Aptly enough, it took fans watching "Groundhog Day" over and over to transform the film from a modest hit into a modern-day comedy classic. The film, released 20 years ago this week (on Feb. 12, 1993), was ultimately embraced by various religious groups (Buddhists, Christians, and Jews have all found in "Groundhog Day" a parable for their own spiritual philosophies), academics, and regular folks who just want a chuckle at Bill Murray's painful, repetitive, slowly dawning awareness of how to turn the worst day of his life into the best by learning to do good for others and to appreciate the world he lives in.The film also marked a dramatic turning point in the careers of most of the principals who worked on it, including Murray, co-writer/director Harold Ramis, and co-stars Andie MacDowell and Stephen Tobolowsky. Two decades later, they're still feeling its ripple effects. Here, then, is a list that answers the question "Where Are They Now?" for the folks who made "Groundhog Day" and had their lives changed by it.
PHOTOS:
Gallery | 'Groundhog Day' Cast: Where Are They Now?
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Bill Murray (Phil Connors)
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Bill Murray (Phil Connors)
Before "Groundhog Day," Murray was already an A-list star of flippant comedy smashes, from "Caddyshack" to "Ghostbusters" to "Scrooged," but he also had a serious side that he'd failed to put over to audiences (despite such efforts as "The Razor's Edge"). He finally got that side across with his performance as Phil Connors, the "Groundhog Day" weatherman who wrestles with the universe and finally learns to be a better man. (Murray has said the performance is probably his best work.) Afterwards, Murray found himself in demand for dramatic roles (a ruthless gangster in "Mad Dog and Glory," the ambulance-chasing lawyer in "Wild Things," Polonius in an indie "Hamlet"), though always with his wry spin. But he took his spiritual-seeker persona to a new plateau with his many collaborations with Wes Anderson (from "Rushmore" to "Moonrise Kingdom") and his Oscar-nominated starring role in Sofia Coppola's "Lost in Translation," roles that pared down his Zen cool and his sad-eyed expressions of wistful experience and wisdom down to their essence. In the decade since, he's proved an elusive guru, a comedy master with little left to prove, emerging from his reclusiveness only for the occasional bit of self-parody ("Zombieland") or a true acting challenge (playing a randy president Franklin D. Roosevelt in last year's "Hyde Park on Hudson.") The 62-year-old is currently on screen in the limited-release comedy "A Glimpse Into the Mind of Charles Swan III." -
Andie MacDowell (Rita)
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Andie MacDowell (Rita)
MacDowell spent most of her '80s film career as a pretty but blank ingénue; it wasn't until 1989's "sex, lies and videotape" that she revealed her dramatic chops. "Groundhog Day" made her a popular romantic comedy lead, a status she cemented the following year with "Four Weddings and a Funeral." From there, she transitioned into playing a series of idealized, sensible wives and mothers to eccentric husbands in such films as "Unstrung Heroes," "Multiplicity" (directed by "Groundhog"'s Harold Ramis), and"The Muse." These days, the 54-year-old is as lovely as ever (she's still doing cosmetics commercials) and can be seen co-starring on TV's "Jane By Design." She'll next be seen on the big screen in 2013's "Breaking at the Edge." -
Chris Elliot ("Larry")
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Chris Elliot ("Larry")
The son of legendary radio comic Bob Elliott, Chris Elliott made a name for himself with his surreal appearances on David Letterman's 1980s "Late Night" series and on his own delightfully bizarre 1990-92 sitcom "Get a Life." His performance as irritable cameraman Larry in "Groundhog Day" marked his first major film role, and it led to a screen career full of even wackier appearances, from his starring role in 1994's "Cabin Boy" to his stalker in "There's Something About Mary" to his grotesques in the "Scary Movie" series. He's also remained ubiquitous on TV, from a short stint on "Saturday Night Live" in 1994-95 (he's the first "SNL" cast member whose kid also became a cast member: recent player Abby Elliott) to regular roles on "Everybody Loves Raymond," "King of the Hill," and "How I Met Your Mother." Most recently seen starring in the TV series "Eagleheart" and on-screen opposite Sacha Baron Cohen in 2012's "The Dictator," the 52-year-old is expected to appear later this year in "Scary Movie 5." -
Stephen Tobolowsky ("Ned Ryerson")
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Stephen Tobolowsky ("Ned Ryerson")
Tobolowsky has been a versatile character actor for decades, but Ned Ryerson, the overzealous, too-friendly insurance agent he plays in "Groundhog Day," remains his best-known role. Since then, he's also played memorable parts in movies ("The Insider," "Memento," "Wild Hogs") and regular roles on TV ("CSI: Miami," "Deadwood," "Heroes," "Californication"). His recurring character on "Glee," Sandy Ryerson, takes his last name from Tobolowsky's "Groundhog" character. The 61-year-old will be heard as a voice actor in the big-screen version of "Mr. Peabody & Sherman," due in 2014. He can also be heard hosting popular showbiz podcast The Tobolowsky Files. -
