What Does Bill Murray Do When He's Bored? He Texts His Former “SNL” Castmate, Says Laraine Newman (Exclusive)

Newman opens up to PEOPLE about her enduring friendship with Bill Murray and reflects on what her late 'SNL' costars, Gilda Radner and John Belushi, might think of the show's lasting legacy

Saturday Night Live alum Laraine Newman opened up about her friendship with fellow castmate Bill Murray.

Though it’s been years since the two shared the SNL stage, they’ve stayed in touch — mostly through text, with Murray reaching out whenever he's feeling a little unoccupied.

“When he's doing something where he's bored, he texts me,” Newman, 72, who is set to host Hollywood, Health & Society’s 2024 Sentinel Awards on Oct. 24, tells PEOPLE with a smile. “If he’s driving cross-country, we’ll have long text conversations.”

Their exchanges, she reveals, are delightfully random, covering everything from life updates to lighthearted banter.

Related: Laraine Newman Says Lorne Michaels Initially Thought SNL Would Only Run for '13 Weeks' (Exclusive)

While Newman speaks warmly of her playful connection with Murray, she also expresses admiration for the current SNL cast and the show’s evolving sketches that continue to resonate with audiences.

“I mean, Sarah Sherman on Weekend Update, anything she does is just brilliant,” Newman says. “And Bowen Yang, I love him so much, especially when he did the iceberg from the Titanic.”

Related: 'SNL' Alums Remember Infamous Backstage Fight Between Chevy Chase and Bill Murray: 'It Was Very Sad'

Newman also reminisces about her late friend and beloved SNL castmate Gilda Radner, recalling a memorable incident during preparations for an SNL live show in New Orleans.

“They forgot about us for four hours in a part of town we didn’t know. It was Gilda and me, just stuck there,” she remembers with a laugh. "I just loved Gilda very much."

Another late friend of Newman's is John Belushi, and she reveals her thoughts on what he and Radner might think of SNL's enduring legacy.

“Well, I think they'd be amazed,” Newman says thoughtfully. “It’s hard to know whether they would have been excited about the evolution of comedy tone, but I think they would be. Both Gilda and John had a very progressive perspective on the world, as well as comedy.”

She adds that Radner and Belushi would likely be inspired by how SNL has grown over the years, even though its core format has remained largely the same.

“In format, that hasn’t changed,” Newman explains. “The behind-the-scenes function of pitching to the host, assigning sketches, writing all night, and preparing for the live show — that’s all the same.”

However, she acknowledges that the technological advancements in the production process would have been new territory for her late friends. “They have technology that we didn’t have,” she says, reflecting on the show’s progression.

Despite the changes, Newman believes that Radner and Belushi would be proud of SNL’s continued impact on comedy. “I think they would have been really inspired by how the show has grown and changed over the years," she says.

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