Was there anything he couldn’t do in film??? Writer, director, and a phenomenal actor. Also - the HEAD writer for the 84 film, "Ghostbusters"... As to making a part 3?? Ramis would almost always respond, "I'm not so sure Bill was wildly enthusiastic about putting the suit on again," - or it was always shot down with a BIG OL HAIRY - "NO!!!" So, it didn't really shock me that the re-make machine Hollywood of today.. Was talking 're-make.. Before Harold was planted into the ground!! The result?!? HORRIBLE!! A flushable (or NON-flushable) TURD of a remake!! Living up to that - a SMELL to match!! (That's IMO, of course!) Sometimes - I wonder why if they wanna do something such as that - why not USE YOUR OWN MIND and CREATE A SIMILAR storyline, & call it something else! When you do a remake - your putting YOUR film under the ol umbrella.. & comparatively.. WELL!! There IS NOOO comparison!! Whatsoever! End of STORY!! What shocked me even more - was how the 'original' cast 'SUPPORTED' it!! I think THEY were glad (mostly), it wasn't them in the suit! I dunno - I think legend & original Ghostbuster Bill Murray said it best..
Harold first caught my eye as a tyke with that film.. Ghostbusters!! There were even wheelchair 'Ghostbuster' costumes!!
Haha.. 'Egor' costumes SOLD OUT before any other.. He was in the film 'Stripes'.. But really didn't stand out to me in that film!! That film was all 'JOHN CANDY', to me anyhoo.. He said of it, "Stripes' was my first on-camera appearance and people already knew me somewhat from that, but nothing like 'Ghostbusters.' Fashion models were interested in me!" 😂 ANYway.. Twas upon studying a bit about him - I learned of his directing and writing.. And BOTH he could do flawlessly to RAZOR perfection!! There are some to whom - showbiz is second nature - to walking, talking, and sleeping!! With acting and directing & writing?? Harold was right @ home @ his craft!! He was EXTRAORDINARY in his field!! A hellofa dad.. When it came to Halloween, especially.. He said, "every Halloween for many years when my kids were trick-or-treating I would put on my 'Ghostbusters' jumpsuit with a police flashlight to protect all the kids from ghosts." Haha - I LOVE THAT! Here’s his story.
He was born Harold Allen Ramis on November 21, 1944 in Chicago Illinois.. (To booze pushin' parents - they owned a liquor store.).
Ramis was generally a quiet kid - but not above being a class clown. Hollywood Legends.net friend Jenny, a classmate, wrote of him, "A Nerd, Yes: But a Nerd with Flair: Everyone called him “Hershey,” the Yiddish translation of Harold. Tall and thin, Harold Ramis “used to wear a shirt with an open collar and a beige V-neck sweater, and his sleeves were always too short,” classmate Joellen (Adler) Lobelson recalls. “He was a nerd, but he was a nice nerd,” says another classmate, Lynne Wexelman. She remembers going downtown on the el with Harold and a couple of other friends to listen to jazz. “We weren’t sneaking in, we weren’t drinking; we were just listening to the music.” A gifted student, Ramis was elected president of the boys’ honor society his senior year; he was co editor of the yearbook, and a member of Quill & Scroll, a club for writers. Hershey had a more dashing side. He belonged to an out-of-school club, the Centaurs, whose members wore jackets—gray with red piping on the shoulders and cuffs—and moved in a pack. (Well, it was pretty innocent.) And he had a flair for romance. One day in his junior year, during a Mixed Chorus rehearsal, Lobelson was sitting in the bleachers one row in front of him. “I was laughing with my friends, and I fell backwards into his lap and he kind of caught me and gave me a kiss on my forehead and said, ‘You’re so cute,’ or something like that. I liked him right away, and we started going steady.” Several acquaintances describe him as quiet, but funny when he wanted to be. “He used to spread his nostrils, and just that would make me laugh,” 😂 THANKS Jenny!!
Ramis left Senn - for Washington University in St. Louis intent on becoming a neurosurgeon. He ended up earning a degree in English with a minor in theatre and speech. “Hershey was very smart,” Lobelson says. “And he was not aware he was smart, and that was part of his charm, too.”
He attended high school & graduated here.
Upon graduating he found work in of all places a mental institute of that he said this, "...it prepared me well for when I went out to Hollywood to work with actors. People laugh when I say that, but it was actually very good training. And not just with actors; it was good training for just living in the world. It's knowing how to deal with people who might be reacting in a way that's connected to anxiety or grief or fear or rage. As a director, you're dealing with that constantly with actors. But if I were a businessman, I'd probably be applying those same principles to that line of work it prepared me for the throes of Hollywood."
By 1968 - like many other Chicago prodigies - Ramis had began working with the famed Second City Troupe.. In 1974 - John Belushi brought Ramis, to NYC, to work on on The National Lampoon Radio Hour. During this time, Ramis, Belushi, Murray, Joe Flaherty, Christopher Guest, and Gilda Radner - made the hour shine!!! About a year later, Ramis had earned his ticket as a performer on, and head writer of, the late-night sketch-comedy television series SCTV, staying on during its first three years.. Remember,“Crazy Legs” 😂
With fate in full motion.. Ramis left SCTV to pursue a film career and wrote a script with National Lampoon magazine's Douglas Kenney, which eventually became National Lampoon's Animal House, starring friend John Belushi.. Which went on to break records at the box-office.. Ramis next co-wrote the comedy Meatballs, starring pal & legend Bill Murray.. Twas a HUGE success & and became the first of six film collaborations between Murray and Ramis..
Ramis' directorial debut came with the (now) cult classic, Caddyshack, which he wrote with Kenney and Brian Doyle-Murray. It starred Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, and Bill Murray. Like Ramis's previous two films, Caddyshack BROKE RECORDS, and solidified Ramis as an official A-lister in Hollywood!!
He certainly racked up a nice fat resume during his career. He was a CREATIVE GENIUS!!!
He lived here... Glencoe, Illinois.
In May 2010, Ramis contracted an infection that resulted in complications from AIV, (autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis), and lost the ability to walk. After relearning to walk he suffered a relapse of the disease in late 2011... He died of complications of the disease on February 24, 2014 at his home at age 69.
A memorial to commemorate him, broke out at the Ghostbusters headquarters..
A private funeral was held for him two days later with family, friends, and several collaborators in attendance including Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas, David Pasquesi, Andrew Alexander, and the widows of John Belushi and Bernard Sahlins. He is buried at Shalom Memorial Park in Arlington Heights.
RIP Harold!! Your creativity, talent, & ingenuity, will continue on for generations to come - turning inspiration & ideas - into passion for a whole new line of filmmakers!! Leave your comment & non-wilting flowers here! #haroldramis
YOU DEFINITELY got THE LAST LAUGH!! 😂
"I totally claim that it was us that turned 'slimed' into a verb"
