James Murray | |
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![]() Murray at GalaxyCon Oklahoma City in May 2025 | |
Born | James Stephen Murray May 1, 1976 New York City, U.S. |
Alma mater | Georgetown University (BA) |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1997–present |
Spouses | Jenna Vulcano (m. 2014;ann. 2014)Melyssa Davies (m. 2020) |
Website | jamesmurrayofficial |
James Stephen Murray (born May 1, 1976), commonly known simply as Murr, 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.
James Stephen Murray [1] [2] [3] was born on May 1, 1976 [4] [5] in Staten Island, New York City, where he was also raised. [6] He is of Irish and Italian descent. [7] He attended Monsignor Farrell High School in that borough, meeting his future comedy partners Joe Gatto, Brian Quinn, and Sal Vulcano in their freshman year. He graduated in 1994. [8] Murray later graduated from Georgetown University, in Washington, D.C. [9] As a child, he had a model railroad with his father. [10]
In 1998, Murray produced, wrote, and directed a film titled Damned!, starring Jeremy Guskin as Jesus in an alternate retelling of the Bible. Rather than paying for a Ford Taurus, Murray's parents paid for the production of this film at his request. [11]
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. [12]
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". [13]
Impractical Jokers premiered on December 15, 2011, on TruTV, which was watched by over 32 million viewers in its first season. [14] The show has become the most popular series on TruTV.
Since 2012 Murray has been a part of the Impractical Jokers Live tours. [15]
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.
Murray worked at NorthSouth Productions, where he was the senior vice president of development, leaving in February 2018. [16] 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. The book became a #1 Sunday Times Best Seller. [17] A sequel, called The Brink, was released in June 2019. [18] 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. [19] [20] In July 2021, they published a thriller, TheStowaway, about a serial killer on board a cruise ship. [21] [22] 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. [23]
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. [24]
He made a cameo appearance in the film Clerks III which released in 2022. He served as an executive producer for the TV special Foul Play With Anthony Davis. [25]
On October 21, 2024, The Hollywood Reporter announced Murray’s book Don't Move, was being adapted into a feature film and wrapped principal photography in Kansas City, MO on October 18, 2024. [26] Murray is a co producer for film, and it is set to be released in late 2025. [27]
Murray currently resides in Princeton, New Jersey. [28]
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 Vulcano's punishment in the season 3 finale, "Brother-in-Loss"; they annulled the marriage shortly after. [29]
In July 2019, Murray became engaged to Melyssa Davies, whom he met at his launch party for his book Awakened. [30] [31] The couple married on September 25, 2020. [32] [33]
Murray is a Kentucky Colonel. [34] Although raised Catholic, he now identifies as an atheist. [35]
Some of Murray’s interest include traveling, hiking, and kayaking. [36]
In 2025, Murray bought a house that hosts a model railroad club, the Pacific Southern Railway. The house hosts Murray's wife's candle business and Alzheimer's charity, while the model train club resides in the basement. [10] [37]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1997 | Private Parts | Student | Uncredited |
1998 | Damned! | Judas Iscariot | Also director, producer, and writer |
2017 | Return to Return to Nuke 'Em High AKA Volume 2 | Chuck Flingus | |
Christmas Time | Dr. Murphy | ||
2020 | Impractical Jokers: The Movie | Himself | Also writer |
2022 | Clerks III | Auditioner | Cameo |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2009 | The Tenderloins | Himself | Television film; also writer |
2011–present | Impractical Jokers | Himself | Main cast (289 episodes); 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" |
Impractical Jokers: After Party | Himself | Main cast (26 episodes) | |
2018 | The Last Sharknado: It's About Time | Eastwood | Television film [38] |
2018–2020 | Gods of Medicine | Todd James | 3 episodes |
2019–2021 | The Misery Index | Himself | Main cast (50 episodes) |
2020 | MacGyver | Maître d' | Episode: "Mac + Desi + Riley + Aubrey" [39] |
Loafy | Himself | Voice role, 2 episodes | |
Nickelodeon's Unfiltered | Himself | Episode: "Hot Dog Dance Party!" | |
2020–2021 | Impractical Jokers: Dinner Party | Himself | Main cast (18 episodes) |
2021 | Down to Business | Himself | Episode: "Down to Laugh" |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | Pitch Meeting | Himself | Episode: "Birds of Prey Pitch Meeting" |
Awakened series (with Darren Wearmouth)
Area 51 Interns series (with Carsen Smith)
Other novels
The borough-born and bred dudes from TruTV's 'Impractical Jokers'....
[T]they met during freshman year at Monsignor Farrell High School, where they graduated in 1994.