James Stephen "Murr" Murray (born May 1st, 1976) is a member of the New York based comedy troupe called The Tenderloins and is one of the characters of Impractical Jokers.
James “Murr” Murray is the constantly-smiling guy who looks like a ferret. Like the rest of them, he’s from Staten Island. Murr has been acting and doing comedy for years. About the success of Impractical Jokers, he’s said: “I think the comments that we get all the time, and I consider this a huge compliment, is that we remind people of the friends they had growing up and what they do with their friends. That means we’re doing our job right.”
Murr told DenOfGeek that some of his comedic influences include Richard Pryor, Steve Martin, Mel Brooks, Kids in the Hall, I Love Lucy, and the Zucker brothers movies, among others.
Personal Life[]
Murr is a Taurus.
Murr was the third Joker to lose his virginity, during which he wore two condoms. He was in a committed relationship with a woman named Tara, which ended sometime before the show began after he cheated on her. Murr suffers from acrophobia (fear of heights) and galeophobia (fear of sharks). Murr has been described on numerous occasions as an asshole by the other Jokers.
In July 2019, Murr became engaged to Melyssa Davies, [1] whom he married on September 26, 2020. [2] The wedding was officiated by Joe Gatto and guests were required to wear masks and sanitize.
Trivia[]
- Murr and Q have lost teeth in the middle of filming, both were caught on camera and used in the show. His issue escalated into a punishment. Both Jokers now have fake teeth.
- He only speaks English, in spite of what was told in Out of TP. Murray claimed, "That was a joke in Season One, and fans picked up on it, and thought it was real."[3]
- However, he asserted that he knows a few sentences in other dialects: "Where's the library?" in Spanish, and "I want to buy five pencils." in Mandarin.[4]
- During one of their challenges in a pet store, Murr agreed to eat dog feces for $290.
- Murr has both nipples and his belly button pierced from one of his punishments.
- He shared an apartment with Joe when he was in high school.
- Murr and Sal are the only Jokers to have never won an episode by themselves.
- Outside of his comedian role, Murr is also an author, having written a total of three books alongside Darren Wearmouth.
- James ran for Congress as an April Fool's Day joke.
- Murr had some of the most ridiculous punishments in the show. These include:
- Having an embarrassing interview with Danica McKellar, his childhood crush, oiled and wearing a speedo.
- This punishment was referenced in a later challenge, with Danica and Murr's roles (including their clothing) being reversed.
- Skydiving.
- Having a tattoo in reference of this, being a skydiving ferret, as part of a triple punishment.
- His apartment being destroyed by the jokers, in front of children.
- Receiving two prostate exams in front of an audience.
- Being dressed up as Dracula and brought out with a gospel choir in a crowded theatre.
- Wearing a wig made of Q's hair for the duration of a season.
- Murr, on the other hand, described seeing Britney Spears in Vegas as "awesome." He also further confirmed his lifelong love of Yanni, but fans of the show will already know all about that. Unfortunately.
- Dressing as a centaur on two separate occasions. The first of which was during a wrestling match. The second of which was turned into a hunt by the other Jokers and a spectacle actually led some observing police to question the stunt, but due to being fans of the show, they allowed the filming to continue.
- Having the same doctor from the prostate exam infuse his skin with histamines and dance alongside Australian strip models while his flesh was badly swollen, then instead of calamine lotion to relieve the condition, the Jokers gave him a bottle of Pepto Bismol as a fake-out.
- Having an embarrassing interview with Danica McKellar, his childhood crush, oiled and wearing a speedo.
- Murr revealed in "The Butt of the Joker" that he started losing his hair when he was 20. His hairline was already receding when Impractical Jokers began production.
- Murr maintained a driver's license photo with most of his hair until the Jokers subjected him to a punishment where they shaved off all his remaining hair, including his eyebrows, and had Murr get a new license picture as such that would be the source of ridicule for years to come. Several challenges filmed afterward show the progression of Murr's hair regrowth. Then, in Season Five, the Jokers made him don a wig made out of Q's shaved locks of hair and get a passport photo as a call-back to this previous punishment, and since it would be ten years before he needed to get a new photo.
