Dan Aykroyd Reveals How He and Bill Murray Took Police Motorcycles for a Spin.
For a late-night joyride, who will Dan Aykroyd call? Naturally, Bill Murray. In fact, the Blues Brothers actor offered a behind-the-scenes account from the Ghostbusters II set, which showed him and Murray enjoying fun in New York City after hours, while celebrating the 76th birthday of his close friend and longtime costar.
“So many adventures over the years,” on September 23, Aykroyd shared two old photos of himself and Murray on Instagram. “One night shooting GB2, we appropriated two fully equipped police motorcycles from the movie’s motor pool and spent an hour chasing each other around a closed Central Park with full lights and sirens.”
However, did Murray and Aykroyd face consequences for their late-night adventure?
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“No consequences,” he acknowledged, saying, “After all, we were Ghostbusters.”
And the 74-year-old demonstrated his unwavering love and pride for his friend and frequent collaborator, whom he first met in the 1970s when they were both beginning their comedic careers before they both joined Saturday Nite Live. (Murray joined in season two, but Aykroyd is an original cast member.)
“Happy belated Birthday to the Murricane,” in his birthday homage to Murray, Aykroyd wrote. “The greatest comedy leading man of our time.”
As ghost-hunting parapsychologists Dr. Ray Stantz and Dr. Peter Venkman, respectively, in Ghostbusters (1984), the famed collaboration between the Trading Places star and Murray really got underway.
The supernatural comedy later became a cultural hit and spawned several sequels. The SNL cast members returned for Ghostbusters II (1989), Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) and made cameo appearances in Ghostbusters (2016). Aykroyd said his co-star saw the franchise's potential from the start.
“We were shooting the movie about halfway through,” in a June episode of The Tom Green Farmcast, the comedian who co-wrote the film with actors Rick Moranis, Harold Ramis, and director Ivan Reitman recalled. “Bill Murray and I went up to my house up in Woodrow Wilson Drive above Los Angeles.”
“He said, ‘You have written, and we are in probably, what’s going to be one of the biggest comedies of all time,’” Aykroyd added. “I said, ‘Well, Bill, we’re only halfway through. How do you know?’”
What about Murray's answer? “‘I know,’” Aykroyd revealed. “And he knew. His instincts are amazing.”
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