Murray Hill

Murray Hill (born 25 November 1971 ) is a New York City based American comedian, drag king, actor, television host, and entertainer. He is the entertainer persona of Busby Murray Gallagher , although this persona is maintained even in private settings. Murray Hill is the self-proclaimed "hardest-working middle-aged man in show business."

Early life, family and education Hill was born in Massachusetts and was raised by religious, conservative parents in Connecticut, New England. "I was just absorbing this whole culture," Hill told Today in an interview, "I loved the community aspect of it. Life sucked on the outside but in these gay clubs, it was fun. It was joyous. It was campy, and I loved camp. People took care of each other. So over time, I realized that I was enjoying and loving this entire environment. But still, I didn't see anyone represented like myself." During this time, he photographed New York drag big-wigs including Lypsinka, Girlina and Lady Bunny.

In his early career as a drag king, Hill hosted gigs as a "cigarette guy" and then as a "fat Elvis impersonator" at Club Casanova in East Village. He hadn't settled on a name yet, but he lived in Manhattan's Murray Hill neighbourhood at the time, and saw the phrase "everywhere around him." Eventually, he went with Busby Murray Gallagher and began to further develop his drag persona as the "comedian, entertainer, and shtick slinger." Busby was a callback to Buzz, Hill's gender-ambiguous nickname in college.

Inspired by the Catskills-Borscht Belt comedians from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, such as Don Rickles, Shecky Greene, and Shelley Berman, Hill's drag alter-ego sported "pinky rings and plaid jackets, slicked back hair with loads of campy bravado and lounge-y flair." He also started emcee-ing for theatre, burlesque, and entertainment events, including The Village Voice's Siren Festival (2002), Marc Jacobs "infamous" holiday parties, Paper Magazine's dinner for Pedro Almodovar (2006), Bust's 15th anniversary party at The Speigeltent (2008), recurring bingo nights with drag queen Linda Simpson, and his annual Oscar's party at Joe's Pub. During this time, he met and befriended many Gay Gotham luminaries, including Justin Vivian Bond and Joan Rivers, as well as cabaret performer Bridget Everett who cast him in Somebody Somewhere (2022) two decades later. He has been hosting the New York Burlesque Festival and Burlesque-A-Pades at The Birchmere, Virginia since the early 2000s.

Hill co-created and starred in This is Burlesque, an Off-off-Broadway show, with Angie Pontani in 2008; the show ran for two years between.

After watching him perform at a burlesque show with the Pontani sisters in SoHo, Manhattan, Dita Von Teese's manager approached Hill to recruit him as the opening act for her tour. She had been struggling to find someone who was professional, respectful towards women and "could adapt to different audiences." He was hired after a trial run in Seattle, and toured with Von Teese for the next ten years. He hosted ten live shows of Von Teese's Strip Strip Hooray! at Roxy on Sunset Strip, Los Angeles in 2011 and spent the next summer touring with her across Live Nation's House of Blues venues. He appeared in the comedy-drama Life & Beth (2022–2024) and hosted the 2023 Hulu comedy competition Drag Me to Dinner. He was part of the main cast of Somebody Somewhere (2022– 2024).

In December 2024, Hill was announced as the host of an upcoming drag reality competition series King of Drag. The show premiered in June 2025 on Revry and is the first drag competition series focusing specifically on drag kings. Hill was replaced as host of the second season by Cameron Esposito.

Legacy and image During a time when drag queens "reigned supreme" and drag kings did not enjoy similar notoriety, Hill became widely regarded as a "New York institution" and "an indelible figure of New York nightlife." The Seattle Weekly recognized him as a "pioneer" of drag kings. In 2005, The New York Times called him "the reigning patriarch of the downtown performance community" for moving "seamlessly from old time-y clubs like the Plush Room in San Francisco (known for lounge acts like Patti Lupone's) to an East Village spot where nearly naked men dance on the bar." Truscott of the Wau Wau Sisters likened Murray to the "middle of the wheel holding all these different spokes together."

Personal life Hill is transgender. He has previously mentioned that he hasn't and doesn't want to pursue gender-affirming care. He married Michelle Cather-Casino on 20 December 2025 at Lincoln Center in New York City.

In November 2021, on his 50th birthday, Hill lost his Williamsburg, Brooklyn apartment of more than 20 years in a fire. A GoFundMe, benefiting Hill and some of his neighbours, was launched shortly after and raised more than $100,000.

Awards and nominations

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