera influenced Paxton's decision to pursue acting, which led him to relocate to New York City where he studied under Stella Adler.

He also directed, wrote and produced award-winning short films including Fish Heads (1980), which aired on "Saturday Night Live" (1975). His first appearance in a James Cameron film was a small role in The Terminator (1984), followed by his very memorable performance as Pvt. Hudson in Aliens (1986) and as the nomadic vampire Severen in Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark (1987). Bill also appeared in John Hughes' Weird Science (1985), as Wyatt's sadistic older brother Chet. Although he continued to work steadily in film and TV, his big break did not come until his lead role in the critically acclaimed film-noir One False Move (1992). This quickly led to strong supporting roles as Wyatt Earp's naive younger brother Morgan in Tombstone (1993) and as Fred Haise, one of the three astronauts, in Apollo 13 (1995), as well as in James Cameron's offering True Lies (1994).

Paxton has appeared in such films as Weird Science, Aliens, Apollo 13, Near Dark, Twister, Titanic and True Lies. Four years after appearing in Titanic, he joined James Cameron on an expedition to the actual Titanic. A film about this trip, Ghosts of the Abyss, was released in 2003.

He finally snagged a lead role in the lauded 1992 indie One False Move as a small-town police chief on a crash course with violence. While his nuanced performance upped his profile, he promptly returned to playing second fiddle, albeit in A-list pictures (Apollo 13, Titanic, Twister). He also realized his directing dreams with the 2001 feature Frailty, in which he also starred. As the 2000s wore on, his career slowed down. But it got a nice boost when he signed on as a bigamist businessman on the edgy series Big Love, which debuted in 2006 and showcased his heretofore untapped sex appeal. His lead role In that HBO drama as seemingly sincere, though frequently duplicitous, Bill Henrickson expanded his fame and yielded an often mesmerizing performance: As Larry Hagman did as J.R. Ewing on Dallas, Paxton generally managed to rise above specious story lines and make viewing of Big Love a big joy.

Bill Murray Celebrity

Birth Name : William James Murray

Date of Birth :21 September 1950, Wilmette, Illinois, USA

Nickname : Billy

Height : 6' 2" (1.88 m)

Occupation : Actor, Screenwriter

Bill is the fifth of nine children born to Edward and Lucille Murray. He and most of his siblings worked as caddies, which paid his tuition to Loyola Academy, a Jesuit school. He played sports and did some acting while in that school, but in his words, mostly "screwed off." He enrolled at Regis College in Denver to study pre-med but dropped out after being arrested for marijuana possession. He then joined the National Lampoon Radio Hour with fellow members Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, and John Belushi. However, while those three became the original members of "Saturday Night Live" (1975).

A droll, iconoclastic comedic actor who enjoyed existing outside of Hollywood while thriving in it, Bill Murray carved a unique career that moved successfully from slapstick comedy to subtly complex seriocomic roles that earned him several awards and untold critical praise. After a stint in Chicago's famed comedy troupe, The Second City, Murray took over the space left behind by Chevy Chase on "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 1975- ), where he made his bones as an unpredictable, but ultimately beloved performer. Murray used his success on "SNL" to make a string of successful slapstick comedies, starting with the sophomoric "Meatballs" (1979), which put him on the map, and the iconic "Caddyshack" (1980), which turned him into a certifiable movie star. With his next film, "Stripes" (1982), Murray became synonymous with huge box office, which was confirmed by the gigantic success of his only bona fide blockbuster, "Ghostbusters" (1984). Though he attempted dramatic roles at the peak of his comedy streak - namely "The Razor's Edge" (1984) - Murray found difficulty breaking the confines of his comedic beginnings. It was only when he made gradual progressions - "Scrooged" (1988), "Groundhog Day" (1993), "Rushmore" (1998), and his Oscar-nominated performance in "Lost in Translation" (2003) - that Murray earned well-deserved respect for his deft ability to blend sharp comedy with emotionally complex characters. Thanks to a trifecta of likability, durability and versatility, Murray cemented his stature as something of a national treasure in American pop culture over the course of a career that steadfastly refused to follow Hollywood convention.