‘Showbiz!’ entertainer Murray Hill became what he didn’t see

Terry Gross (0:00)

This is Fresh Air, I'm Terry Gross. My guest Murray Hill calls himself Mr. Showbiz. He played one of the big-hearted characters in the HBO series Somebody Somewhere about a community of friends in Manhattan, Kansas. His character, Fred Rococo, was a soil scientist and professor, and a trans man with a great sense of humor. He was also the host of the Queer Cabaret that was held at the Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, Kansas, under the guise of using the space for choir practice. In real life, Murray Hill is the persona he created to emcee innumerable drag king burlesque and music events, including the first TV drag king competition series called King of Drag. His influences include old school comics like Don Rickles, Buddy Hackett, Dean Martin, Phyllis Dillard, Todi Fields, and Joan Rivers, and musicians like Elvis and Tina Turner and Sammy Davis Jr. In the New York Times, he was described as having a look that brings to mind a 1970s Las Vegas lounge singer, crossed with a 1950s borscht belt comedian. But eventually, Murray Hill stopped being just a persona, and became his full-time identity. In his new memoir, Showbiz!

My Life as a Middle-Aged Man, he writes about being brought up by a punitive, always angry conservative Catholic mother, who wanted Murray to be an obedient feminine daughter. Murray's father basically ignored him.

After years of separating himself from his traumatic childhood, Murray realized he needed to acknowledge and stop suppressing those painful memories. As he describes different chapters of his life, the tone of his memoir keeps shifting between very funny and very pained, but punctuated with wisecracks. And I should say too, I think you're great. I love Somebody Somewhere, I love the memoir, and I love what you're wearing.

Murray Hill (1:55)

Thank you. And I'm trying to be the best dressed guy on an audio show.

Terry Gross (2:02)

Okay. So Murray, you heard me introduce you. You have introduced so many events and so many people.

I would like to know if you're willing, how you would introduce yourself or this episode.

Murray Hill (2:15)

So I would say, I would kind of do a little bit of the tone of the memoir for my introduction for you. Because in my world, I used to listen to you in the 80s, Terry.

Terry Gross (2:27)

Oh, wow.

Murray Hill (2:28)

When I had a really stupid job when I was an undergraduate in Boston and Harvard Square, I worked in like a photo lab and the days were long and boring. And all of us came together to listen to it, to make the days pass. So I feel like I've known you forever. So to me, you're a legend. You know, Terry, the voice gross. So this is what I would say.

Ladies and gentlemen, and I can say that now because this administration thinks there's only two genders and I'm both of them. Da-da-da.

Please welcome to the show, he started off in New England as a little kid and now we made it to the big time on NPR, his career highlight happening in real time at 54 years old. Please welcome Mr. Showbiz, Five Four and Nothing More, Mr. Murray Hill.

Terry Gross (3:23)

Yay.

That's great. Mine was more informative, yours was a lot more fun.

Murray Hill (3:31)

That's basically the story of my life.

Terry Gross (3:33)

Okay.

So let's get a couple of things straight here. Not too straight, Terry.

Murray Hill (3:39)

Not too straight.

Terry Gross (3:40)

So Fred Rococo, your character on Somebody Somewhere, was inspired by you, Murray Hill. What's the difference between the character you portray inspired by you and you?

Murray Hill (3:53)

Fred Rococo is me dialed down to like a two, with 10 being the highest. So, you know, I have a very big personality, as you could probably already tell.

Terry Gross (4:03)

And big lapels.

Murray Hill (4:05)

And big lapels. Can you add a rim shot? Sound effects to this? This is good.

Showbiz. You know, Fred was more calm than I am. But what we did share was enormous heart and wanting to connect with people through our heart and not how we identify and not through our circumstances. So, you know, Fred is like me with, you know, bad purple clothing, no mustache, and, you know, kind of subtle.

Terry Gross (4:39)

Subtle? Okay. That's a difference.

SPEAKER_3 (4:41)

Yeah. Yeah.

Murray Hill (4:42)

That's a big difference.

Terry Gross (4:44)

To our listeners on the radio or our podcast listeners on audio, we've referred to what Murray is wearing. So let me just say he's wearing a kind of brownish tuxedo with a very wide lapel. It's very, very shiny with a big bow tie and a ruffled shirt.