'Showbiz!': Debut Author Murray Hill in Conversation with 'Somebody, Somewhere' Co-Star Jeff Hiller

Doors: 6:30 pm | Talk: 7 pm

Event Details

From the Margins to the Marquee—One Night Only! Join comedian Murray Hill for an intimate conversation, celebrating the release of his debut memoir Showbiz! My Life as a Middle-Aged Man (Simon & Schuster’s Gallery Books). The self-proclaimed “hardest working middle-aged man in show business” sits down for a candid, unscripted evening of stories, laughs, revelations, and behind-the-curtain moments—sharing the real-life highs, lows, and everything in between that shaped his showbiz career. Murray's special guest and good friend, Emmy winner Jeff Hiller, will join the conversation. Smart, funny, and full of heart—this is Murray and Jeff, up close and off script.

Following the conversation, Murray will take questions from the audience and, because he’s the hardest working middle-aged man in show business, he’ll stick around after the event to sign every single person’s book—no rush, no line left behind.

About Showbiz!

In his powerful debut memoir, Murray opens up for the first time about how a painful past led to an unwavering commitment to spread joy — one rimshot at a time.

For more than three decades, Murray Hill has been a staple of New York City’s downtown comedy scene, delighting audiences around the world with his signature blend of campy humor and subversive showmanship. Much like Fred Rococo, his breakout role on HBO’s award-winning Somebody Somewhere, Murray radiates relentless positivity and an indomitable spirit as entertaining as it is inspiring.

But behind the one-liners lies a deeper truth. Growing up in a conservative, New England household where abuse ran rampant, and silence reigned, Murray took refuge in showbiz memoirs and watching old-school comedians on Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show. These tales of survival, in the face of abuse and discrimination, offered him hope and the possibility of reinvention through the world of entertainment.

After leaving home for college in Boston and attending graduate school in New York, Murray began the slow process of finding and defining his identity as a newly emancipated adult, a queer artist testing the boundaries of visual and performance art, and a nightlife king living by the mantra: “If you don’t see yourself represented, go out and represent yourself.”

Warm, fearless, and laugh-out-loud funny, Showbiz! is Murray Hill’s story of survival, reinvention, and finding joy against the odds. Because when life hands you trauma, you turn it into a tight five.

About the Speakers

Murray Hill is a one-man entertainment machine: comedian, host, actor, writer, producer, and walking time capsule of classic showbiz charm. Television audiences know him as the lovable Fred Rococo on HBO’s award-winning Somebody Somewhere, and from his appearances on Life & Beth (HBO), Drag Me To Dinner (Hulu), Elsbeth (CBS), Welcome to Flatch (FOX), and King of Drag (Revry). NBC News selected him as one of modern history's 30 most iconic and influential drag performers. He’s been included in New York Magazine's Fifty Most Iconic Gender Benders of All Time and named one of the Top 12 gender-bending performers in NYC by Time Out. He was recently awarded the Trailblazer Award by Queerty, and selected as one of Logo30 for being a changemaker in entertainment. His campaign for Mayor of New York in 1996 was inducted into the New York Historical Society. He lives in Brooklyn in a fourth-floor walk-up.

Jeff Hiller is an Emmy-winning actor and comedian, honored in 2025 with the award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy for his portrayal as ‘Joel’ on HBO’s Somebody Somewhere. He recently guest starred on Pluribus (Apple TV+) and is recurring on Stumble (NBC), as well as Hiro Murai’s upcoming series Widow Bay (Apple TV+). Recently, Jeff appeared in special guest star roles in Elsbeth and Ghosts (both CBS) and has had recurring roles on American Horror Story, 30 Rock, The McCarthys, Impastor, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and was a series regular on the Pop Network original Nightcap. Jeff has appeared on Broadway (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Urinetown), Off-Broadway (Bright Colors and Bold Patterns, Silence!, Heartbreak House), in Shakespeare in the Park (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Love’s Labour’s Lost), and as “Panic” in Disney’s Hercules with Public Works. He released his first memoir, Actress of a Certain Age, in 2025 and has toured extensively as a storyteller and stand up. Hiller’s next book, Pressed, will be published in 2027 by Ecco Press.