- Murr created a film called Damned! and as punishment, had to sit and watch the movie with an audience and was interviewed by a film critic who made it clear the film was terrible.
- Murr has done a total of 63 punishments.
- He loves theme parks
- Murr, Sal, and Joe are the only married Jokers.
- Murr is the second oldest of the Jokers, his birthday is May first.
- Before Murr was famous, he sold golf balls at a golf course and then worked for NorthSouth Productions which has produced shows for truTV, AT&T, TLC, MTV, etc. When he was a teenager, he had a cameo appearance as a high school student in a film called Private Parts and portrayed the role of Judas in the movie Damned!
- Murr's mother passed away in 2022, revealed in an Instagram post on August 22, 2022. His father passed away in 2023 as revealed on Instagram as well, on April 4, 2023.
Punishments[]
Season One[]
- Panty Raid - Murr went to a laundromat, took a strangers underwear, and wore it on his face for 10 seconds.
- A Loser Presents - Murr gave a college class a presentation about social networking that was created by the other Jokers.
- Starfart Macchiato - Murr goes to a coffee shop and the other Jokers make fake farting noises for him using his laptop.
- Charity Case - Murr had to present a charity video made by the other guys and an embarrassing old photo of him is added. Murr had to explain all the weird video slides.
- Supercuts - Technically a four-way tie where the Jokers had to give each other funny haircuts. Murr's head was completely shaven, except for a little tuft on the front left behind.
Season Two[]
- Art Attack - Murr had to explain 3 pieces of art made by the other Jokers.
- Strip High Five - In the show's first-ever double punishment, Murr and Joe have to strip naked unless they get a stranger passing by to give them a high five and if they don't get a high five they have to remove a piece of clothing. Joe won the punishment, and ran off with Murr's clothes afterwards.
- The Truth Hurts - Murr took a polygraph exam which consisted of him asking personal and humiliating questions in front of students at the Joker's old high school.
- Get Out of Dodge - Murr plays a game of dodgeball with his left eye patched and his right hand duct taped to an oven mitt, with his team members having switched over to the other team, making it a seven-against-one game.
- Human Pinata - Murr became a human pinata and getting whacked with sticks by a group of little kids, the other Jokers, and then lastly, Joe's brother-in-law, until candy fell out.
- Not Safe For Work - Murr has to pose nude for a group of painters.
- The Alliance - Murr, Joe, and Sal all have to jump off a cliff unless they can correctly answer questions about Q's life. Joe won the punishment while Murr and Sal jumped off Q Falls.
- Cyber Buddies - Murr hosts a computer cleanliness seminar while his laptop is controlled by the other guys, who plant embarrassing things for him to find.
Season Three[]
- Look Out Below - Murr thought him and the other Jokers were gonna do a challenge teaching others how to jump out of planes, but in reality, he has to face his biggest fear, and go skydiving.
- Snow Way Out - Murr and Sal found themselves stuck on a ski lift in midair and had snowballs thrown at them and were shot with paintballs by Joe & Q.
- Jokers Playhouse - Murr has to entertain a group of children with his new children's show, "Murr's Playhouse", as the other Jokers went to his apartment and destroyed it via a silly string fight, playing frisbee with a pizza, a crazy bubble bath, clogging the toilet with Murr's dress shirts, and lastly, smashing his flat-screen TV.
- Puncture Perfect - Murr had to get piercings from the "Wheel of Piercings" until he got 3 questions right about the other Jokers. He ended up getting both of his nipples and his belly button pierced. The other three later stole his shirt and made him walk the streets of New York City bare-chested.
- Clash of the Jokers - It was an unofficial punishment where Joe posed as king, Murr was his throne, Q had to fan him, and Sal had to feed him grapes.
- Tooth and Consequences - During Q's turn in the Selfie challenge, Murr's tooth fell out, and due to his smile, he forfeited the challenge, resulting in Murr being the big loser for the episode, so he still had to take the selfies as his punishment.
- In Poor Taste Buds - Murr played a culinary expert, but is unable to taste or say anything due to his mouth being shot up with a ton of Novocaine by Dr. Daniel Sullivan.
