At a Glance
- Bill Murray is father to six sons from two marriages
- His two eldest, Homer and Luke, have high-profile careers in food and basketball
- The four younger boys maintain low public profiles
- Why it matters: The comedy legend’s family dynamic shows how his children have forged unique paths outside Hollywood
Bill Murray’s six sons span four decades in age and follow strikingly different paths, from running Brooklyn restaurants to coaching NCAA champions. The Ghostbusters star, 73, has kept the younger half of his brood out of the spotlight while cheering on the ventures of his two eldest.
The First Family: Homer and Luke
With first wife Margaret Kelly, Murray welcomed Homer on March 3, 1982, and Luke on April 1, 1985. Both boys avoided show business and built careers on the East Coast.
Homer, 43, became a chef and restaurateur in New York City. In 2016 he and partner Syd Silver transformed their River Styx into 21 Greenpoint, a neighborhood staple. Murray celebrated the opening by bartending and later told the restaurant’s website: “Homer has taken the joy of the family to have a drink, have a meal, and have friends together in one place, and made it his life’s work.”
During the pandemic, father and son teamed up for a Food Network-livestreamed Nacho Challenge that raised money for the Restaurant Employees Relief Fund.
Luke, 40, chose basketball over burgers. He is an assistant coach for the University of Connecticut men’s team and helped the Huskies win the 2023 NCAA title. Murray attended multiple March Madness games and told reporters, “I’m very proud of this boy, he’s a wonderful kid and he’s worked very hard.”
Luke previously coached at Louisville, Rhode Island, and Xavier. He jokes that he inherited neither his father’s comic timing nor his fashion sense, once noting Murray used to wear Uggs, purple shorts, and a fur vest to his games. In 2015 the actor skipped the Emmys-where he won outstanding supporting actor-to attend Luke’s wedding to Kara Cassidy. The couple now has three children.
The Butler Boys: Caleb, Jackson, Cooper, and Lincoln
Murray married costume designer Jennifer Butler in 1997 after meeting her on the set of Scrooged. They had four sons before divorcing in 2008.
- Caleb “Cal” Murray, born Jan. 11, 1993, is intensely private. Murray once revealed that driving Cal and his brothers to school introduced him to Adele after he spotted them singing along in the rear-view mirror.
- Jackson Murray, born Oct. 6, 1995, also stays out of the public eye. His father’s main parenting advice, shared in a 2012 interview: “If you bite on everything they throw at you, they will grind you down. You have to ignore a certain amount of stuff.”
- Cooper Murray, born Jan. 27, 1997, is the only child to dip into acting, playing an Indian Chief Khahki Scout in Moonrise Kingdom (2012) and appearing in four episodes of the Farrelly brothers’ series The Now (2021). Murray insists he never pressured his kids to be funny, saying he now appreciates “when they’re trying to be funny.”
- Lincoln Murray, born May 5, 2005, is the youngest and most shielded from media attention. During a 2012 interview he interrupted his dad to deliver a Cubs score, evidence of the baseball bond they share.
Life After Divorce
Murray has called the 2008 split from Butler “very hard” but credits the fallout with bringing him closer to all six boys. “I ended up much closer to my guys than I ever would have been,” he told Esquire in 2012.
While the four younger sons remain largely out of view, Murray’s pride in the entire family surfaces whenever he discusses them. Whether pouring tequila at Homer’s Brooklyn bar or cutting down nets with Luke in Houston, the veteran comic treats fatherhood as his favorite role.
Key Takeaways
- Bill Murray has six sons-Homer, Luke, Caleb, Jackson, Cooper, and Lincoln-ranging in age from 20 to 43
- Homer runs the Brooklyn restaurant 21 Greenpoint; Luke is a UConn basketball coach and 2023 NCAA champion
- The four younger boys maintain private lives, with Cooper the only one to act, appearing in two of his father’s projects
- Despite a contentious divorce, Murray says the experience ultimately strengthened his relationships with all his children
