Who would have expected Bill Murray to speak at a meeting titled, "The International Conference on Sturgeon Biodiversity and Conservation"?
But there the comedian was at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, expounding on the sturgeon and other matters before 200 scientists who had gathered for two days of scholarly deliberations on how to halt the global decline of the giant fish."Some of you are saying, `What is he doing here?' " he said. His explanation was that he lives on the Hudson River, which is home to sturgeon.
Acknowledging the credentials of his audience, he asked: "How many of you are marine biologists? How many are ichthyologists?"
He left no doubt of his commitment to sturgeon. He crumpled up a check and threw it to Kathryn Birstein, the wife of Dr. Vadim Birstein, a champion of sturgeons in Russia. It was a signed blank check.