Bill Murray recalls Bruce Willis being an NBC page during ‘SNL’ days

Bill Murray and Bruce Willis go way back. 

During a visit to Watch What Happens Live on Monday, Murray, 74, revealed that he first met Willis, 70, during his Saturday Night Live tenure, when Willis was part of NBC’s page program.

“Bruce Willis was a page at NBC when I was on Saturday Night Live,” Murray recalled. “This sounds like insane s—, but his job was to come and go to the dressing rooms and refill the M&M’s and pretzels kind of thing in the actors’ rooms.”

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Murray, who starred in the late-night sketch comedy series for four seasons from 1977 until 1980, noted that Willis even brought up their shared SNL connection when they crossed paths long after the Die Hard star had become an established actor.

“I remember when I met him after he was already a successful guy, he said you and Gilda [Radner] were nice to me,” said the Lost in Translation actor. “I always thought ‘Okay, I’m good with this guy.’ He was a good guy.”

The pair didn’t share the silver screen together, however, until Wes Anderson’s 2012 film, Moonrise Kingdom. “Moonrise Kingdom was a really beautiful, lovely film, and I got to work with and have a wonderful time with Bruce Willis, who we should remember today, he just had a birthday,” Murray added. “Bruce Willis is a good guy, a good f––ing guy. He was a good friend.”

The film, which also starred Anderson’s band of usual suspects, including Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, and Jason Schwartzman, followed Sam (Jared Gilman) and Suzy (Kara Hayward), a pair of 12-year-old lovebirds who decide to run away together. Meanwhile, the adults must mobilize to find them and bring them home before a dangerous storm hits their town. 

Willis, years after his time spent refilling M&M’s and pretzels, would later make his return to 30 Rock to host Saturday Night Live on two separate occasions: first in 1989 with musical guest Neil Young, and again in 2013 alongside Katy Perry.

The Moonlighting actor, who was diagnosed with aphasia that progressed to frontotemporal dementia, also recently celebrated his 70th birthday, which saw his friends and family, including ex-wife Demi Moore and daughter Rumer Willis, take to social media to honor his major milestone.

“Happy birthday, BW!” Moore wrote. “We love you.” 

Watch Murray recall first meeting Willis in the video above.