News this week of actor and comedian Bill Murray's alleged physical abuse of wife Jennifer Butler Murray probably came as a shock to those who revere the ex-SNL star's sensitive turns in recent films such as Lost in Translation and Broken Flowers (perhaps Murray is actually whispering a threat of bodily injury to Scarlett Johansson at the conclusion of the former). However, another detail in Murray's soon-to-be-ex-wife's complaint is not so surprising —she contends that her husband has "an addiction to marijuana." Anyone who has seen Murray's iconic performance as the weed-impaired groundskeeper Carl Spackler in Caddyshack may have suspected that the role had a fair amount of "method" acting going for it.

But what many people may not be aware of is that the Oscar-nominated actor was arrested and convicted of marijuana possession in the early 1970s when he was a struggling member of the Second City improvisational theater in Chicago. A Chicago Tribune news brief from September 22, 1970 unearthed by Radar memorialized Murray's capture and may very well serve as the first published "review" of his comedic abilities:

William Murray, 20, of 1930 Elwood Dr., Wilmette (Il.), was standing in line waiting to board a plane to Denver at O'Hare International Airport yesterday when he jokingly told another passenger that he was carrying two bombs in his luggage. A ticket agent didn't think it was funny and called United States marshals. They searched his luggage in vain for the bombs but did find five bricks of marijuana, weighing two pounds each and valued at $20,000. Chicago vice detectives had been waiting at the airport to arrest Murray because they had received a tip. He is charged with possession of marijuana and will appear in Narcotics Court today.

Murray's arrest and subsequent conviction (he was placed on probation) have been referenced in some of the early profiles about the star, but it remains one of the lesser known exploits in his gonzo resume.