- The Permanent Punishment - Murr, Sal, and Q had to get embarrassing tattoos chosen by Joe. Murr's tattoo was a ferret skydiving.
- A Legendary Fail - Murr has to open for Legends in Concert, but the other Jokers take control of what comes out of microphone.
Season Four[]
- Below the Belt - As Murr gives a presentation about climate change, the other Jokers take turns going under the podium and doing embarrassing things to the lower half of Murr's body.
- The Blunder Years - The other guys grease Murr's body and make him wear a speedo, misleading him into thinking he will be entering a bodybuilding competition. Then, Murr walks into the room finding out he has to give an interview to his celebrity crush, Danica McKellar, who played as Winnie Cooper on the TV show, "The Wonder Years".
- Damned If You Do - Murr's film, "Damned!", is shown to an audience at a theater, including Murr himself. After the movie is over, a New York film critic walks on stage and Murr has to do an interview with the film critic as she makes it obvious that his film was garbage.
- Joke & Dagger - Murr had to participate as a volunteer at the Coney Island Freak Show. Murr volunteers in the Wheel of Doom, thinking that he was gonna have knives thrown at him when the balloons were actually rigged to explode on their own.
- Cruisin' For A Brusin' - Murr must give a speech created by the other Jokers while posing as the ship's "Master of Ceremonies".
- Kill the Centaur - Murr has to hold up number cards to show the time that has passed during a boxing match while wearing awkward outfits.
- Tied and Feathered - Murr is forced to accept any visitors and hazards the other Jokers send to him while chained to a park bench.
- Hopeless and Changeless - Murr poses as a snack vendor, but can't give anyone change.
- Doomed - 3 months prior to the punishment, Murr had to shave all his chest hair except for 2 circles around his nipples. However, what Murr does not know is that his real punishment has nothing to do with his nipples. Murr gets chained up, and has to watch his childhood blanket be burned. The guys bring out another blanket, saying the one that was burned was not really his blanket, but Joe tosses it into the fire as well. However he later revealed on Twitter that the two blankets burned in the episode were fakes, and that he was relieved to find his real blanket was safe in his room.
Season Five[]
- HellCopter - Murr and Sal's punishment first started off with footrace based on a bet that Murr would beat Sal in a race even if he had a "fatsuit" on. Eventually, Murr lost and as the result, he had to sit on the side of the helicopter with his feet facing out.
- Dark Side of the Moon - Murr volunteers for a prostate exam by Dr. Frank Contacessa.
- Centaur of Attention - Murr walks five miles to his house while wearing his centaur costume, not knowing that the other Jokers were hunting for him.
- Browbeaten - Murr had his eyebrows and most of his hair except a small portion on the back shaven. Soon after, Murr would have to take a brand new driver's license with that haircut, which will expire in 10 years.
- British Invasion - In a double punishment with Joe, Murr had to take the full force of football shots from a professional football club.
- Ash Clown - Murr posed as a businessman who's forced to explain to a group of preschoolers his career as a pet cremator & grandparent divorce lawyer.
- Training Day - Murr, Joe, and Sal all had to go through a fire academy. For Murr, he had to rappel down the side of a building. On his way down, he encounters Sloppy Joe, Fat Crow, and Dr. Frank Contacessa.
- Nitro Circus Spectacular - Murr lost the regular challenges, so for his punishment, be became an obstacle for the professional bike riders to jump over Murr on the Nitro Circus track.
Season Six[]
- Lady and the Tramp - Murr has to pose as the Statue of Liberty as a surprise punishment after thinking he and the other Jokers were going to film a challenge.
- Vampire Weakened - Murr is dressed up as Dracula thinking he was going to play as Dracula at a play. As a suprise twist, he actually has to sing with a gospel choir at a concert.
- The Butt of the Joker - Murr has to take cigarettes away from random smokers and can't stop until he steals a pack of cigarettes from a smoker.
- Paradise Lost - Murr must enter a shark cage and grab his passport while being dragged around by a boat.
- Three Men And Your Baby - Murr, Sal, and Q are forced to pitch their own TV show called "3 Men and Your Baby". The only problem is, none of them know about parenting.
