Journalist Dan Fastenberg has a birthday wish that involves one of Charleston’s most eccentric adoptive sons. He wants Bill Murray to crash his party next month in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Fastenberg, who writes for AOL, isn’t half-assing it, either. He’s launched an online Twitter campaign and published an open invitation at The Huffington Post to the Caddyshack and Ghostbusters star. Here’s part of the former Time and Reuters reporter’s plea:
“Now I am turning 30 and my house will be repeating the same party we had last year on the night of Sat. Sept. 21. The location is Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and the party won’t be the same unless you come and take part in the fun. We’ll supply the party favors, including the karaoke machine. (We know you love that.) We even have a backyard!
I want to emphasize — this is a real invitation to a real party. So please let me know if you are interested. Reach out and I will provide further details. (My e-mail address is: daniel.fastenberg@huffingtonpost.com)”
As City Paper web editor Sam Spence has reported on this website before, Murray has a history of crashing parties and events, like this kickball game in the Big Apple last October.
In 2011, City Paper dedicated our yearly Best of Charleston issue to the beloved actor. In it we published three encounters by locals about their magical run-ins with the man who as co-owner of the Charleston River Dogs is also the team’s “Director of Fun.”
Once thought of as something of a recluse, the Illinois-born actor and comedian has been lately “turning his public appearances into a kind of performance art,” the (U.K.) Telegraph reports.
More from our friends overseas:
“He drunkenly crashed a stolen golf cart in Stockholm; he attended a student party in St Andrews, and did the washing up; he dived behind the bar at a film festival and served drinks with the Wu-Tang Clan; an entire website – billmurraystory.com – is devoted to tales of him crashing karaoke parties, joining kick-abouts in the park, and appearing from nowhere in restaurants to steal chips from a plate, before departing with the words ‘No one will ever believe you.’”
So, why Bill Murray for Fastenberg’s party?
“It’s of course because he’s known to make such appearances, so it’s not a total pipe dream,” Fastenberg tells City Paper. “But I also think he’s absolutely hilarious. I find his deadpan delivery unmatched in entertainment. So I would have chosen him first to come to my 30th birthday above other movie stars even if he wasn’t famous for crashing events.”
It seems like one big question is whether this kind of public invitation will work — or if it totally blows Fastenberg’s chances.
“I don’t really worry about it,” he says, and adds that while it’s a public invite it will still be a private party. “Everything will be under control.”
I guess we’ll all find out on Sept. 21, but speaking from past experience — we sent numerous invitations to Murray to our Best of Charleston party in his honor and he didn’t show — we doubt Fastenberg will get what he wants.
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