In Memory of Harold Ramis (1944-2014)

Harold Ramis (1944-2014)

To fans who watched several or most
of the movies he wrote, starred in, and
directed, including two of the films
from the "Ghostbusters" series,
notably, the first (click here), "Animal
House," "Groundhog Day," "National
Lampoon's Vacation," and "Caddyshack."

Comedy director/writer/actor Harold
Ramis unexpectedly passed away at
age 69 on February 24th, 2014. Ramis began his career after enrolling at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, where he wrote some spoof material for a list of plays. After finishing his work in St. Louis, Ramis returned to his hometown of Chicago and, in 1968, worked as a substitute teacher at various schools in one of the city's inner states. Then he joined the improvisational comedy troupe Second City to study and perform.

After leaving the comedy troupe for a time of absence before returning in 1972, Ramis made his way as a foil to the deadpan comedy of John Belushi, who at one time replaced him in the main cast. It got Harold and his fellow performers, including Bill Murray, to join Belushi and work together on a radio show called The National Lampoon Radio Hour. To conclude this time, Ramis, Murray, Belushi, and the other comedians starred in a revue of The National Lampoon Show on stage. Then he became a performer/writer for the TV series "SCTV," where he spent the rest of his years, from 1976 to 1979, acting and writing these skits. After "SCTV," he pursued a film career, working with National Lampoon's Douglas Kenney and later with Chris Miller on a raunchy story set in a fraternity house and featuring a corrupt dean. That story became a movie, titled "Animal House," which earned $141 million and broke box office records. The next film that starred Bill Murray, "Meatballs," became a commercial success in 1979. The following year, he made his directing debut with "Caddyshack." Again, he worked with Bill Murray. The edgy comedy flick featured other comedy leads like Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, and Ted Knight.

Ramis would collaborate with Dan Aykroyd on the screenplay and co-star with the comedian in Ivan Reitman's "Ghostbusters" as Dr. Egon Spengler, the group's brains. The 1984 movie became one of the summer's top-grossing hits, prompting him to reprise the character in the second instalment. Before "Ghostbusters," Harold Ramis directed the first "National Lampoon's Vacation," another big success. His later groundbreaking feature, "Groundhog Day," performed moderately at the box office and was then considered by critics as his "masterpiece." "Analyze This," followed by its sequel "Analyze That," "Bedazzled," and "Year One," were all some of the last movies he wrote and directed.

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