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

October 7, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Mr. Showbiz: Murray Hill on Becoming What He Didn't See

Murray Hill calls himself "Mr. Showbiz," and the label fits. He has the look of a 1970s Vegas lounge singer crossed with a Borscht Belt comedian—wide lapels, ruffled shirt, big bow tie, a mustache, and a persona built from the old-school entertainers he watched on Johnny Carson as a kid: Don Rickles, Buddy Hackett, Dean Martin, Joan Rivers. But the journey from a traumatic childhood in a conservative Catholic home to becoming a beloved character on HBO's Somebody Somewhere—and now a memoir called Showbiz! My Life as a Middle Aged Man—is anything but a straightforward showbiz story.

From Photographer to Subject

Hill started as a visual artist. At Boston University, a professor gave him Diane Arbus's catalog and Nan Goldin's The Other Side, and he was mesmerized. "Up until that point, there's no internet, no queer people on TV," he told Terry Gross on Fresh Air. "I had never seen this world or these people." He started photographing drag shows and gay pride parades in Boston, then moved to New York.

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What you'll learn

1 Showbiz! entertainer Murray Hill became what he didn’t see
2 (00:18) **Introduction: Terry Gross sets up Murray Hill's story** - Murray Hill is introduced as the performer behind Fred Rococo on HBO's *Somebody Somewhere*, a drag king MC, and now author of the memoir *Showbiz!: My Life as a Middle-Aged Man*
3 (02:21) **Murray Hill introduces himself** - Hill delivers a characteristically theatrical self-introduction in the style of his stage persona
4 (03:52) **Fred Rococo vs. Murray Hill** - Hill explains the difference between his *Somebody Somewhere* character and his real-life persona
5 (05:28) **The George Jefferson tuxedo** - Hill reveals his outfit is a homage to Norman Lear's sitcoms
6 (06:02) **Who Murray Hill is now vs. who his mother thought she was raising** - Hill describes the contrast between his authentic self and the feminine daughter his mother expected
7 (07:29) **From photography to drag king** - Hill's journey from art school to discovering queer nightlife through photography

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Terry Gross

Show Notes

Murray Hill's character on HBO’s Somebody Somewhere, Fred Rococo, is a soil scientist trans man who hosts a queer cabaret. “[He] is me dialed down to like a 2,” he tells Terry Gross. In real life, Murray has hosted drag king shows, queer cabarets, burlesque shows and performed his own act. He spoke with Terry Gross about finding and building his community, forgiveness, and how anti-trans rhetoric and policy has affected him. His new memoir is Showbiz! My Life as a Middle-Aged Man.

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