- The Q-Pay - Murr has to wear a wig made out of Q's hair for the remainder of the season. And along with that, he also had to get a new passport photo, which will also expire in 10 years.
- Remember The Pact - The other guys secretly had a pact against Murr where if they all won, Murr would automatically be the loser. Their pact went successfully well and as a result, Murr surprisingly had to show his father via the TV embarrassing stuff on his cellphone.
- The Party Crasher - Murr attempts to take down 2-time Judo Olympic Gold Medalist Kayla Harrison, but he's only allowed to say to the other guests that she was a friend from college.
- G.I. Jokers - Murr goes on a wild ride in a fighter jet being driven by an actual fighter pilot.
Season Seven[]
- The Marathon Man - Murr has to compete in a "Murr-athon", where he has to run across the entire Brooklyn Bridge while getting splashed with freezing cold water.
- Stripteased - Murr poses as a stripper with Australia's Thunder From Down Under, except he is injected with histamines (which he is allergic to) by the the same doctor who gave him a public prostate exam two seasons back.
- Pulling the Rug - Murr poses as a waiter, but he has to find and pull off someone's wig.
- Speech Impediment - Murr is forced to give a speech at Yonkers City Hall, but every time the other Jokers say "line", Murr has to grab and read a blue card with a random, out-of-context line.
- Like a Boss - Murr poses as a new hire for tumblr but has to interrupt and heckle a meeting at the company's headquarters.
- Dropping Knowledge - Murr is forced to compete in a little trivia game show against a kid, Jake, based on Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?. Every time Jake wins a question that Murr answers incorrectly, he gets to choose an item from Murr's apartment for himself to keep, and the game is over when Murr beats Jake 3 times.
- Hell on Wheels - Murr is forced to take out some roller derby professionals and for every lap that he doesn’t take someone out, the guys send a humiliating email on his Gmail account that he cannot apologize for. The punishment doesn’t end until he takes out one player.
Season Eight[]
- Crash Test Dummies - Murr and Sal are taken to a Monster Jam event in which they are put in speeders and have endure 3 jumps. Whoever handled the jumps the worst would have a valuable item of theirs crushed (for Murr, it was his segway collection). Murr and Sal ended up having both of their items crushed.
- The Closer - Murr is forced to go inside a coffee shop and close people's laptops.
- The Dumbbell - Sal wrote a bunch of insults that were put into a bag, and Murr must say those insults in front of people with tattoos.
- Fraudway - Murr poses as a cameraman for Yanni and must do and say what he is told by the other Jokers.
- Sucks for You - While telling a (fake) personal story about how technology ruined his life, Murr must suck in through a microphone connected to either helium or sulfur hexafluoride.
- The Prize Fighter - Murr poses as a carny, who can't give people their prizes after winning a carnival game which was rigged so everyone can win.
- Toll Booth Corrector - Murr poses as a gatekeeper, but he has to do ridiculous tasks before he could let anyone out.
- Hollywood - Murr has to sit inside a kick drum while at a Steel Panther concert.
- It's Electric - Murr has to do the Electric Slide around a bunch of guys that are naked.
Season Nine[]
- The Bachelor Party - Murr gets a catheter inserted into his penis by a urologist and is then forced to go down a zipline with the catheter on. After that, Murr's fiancé, Melyssa, comes to remove the catheter from Murr, and is then given a prostate exam by Dr. Frank Contacessa yet again.
- Bleach for America- Murr is the new spokesperson for "Shiny Hiney" and the other Jokers reveal a big bulletin board of it.
- Pity in Pink - Murr's lawn is painted pink.
- Space Oddity- Murr is made to seem like he is in space, tricking a class.
- Prince + Charming- Murr has to be wrapped around with snakes.
- I'm Having the Best Time
Season Ten[]
Season Eleven[]
- Tournament of Losers - Murr is forced to change the channel at a sports bar that is supposed to be airing a March Madness game.
- Cell Block - Murr has to get between mall visitors and their phones by doing things such as hanging up and turning them off.
- Check Yourself - Murr has to stall as much as possible before delivering checks to diners.