James Murray (comedian)

James Murray
Murray at GalaxyCon Richmond in March 2024
Born
James Stephen Murray

(1976-05-01) May 1, 1976 (age 48)
New York City, U.S.
Alma materGeorgetown University (BA)
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • actor
  • author
Years active1997–present
Spouses
Jenna Vulcano
​
​
(m. 2014; ann. 2014)​
Melyssa Davies
​
(m. 2020)​
Websitejamesmurrayofficial.com

James Stephen "Murr" Murray (born May 1, 1976)[1] is an American improvisational comedian, author, and actor from New York. He is a member of The Tenderloins, a comedy troupe also consisting of Brian Quinn, Sal Vulcano, and formerly Joe Gatto. Along with the other members of The Tenderloins, he stars in the television series Impractical Jokers, which premiered in 2011, on TruTV.

Early life

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Murray was raised in the borough Staten Island in New York City and is of Irish and Italian descent.[2][3] He attended Monsignor Farrell High School in that borough, meeting his future comedy partners Joe Gatto, Brian Quinn, and Sal Vulcano there in freshman year. He graduated in 1994.[4] Murray later graduated from Georgetown University, in Washington, D.C.[5]

Career

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Early career

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In 1998, Murray produced, wrote, and directed a film titled Damned!, starring Jeremy Guskin as Jesus in an alternate retelling of Bible. Rather than paying for a Ford Taurus, Murray's parents paid for the production of this film at his request.[6]

After being apart for four years, Murray, Gatto, and Vulcano reunited after graduating from college and began practicing improvisation at Gatto's house, going on to tour as an improv & sketch comedy troupe in 1999, and calling themselves The Tenderloins.[7]

The Tenderloins began producing comedy sketches together, posting them on YouTube, MySpace, and Metacafe, and subsequently accumulating millions of views online. In 2007, the troupe won the $100,000 grand prize in NBC's "It's Your Show" competition for the sketch "Time Thugs".[8]

Impractical Jokers and other television shows

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Main articles: The Tenderloins and Impractical Jokers

Impractical Jokers premiered on December 15, 2011, on TruTV, which was watched by over 32 million viewers in its first season.[9] The show has become the most popular series on TruTV.

In October 2019, Murray, along with the other members of The Tenderloins, starred in The Misery Index, which is hosted by Jameela Jamil and is based on Andy Breckman's card game "Shit Happens".

Impractical Jokers: The Movie was released on February 21, 2020.

Other ventures

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Murray worked at NorthSouth Productions, where he was the senior vice president of development, leaving in February 2018.[10] In 2018, he released a sci-fi/horror novel entitled Awakened, which was co-written by Darren Wearmouth, and revolves around the discovery of an intensely hostile race of intelligent, methane-breathing monsters living beneath the New York City Subway and the sinister Foundation for Human Advancement - an almost equally cruel and ruthless organization dedicated to the destruction of that race through world domination. A sequel, called The Brink, was released in June 2019.[11] In October 2020, Murray and Wearmouth co-wrote another horror novel, Don't Move, which follows a group of campers being hunted by a giant arachnid.[12][13] In July 2021, they published a thriller, The Stowaway, about a serial killer on board a cruise ship.[14][15] In March 2022, Murray wrote the middle-grade novel Area 51 Interns: Alien Summer with author Carsen Smith, the first novel in the Area 51 Interns series. The series is about a girl named Viv Harlow, whose parents work at Area 51, and how while she and her friends are here they must stop evil aliens from taking over the world.[16]

In 2021, Murray began a solo standup tour, Murr Live. The family-friendly show consists of stories relating to the TV show, videos, and hidden camera challenges.[17]

Personal life

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James Murray currently resides in Princeton, New Jersey.[18]

As a result of a triple punishment on Impractical Jokers, Murray has a tattoo of a ferret skydiving as a reference to an earlier punishment. On March 13, 2014, Murray jokingly, yet legally, married Sal Vulcano's sister, Jenna Vulcano, as a result of Sal's punishment in the season 3 finale, "Brother-in-Loss"; they annulled the marriage shortly after.[19]

In July 2019, Murray became engaged to Melyssa Davies, whom he met at his launch party for his book Awakened.[20][21] Murray married her on September 25, 2020.[22][23]

Murray is a Kentucky Colonel.[24]

Although raised Catholic, Murray now identifies as an atheist.[25]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1997 Private Parts Student Uncredited
1998 Damned! Judas Also director, producer, and writer
2017 Return to Return to Nuke 'Em High AKA Volume 2 Chuck Flingus
2017 Christmas Time Dr. Murphy
2020 Impractical Jokers: The Movie Himself Also writer
2022 Clerks III Auditioner Cameo