Robin Duke ("Doris the Waitress")
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Robin Duke ("Doris the Waitress")
Duke was a sketch regular on "SCTV" in the late '70s and on "Saturday Night Live" during the early '80s, when she created such memorable characters as Wendy Weiner. As a character actress, she's appeared in several Harold Ramis movies, including "Club Paradise" and "Stuart Saves His Family," but her best remembered film role is probably that of Doris, the put-upon diner waitress in "Groundhog Day." She hasn't appeared on the big screen since Ramis' 1996 "Multiplicity," but the 58-year-old continues to appear in TV guest spots, most recently as Princess Anne in fellow "SCTV"/"SNL" vet Martin Short's "I, Martin Short, Goes Home" in 2012. -
Angela Paton ("Mrs. Lancaster")
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Angela Paton ("Mrs. Lancaster")
Paton was nearly 60 before she found success as a character actress, with a recurring role on TV's "Falcon Crest." Her "Groundhog Day" role as Mrs. Lancaster, who runs the bed-and-breakfast where Murray's Phil Connors awakens every morning, remains her best-known character, but she's had no shortage of roles over the last 20 years. She's appeared in such films as "Blue Sky," "Trapped in Paradise," "Lolita," "The Wedding Singer," and "American Wedding," and she's had frequent TV roles on such shows as "Home Improvement" and "Boston Public." Her last major screen role came in 2005's "Red Eye," but at 82, she's still active on TV, in guest spots on shows like "Grey's Anatomy." -
Michael Shannon ("Fred")
Shannon made his screen debut at 18 in "Groundhog Day" as Fred, the nervous bridegroom. Since then, Shannon has parlayed that sense of unease into a career. A Chicago-based stage actor, he enjoyed bit parts in movies (including Michael Bay's "Pearl Harbor" and "Bad Boys II") until his breakthrough role as Kathy Bates' disturbed son in 2008's "Revolutionary Road," a role that earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Since then, his intense presence has been ubiquitous, in such movies as "The Runaways" and "Take Shelter" and on TV, where he plays fed-turned-bootlegger Nelson Van Alden on "Boardwalk Empire." Watch for him to face off against Superman this summer as General Zod in the big-screen "Man of Steel." -
Brian Doyle-Murray ("Buster")
Bill Murray's big brother had worked often with Murray and Ramis (most memorably in "Caddyshack," "Scrooged," and "Ghostbusters II") before taking the "Groundhog Day" role of Buster, the Punxsutawney local who emcees the groundhog's weather forecast (and whom Murray saves from choking at a restaurant). After "Groundhog," Doyle-Murray reteamed with Elliott in "Cabin Boy" and with Ramis in "Multiplicity" and "Bedazzled." His gruff voice has made him a sought-after character actor in cartoons, especially "SpongeBob SquarePants," where he voices the Flying Dutchman. He's also a live-action TV regular on such current sitcoms as "Sullivan & Sons" and "The Middle." The 67-year-old's most recent big-screen appearance was in last year's "The Three Stooges." -
Danny Rubin (Co-screenwriter)
Rubin was a writer for TV and stage in Chicago when he came up with the idea for the "Groundhog Day" screenplay. The script was good enough to land him a Hollywood agent, who gave it to Harold Ramis. Since then, Rubin has written a dozen more screenplays, though only two have been produced, the Marlee Matlin thriller "Hear No Evil" and the Gen X satire "S.F.W." Today, the 55-year-old teaches screenwriting at Harvard and has recently published an e-book called "How to Write Groundhog Day" full of writing tips and reminiscences. He also says he enjoys the many films whose premises seem to pay homage to "Groundhog Day," from "Run Lola Run" to "Source Code" As he put it in a recent interview, "I welcome all of these explorations; it's fun for me because I like to see how other people play with the idea. Basically it shows how ubiquitous it's become in the culture. It's getting harder and harder now to find anyone who hasn't seen it." -
Harold Ramis (Director/Co-screenwriter)
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Harold Ramis (Director/Co-screenwriter)
It's a sad paradox that "Groundhog Day," a career peak for both Ramis and Bill Murray, led to a permanent falling out between the two friends because of their on-set squabbling. It had been a productive partnership, with Ramis directing, writing, or co-starring in such Murray hits as "Caddyshack," "Stripes," and the "Ghostbusters" films. After "Groundhog Day," he made string of similarly philosophical comedies, including "Stuart Saves His Family," "Multiplicity," and "Bedazzled." Over the last decade or so, he's directed one bleak crime caper ("The Ice Harvest") but has otherwise specialized in broad farce ("Analyze This" and its sequel, or 2009's "Year One"). The 68-year-old is developing a third "Ghostbusters" with Dan Aykroyd, one that would introduce a new generation of supernatural pest-hunters; Murray has said he's not interested in participating.