'Groundhog Day' Celebrates 25 Years As A Comedy Classic

PITTSBURGH, PA - For Pittsburghers making the 80-mile trek to Punxsutawney Thursday for the world’s largest annual gathering to pay homage to an overweight rodent, there’s an extra reason to celebrate this year: It’s the 25th anniversary of the classic Bill Murray comedy “Groundhog Day.”

If you’re one of the few folks who hasn’t seen it, Murray plays Phil Connors, an arrogant weatherman sent to cover the annual emergence of Punxsutawney Phil from his hole. Connors gets caught in a blizzard he didn’t predict and then finds himself trapped in a time warp, forced to relive the same day over and over until he gets it right.

In honor of the movie’s silver anniversary, here are some little-known facts about “Groundhog Day” courtesy of IMBD:

• The movie wasn’t filmed in Punxsutawney but in Woodstock, Illinois, (just fifty miles from Murray’s hometown of Wilmette, Illinois). There is a small plaque that reads "Bill Murray stepped here" on the curb where Murray continually steps into a puddle.

• Punxsutawney Phil was not in the movie. A family of groundhogs was raised for the production.

• Murray was bitten by groundhogs twice during shooting and had to have anti-rabies injections because the bites were so severe.

• The groundhog ceremony is depicted as occurring in the center of town. Gobbler's Knob, where the ceremony takes place in real-life, is a rural, wooded area, about two miles outside of Punxsutawney.

• Murray, the late Harold Ramis (who directed the film) and actor Stephen Tobolowsky (Ned "The Head" Reyerson the Insurance Agent) all have been honorary Grand Marshals for the Groundhog Day celebrations in Punxsutawney.

Has this whetted your appetite to revisit the classic comedy? If so, the Carnegie science Center’s Rangos Giant Cinema will show the film at 4 and 7 p.m. on Feb. 1 and 2 and 4 p.m. on Feb. 4. Tickets can be purchased at CarnegieScienceCenter.org/Rangos-Giant-Cinema/Groundhog-Day/.

Photo of real Punxsutwaney Phil via Associated Press.