'Groundhog Day' screenwriter, actor provide insight on how Erie is connected to film

If you watch the movie “Groundhog Day” you might catch an Erie reference.

In the scene at the diner when Bill Murray's character Phil Connors is talking with Andie MacDowell's character Rita Hanson, Murray tries to explain that he is living the same day over and over.

To prove his point, Murray pulls over a waitress named Alice, played by Martha Webster. Murray says: “This is Alice. She was born in Germany, she came over here from Ireland when she was a baby and lived in Erie most of her life.”

This leads to the question, why the Erie connection? What made the writers give Erie a 10-second mention in the film?

Does original script provide any clues?

Actor Stephen Tobolowsky, who plays insurance salesman Ned Ryerson in the film, hoped to shed some light on the Erie connection by contacting one of the movie's screenwriters, Danny Rubin. Rubin responded by providing the Times-News a look at an early copy of the screenplay.

In the early draft of the script, Alice was supposed to be a practicing real estate agent waiting for her next big sale so she can move from Punxsutawney to Utah.

Here's a look at the original script dialogue provided by Rubin:

• PHIL grabs an astonished RITA and pulls her over to the next table.

• PHIL: "This is Alice. Hi."

• ALICE: "Do I know you?"

• PHIL: "She's in real estate. Business is lousy and she's going to leave town after her next big sale and move to Utah. That's her grandmother’s necklace."

• ALICE is dumfounded. RITA is a little embarrassed.

• RITA: "Very lovely."

• ALICE: "Thanks."

However, during a later meeting with the screenwriters and producer Harold Ramis, a change was made to the Alice character, making her a waitress from Erie.

More: How to watch Groundhog Day: Punxsutawney Phil isn't the only star of holiday

It's a possibility, Rubin said, that this all could be just an ad-lib moment from a writer or even Ramis, who died in 2014. Maybe Erie was mentioned due to its geographic location. Erie, after all, is just a little more than two hours from Punxsutawney.

Is the mention of Erie even referring to the Pennsylvania city?

Municipalities named Erie can also be found in in Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas and Missouri.

But geographically, Erie, Pa., makes the most sense. We might never know for sure, though.

As Tobolowsky told the Times-News in an email: "Art remains a mystery."

Contact Nicholas Sorensen at nsorensen@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: 'Groundhog Day' film: Erie PA connection to Bill Murray classic