James “Murr” Murray at the Rust Belt -- September 12.
Sunday, September 12, 7 p.m.
The Rust Belt, 533 12th Avenue, East Moline IL
A New York-based actor, comedian, producer, and New York Times bestselling author, James “Murr” Murray makes his hotly anticipated debut at East Moline's The Rust Belt on September 12, the gifted humorist and frequent television presence familiar from his tenures with comedy troupe The Tenderloins and their TV comedy Impractical Jokers.
Born in New York City's Staten Island, Murray attended Monsignor Farrell High School in that borough, meeting his future comedy partners Joe Gatto, Brian Quinn, and Sal Vulcano there during his freshman year. He graduated in 1994 and later graduated from Washington D.C.'s Georgetown University, and in 1998, with funding provided by his parents, Murray produced, wrote, and directed the film comedy Damned!, which starred Jeremy Guskin as Jesus in an alternate retelling of the Bible. After being apart for 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 and sketch-comedy troupe in 1999, and calling themselves the Tenderloins. The ensemble of longtime friends began producing comedy sketches together and posting them on YouTube, MySpace, and Metacafe, and the Tenderloins subsequently accumulated millions of views online. In 2007, the troupe also won the $100,000 grand prize in NBC's It's Your Show competition for the sketch "Time Thugs."
A hidden-camera reality show with improvisational elements, Impractical Jokers premiered on truTV on December 15, 2011, and starred Murray and his fellow members of the Tenderloins. The show's ninth season premiered this past February 4, and the popular series – one that inspired a full-length theatrical film in 2020 – has been renewed for a 26-episode tenth season. And in addition to his comedy career, Murray has spent the last several years as a bestselling author. In 2018, he and co-author Darren Wearmouth released their sci-fi/horror novel Awakened, which revolves around a monster that lives in the subways of New York City. A sequel, The Brink, was released in 2019, and in 2020, Murray and Wearmouth co-wrote another horror novel, Don't Move, that follows a group of campers being hunted by a giant arachnid. The authors' latest novel The Stowaway, which concerns a serial killer aboard a cruise ship, is set for release on September 21.
With Jiggy providing an opening set, James “Murr” Murray brings his comedy tour to East Moline on September 12, admission to the 7 p.m. show is $35-42, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRustBeltQC.com.
