TORONTO -- Fans who had been on the lookout for Bill Murray at The Toronto International Film Festival on so-called "Bill Murray Day" got more than just a glimpse of the actor at the first showing of the Weinstein Co. film St. Vincent.
In a heat-busting downpour on Friday night, Murray, dressed in khakis and a dark coat, greeted spectators on his way to the world premiere at the Princess of Wales Theatre. As cameras flashed and soaked-to-the-bone fans screamed, he took a beat to shake hands and say hello, dryness-be-damned.
Bill Murray greets fans in #TIFF downpour: https://t.co/45VKn6hI3b— Josh Lincoln Dickey (@NotoriousJLD) September 6, 2014
The festival had declared Friday as "Bill Murray Day," with daytime screenings of Stripes, Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day attracting folks in costume and creating a lot of neck-craning on King Street, the main thoroughfare lined with restaurants, pop-up promotions and volunteers in blaze-orange T-Shirts.
On the red carpet, he posed with Melissa McCarthy, who also stars in St. Vincent, in which Murray plays the boozy, cantankerous neighbor of a young boy whose parents' divorce thrusts the two into an unlikely friendship. (Hey, if Murray were our next-door neighbor and de factor babysitter, we don't care how much he drinks, smokes or naps on a lawn chair.)
Melissa McCarthy and Bill Murray coming in from the #TIFF downpour: https://t.co/77Bk3ADvVA— Josh Lincoln Dickey (@NotoriousJLD) September 6, 2014
There was no Murray on the streets earlier in the day, though.
@Bill_J_Murray Hey Lucy king street welcomes Bill Murray! Happy Bill Murray day!!!! pic.twitter.com/5Dp8rg507G— Courtney Gorham (@courtneyGorham) September 5, 2014
He did make an appearance -- sporting a hunting cap -- at a Friday question and answer session, according to Variety. He sang along to Prince’s “Raspberry Beret” during his entrance and sat alongside Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman and Scrooged screenwriter Mitch Glazer.
His favorite "Bill Murray Day" perk had been being able to park anywhere -- although he admitted to mostly spending the day in his hotel room hearing about the dreaded muggy weather.
Before his stroll in the rain, no one had definitively spotted the famously reclusive actor, who's known for impromptu public appearances but doesn't have a publicist, manager, agent or known telephone number.
One festgoer tweeted that she'd spotted him Friday evening -- but that was unconfirmed:
Just ran into Bill Murray on Bill Murray Day. So appropriate. #TIFF #DreamsDoComeTrue— Liza (@lizachannah) September 5, 2014
And local site Toronto Life put up a post with a woman who claims to have spotted him cycling around town in safety glasses.
In any case, this was the first real look anyone got at St. Vincent, which The Weinstein Co. is releasing Oct. 24.
Murray has only been nominated once for an Academy Award -- Lost in Translation -- and fans of the actor are holding their breath that he may get another chance at a golden statue. We'll have a much clearer idea after the 9 p.m. screening lets out.
But does Murray really need an Oscar? And for that matter, did the Toronto International Film Festival really need to declare Friday "Bill Murray Day?" Because after all ...
Every day is Bill Murray Day, people.— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) September 5, 2014
UPDATE, Sept. 5, 9:15 p.m. ET: We've added information about Murray greeting fans in the rain and attending the question and answer session.