Bill Murray [1] is one of the most legendary comedic actors in Hollywood [2], which means that along with making us laugh time and time again over the years, he's also provided us with a wealth of Halloween [3] costume inspiration. Between his more recent collaborations with Wes Anderson [4] and classic roles in movies like Ghostbusters [5] and Groundhog Day, get ready to blow your friends away on Oct. 31.
Peter Venkman From Ghostbusters
- What to wear: The Ghostbusters standard-issue khaki uniform, black boots, and a brown wig.
- How to act: Smart, self-assured, and flirty to the point of being creepy.
Phil From Groundhog Day
- What to wear: A long brown coat, a multicolored tie, and a gray knit scarf. Carry around a microphone with the number nine on it, and a groundhog stuffed animal.
- How to act: Start out the night being a big jerk, but find a way to redeem yourself by the end of it.
Steve Zissou From The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
- What to wear: A light-blue polo shirt [9] and matching pants with a red beanie [10].
- How to act: Spend time muttering about the "Jaguar shark," and tell your friends you have a craving for seafood.
Bill Murray From Zombieland
- What to wear: Jeans, a pink polo, and an argyle sweater vest paired with a shaggy brown wig and a ton of zombie face makeup.
- How to act: Since Bill Murray [11] plays Bill Murray in Zombieland, feel free to act as much like him as you want.
John Bosley From Charlie's Angels
- What to wear: A red, white, and blue racing suit (or a blue windbreaker [12] and sweatpants, since racing suits aren't exactly easy to come by), sunglasses, and a cowboy hat.
- How to act: Try to convince three of your female friends to be your "angels" on Halloween [13] with you, and exude the same kind of humor and friendliness that comes easy to Bosley.
Raleigh St. Clair From The Royal Tenenbaums
- What to wear: Olive-green corduroy pants, a brown suede jacket, and a burgundy turtleneck. Add in a heavy gray beard and some round, wire-rimmed glasses to nail Raleigh's bookish-ness.
- How to act: Very intellectual, so maybe brush up on your thesaurus.
Bob Harris From Lost in Translation
- What to wear: A black suit jacket with a yellow t-shirt underneath, and if you can find a stuffed owl, it wouldn't hurt to tote one around.
- How to act: Bob is an aging action movie star, so just try to imagine how Tom Cruise [14] will be at that age (on second thought: don't).
Ken Bowden From Wild Things
- What to wear: A powder-blue suit, a white button-down shirt, a printed tie, and a black neck brace.
- How to act: Be the semi-sleazy comic relief of your Halloween [15] party.
Ernie "Big Ern" McCracken From Kingpin
- What to wear: Pink jeans, a floral top, and bright yellow sweater.
- How to act: Insanely arrogant, because you're the man who did "for bowling what Muhammad Ali did for boxing," after all.
Carl Spackler From Caddyshack
- What to wear: Black boots, brown cargo shorts, either a camouflage or olive-green t-shirt, and a camo bucket hat [16]. Feel free to attach some twigs and leaves to your hat the way Carl does in the film.
- How to act: A little crazy, and overly obsessed with checking the floor at your Halloween [17] party for any rogue gophers.
Richie Lanz From Rock the Kasbah
- What to wear: This movie came and went pretty quickly, but that doesn't mean you should miss out on your chance to be a hippie-esque Bill Murray [18]. Throw on a silky, psychedelic-printed shirt (open at the neck, naturally), a scarf to wrap around your hair, tinted aviators, a dark blazer, and jeans.
- How to act: As washed-up rock manager Richie Lanz, be sure to fill your friends in on what songs you think are hot or not throughout Halloween [19].
Mr. Bishop From Moonrise Kingdom
- What to wear: A loose-fitting white shirt, plaid pants, a gray wig, and black glasses.
- How to act: Protective and a little aloof.
Bill Murray From Space Jam
- What to wear: A backwards black baseball hat, a red t-shirt, and a Tune Squad jersey (you can find one on Etsy here [20]!).
- How to act: Confident, and ready to save the day.
Frank Cross From Scrooged
- What to wear: Put on a black business suit and a red tie, and then wrap yourself in Christmas lights so people know you're not just headed to work.
- How to act: Like a Scrooge, duh.