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2009 The Tenderloins Himself Television film; also writer
2011–present Impractical Jokers Himself Cast member; 9 seasons. Also executive producer and producer
2015 Bones Murray Episode: "The Senator in the Street Sweeper"
2016 12 Monkeys Desk Clerk Episode: "Bodies of Water"
2017 Drunk History: UK Drunk Storyteller Episode: "Billy the Kid/Elizabeth I"
2017 Impractical Jokers: After Party Himself Cast member
2018 The Last Sharknado: It's About Time Eastwood Television film[26]
2018 Gods of Medicine Todd James 3 episodes
2019–2021 The Misery Index Himself Cast member
2020–2021 Impractical Jokers: Dinner Party Himself Cast member
2020 MacGyver maître d' Episode: "Mac + Desi + Riley + Aubrey"[27]
2020 Nickelodeon's Unfiltered Himself Episode: "Hot Dog Dance Party!"
2021 Down to Business Himself Episode: "Down to Laugh"

Web series

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Year Title Role Notes
2020 Pitch Meeting Himself Episode: "Birds of Prey Pitch Meeting"

Bibliography

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Awakened series (with Darren Wearmouth)

  • Awakened (2018)
  • The Brink (2019)
  • Obliteration (2020)

Area 51 Interns series (with Carsen Smith)

  • Alien Summer (2022)
  • Zoned Out (2022)
  • Time Chasers (2023)

Other novels

  • The Stowaway (2021) (with Darren Wearmouth)

References

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  1. ^ @jamessmurray (May 1, 2020). "Thank you to all my friends and fans for the birthday wishes!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 7, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2020 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ "Staten Island's 'Impractical Jokers' suddenly very popular with the ladies". Staten Island Advance. Staten Island, New York City, New York. March 3, 2019. Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2020. The borough-born and bred dudes from TruTV's 'Impractical Jokers'....
  3. ^ "The Childhood Meals Episode". www.trutv.com. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  4. ^ Lovece, Frank (February 4, 2017). "'Impractical Jokers' reflect on their comedy roots ahead of season 6". Newsday. New York City / Long Island. Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2020. [T]they met during freshman year at Monsignor Farrell High School, where they graduated in 1994.
  5. ^ Barberio, Inez (February 10, 2018). "James Murray: How the Impractical Jokers Star is Bringing Laughter to the World and Making His Dreams Come True". Millennium Magazine. New York City, New York. Archived from the original on July 6, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  6. ^ "Impractical Jokers- Murr's Directorial Debut". YouTube. March 27, 2015.
  7. ^ "About The Guys". The Official Website of The Tenderloins. Archived from the original on May 1, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  8. ^ "About". The Tenderloins. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  9. ^ "Breaking News - truTV's Success with "Impractical Jokers" Franchise Strengthens Across Platforms | TheFutonCritic.com". www.thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  10. ^ "James S. Murray". HarperCollins. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  11. ^ Hopkins, Anna (June 17, 2019). "'Impractical Joker' James Murray pens new sci-fi thriller novel". Fox News. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  12. ^ Eddy, Cheryl (October 2, 2020). "Don't Be Afraid of All the New Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Books Coming in October". Gizmodo. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  13. ^ "Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Book Review: Don't Move by James S. Murray and Darren Wearmouth". Publishers Weekly. August 7, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  14. ^ "The Stowaway". Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  15. ^ "The Stowaway". Goodreads. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  16. ^ "Alien Summer (Area 51 Interns, book 1) by James S Murray and Carsen Smith". www.fantasticfiction.com. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  17. ^ "'Impractical Jokers' star teases interactive stand-up comedy show at Tampa Bay Comic Convention". WFLA. July 25, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  18. ^ Harrison, Andrew (November 9, 2022). "Impractical Jokers' James Murray speaks about perseverance with visit to local students". centraljersey.com. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  19. ^ Boone, Brian (February 11, 2020). "Times Impractical Jokers took things too far". Looper.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  20. ^ "Impractical Jokers Star James Murray Is Engaged! Inside His Sweet Proposal to Melyssa Davies". People. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  21. ^ "It's No Joke – 'Impractical Jokerr' Star James Murray and his fiancée Melyssa Davies Share their Fairytale Romance". Millennium Magazine. New York City, New York. Archived from the original on July 6, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  22. ^ Cornithios, Aurelie (September 26, 2020). "Impractical Jokers Star James Murray Marries Melyssa Davies — See the Stunning Photo". People. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  23. ^ Barberio, Inez (October 1, 2020). "Introducing Mr. and Mrs. James S. Murray – A Special Behind the Scenes Look of their Journey to Saying "I Do"". Millennium Magazine. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  24. ^ "Famous Colonels". The Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  25. ^ "Dom Irrera Live from the Laugh Factory - Impractical Jokers (Podcast)". YouTube. April 25, 2014.
  26. ^ Sharknado [@SharknadoSYFY] (August 20, 2018). "You can always expect some sudden impact in #Sharknado. Those sharks come out of nowhere!Right, @jamessmurray?…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  27. ^ "What's on TV Friday, March 27: 'MacGyver' on CBS; Coronavirus specials and more". Los Angeles Times. March 27, 2020.
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