Harold Ramis obit

He was not on the list.

Harold Ramis, 'Ghostbuster' Actor And 'Groundhog Day' Director, Dies

Harold Ramis, who was in the director's chair for the comedies Groundhog Dayand Caddyshack and was one of the stars of the Ghostbuster movies, has died. He was 69.

His wife, Erica Mann Ramis, tells the Chicago Tribune that her husband, who lived in Chicago, "was surrounded by family when he died at 12:53 a.m. [Monday] from complications of autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis, a rare disease that involves swelling of the blood vessels."

The Associated Press also confirmed the news with Ramis' attorney, Fred Toczek.

As the Tribune says:

"Ramis leaves behind a formidable body of work, with writing credits on such enduring comedies as National Lampoon's Animal House (which upon its 1978 release catapulted the film career of John Belushi, with whom Ramis acted at Second City),Stripes (1981) and Ghostbusters (in which Ramis also co-starred) plus such directing efforts as Caddyshack (1980), National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), Groundhog Dayand Analyze This. ...

"Ramis' comedies were often wild, silly and tilting toward anarchy, but they also were cerebral and iconoclastic, with the filmmaker heeding the Second City edict to work at the top of one's intelligence."

He influenced many younger actors and directors, the Tribune adds, including Judd Apatow, Jay Roach and Adam Sandler.

In 2005, Ramis talked with Fresh Air's Terry Gross about his work. Of Caddyshack,he said, "I had this notion of [it] being like a Marx Brothers movie, and Rodney [Dangerfield] was the Groucho of the team."

"Ramis passed away peacefully this morning surrounded by family and friends in his Chicago area home, where he and wife, Erica Mann Ramis, have lived since 1996," according to a statement sent to reporters by United Talent Agency, which represented the actor/director. "In addition to his wife Erica, Ramis is survived by sons Julian and Daniel, daughter Violet and two grandchildren."

Filmography

Film

Year       Title                Director                Writer   Producer              Notes

1978      National Lampoon's Animal House            No          Yes         No         

1979      Meatballs            No          Yes         No         

1980      Caddyshack        Yes         Yes         No          Directorial Debut

1981      Stripes              No          Yes         No         

1983      National Lampoon's Vacation      Yes         No          No         

1984      Ghostbusters     No          Yes         No         

1986      Back to School   No          Yes         executive           

Club Paradise     Yes         Yes         No         

Armed and Dangerous   No          Yes         No         

1988      Caddyshack II     No          Yes         No         

1989      Ghostbusters II     No          Yes         No         

1991      Rover Dangerfield            No          Yes         No         

1993      Groundhog Day                 Yes         Yes         Yes         BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay

1995      Stuart Saves His Family Yes         No          No         

1996      Multiplicity         Yes         No          Yes        

1997      As Good As It Gets           No          No          No         

1999      Analyze This       Yes         Yes         No         

2000      Bedazzled            Yes         Yes         Yes        

2002      Analyze That      Yes         Yes         No         

2005      The Ice Harvest Yes         No          No         

2009      Year One              Yes         Yes         Yes        

Executive Producer

    The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest (2002)

    I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (2006)

    Archie's Final Project (2009)

Acting roles

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1981      Stripes Russell Ziskey    

Heavy Metal       Zeke      Voice, (segment "So Beautiful and So Dangerous")

1983      Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone                Intercom              Voice, Uncredited

National Lampoon's Vacation      Marty Moose     Voice, Uncredited

1984      Ghostbusters     Dr. Egon Spengler           

1987      Baby Boom         Steven Bochner               

1988      Stealing Home   Alan Appleby    

1989      Ghostbusters II Dr. Egon Spengler           

1993      Groundhog Day                 Neurologist        

1994      Airheads              Chris Moore      

Love Affair           Sheldon Blumenthal       

1997      As Good as It Gets            Dr. Martin Bettes            

2000      High Fidelity       Rob's Dad            (scenes deleted)

2002      Orange County Don Durkett      

I'm with Lucy      Jack       

2006      The Last Kiss       Professor Bowler             

2007      Knocked Up        Ben's Dad           

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story               L'Chai'm              

2009      Year One              Adam    Final Appearance

2019      Cleanin' Up the Town: Remembering Ghostbusters          Himself                 Documentary feature-film

Television

    Second City Television (1976–1978)

    Delta House (1979)

    The Rodney Dangerfield Show: It's Not Easy Bein' Me (1982)

    The Top (1984)

    The Office (2007–2010)

Video games

Year       Title       Role       Notes

2009      Ghostbusters: The Video Game Dr. Egon Spengler            Voice role;

Also writer

2015      Lego Dimensions              Voice role (Archive Audio)