OT: Harold Ramis (Ghostbusters, Caddyshack) dead
Pretty much the best comedy films from the last 35 years had Harold Ramis' imprint on it. Sounds like had been suffering quite a lot the last couple years too unfortunately with a rare autoimmune disease.
If you got the time, watch a few clips today from Ghostbusters, Stripes, Groundhog Day, Caddyshack, Animal House, National Lampoon's Vacation, Back to School or Meatballs. There are other films too and directing bits on The Office.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:17 PM ^
One of my favorites....can't beleive it.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:46 PM ^
do you smell something?
February 24th, 2014 at 1:20 PM ^
His IMDB page is pretty much a list of the last 30-40 years of hilarious movies, his writing and acting influenced tons of pop culture. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000601/?ref_=nv_sr_1 Remember not to cross the streams.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:20 PM ^
Orange County - one of my favorites, in addition to the classics you listed.
RIP Harold. A legend.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:22 PM ^
Terrible news. I loved his work, having grown up in the 80's.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:24 PM ^
He was also in one of my all-time favorite movies, "Stealing Home," with Mark Harmon, Jodie Foster and a young Jonathan Silverman. Classic - especially if you are like me and have a special love for baseball movies.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:26 PM ^
I loved that movie, too.
And I literally was thinking of that movie while I was typing my post below.
Such a "good guy" Harold Ramis type role.
February 24th, 2014 at 2:47 PM ^
Robin Parks is a complete slut!
February 24th, 2014 at 5:10 PM ^
Thank you for that.
Made me smile.
I can't believe he's gone.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:24 PM ^
My first reaction to this post was that it was impossible that Harold Ramis could be dead. My second reaction to this post is that Harold Ramis could not possibly be 69 years old. My third reaction to this post was, "That's a big twinkie".
RIP Harold Ramis. Thank you for all the laughs.
February 24th, 2014 at 2:51 PM ^
His birthday is almost exactly between my parents', who although they are both 69 seem perfectly healthy and not really any older than they were 10 years ago. He didn't act much but wrote some excellent screenplays. He will be missed.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:25 PM ^
could that guy have been any more likeable?
I feel like a substantial portion of my youth just got demolished.
Not that this is what's important here or anything, but dammit. Man, I liked that guy.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:26 PM ^
Sorry everyone. I'm depressed beyond the capacity for rational thought.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:27 PM ^
and very appropriate.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:28 PM ^
Don't cross the streams.
It would be bad.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:42 PM ^
I'm fuzzy on the whole good bad thing. What do you mean by bad?
February 24th, 2014 at 1:49 PM ^
February 24th, 2014 at 1:29 PM ^
So he was a good guy in real life, too. Dammit, tears.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:29 PM ^
February 24th, 2014 at 1:30 PM ^
February 24th, 2014 at 1:44 PM ^
of Stripes is like a nostalgic trip down memory lane for me.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:29 PM ^
I collect spores, molds, and fungus.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:30 PM ^
this guy was incredible
February 24th, 2014 at 1:31 PM ^
It would be fair to say, like other posters have, that a fair number of my favorite films growing up and even into my adulthood had the name "Harold Ramis" somewhere in the credits. This is very sad news - he was a very talented writer and director and great on-screen as well.
Like saveferris though, one of my reactions did involve:
RIP Harold Ramis.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:31 PM ^
February 24th, 2014 at 1:37 PM ^
While I wholeheartedly agree with your comments, I'm oddly dissapointed that you didn't provide a simpler, more direct response:
Durn it.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:48 PM ^
February 24th, 2014 at 1:32 PM ^
Animal House and Caddyshack are still some of the funniest movies ever (particularly Animal House, which I could be talked into being #1 all-time). Sometimes when you look at "classics" you can see why they were important at the time, but they are not really relevant to today -- but the type of comedy he wrote still would crush at the box office today.
As an aside, I recently watched a two hour A&E "Biography" on the making of Caddyshack -- it was Ramis' first director job and he clearly didn't know what he was doing (as he admitted) but he had such an even-keel calm about the whole thing (they had many issues -- finding a course to shoot at, weather issues, changes to the script, etc), he kept the whole, disparate cast together and made a classic.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:48 PM ^
on an NBC news release:
In a 2004 profile of Ramis, Tad Friend of the New Yorker wrote, " What Elvis did for rock and Eminem did for rap, Harold Ramis did for attitude: he mass-marketed the sixties to the seventies and eighties. He took his generation’s anger and curiosity and laziness and woolly idealism and gave it a hyper-articulate voice. He wised it up."
February 24th, 2014 at 1:34 PM ^
Shit!
February 24th, 2014 at 4:42 PM ^
Convicted? No. Never convicted.
February 24th, 2014 at 5:12 PM ^
No, we're not homosexuals. But we're willing to learn.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:38 PM ^
February 24th, 2014 at 1:41 PM ^
Thanks for helping make my childhood awesome!! You will truly be missed!
February 24th, 2014 at 1:41 PM ^
That he didn't stand a Ghost of a chance, but he showed them his Stripes, and made a hole in one from the Caddyshack.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:48 PM ^
Truly a great comedy talent.
I've always believed that Groundhog Day is one of the most underrated comedies and/or movies in recent memory.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:59 PM ^
It's one of those movies that seems to get better the more times you watch it.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:51 PM ^
My job is to come up with something that you like and you agree with that you would play wholeheartedly. If we disagree, I may not be doing my job correctly.
Actually, Harold, I'd say you did your job exceptionally well. Thank you.
February 24th, 2014 at 2:01 PM ^
Seemed like a guy who just jumped in there and said "Shit, I can do this" and pulled it off making it look easy. Which is incredibly hard.
February 24th, 2014 at 2:18 PM ^
February 24th, 2014 at 2:38 PM ^
February 24th, 2014 at 2:48 PM ^
Animal House came out soon after I joined a fraternity at Michigan. So, among other things, it contributed a lot of humor to what was a fun period in my life. If you ever find a copy of the National Lampoon Animal House magazine, definitely read it! They came out with a written, magazine version of the movie complete with pictures that is equally hilarious. It has some stuff too that was not in the movie.
But certainly, Ramis was a comedic genius that will be sorely missed. RIP Egon.
February 24th, 2014 at 2:54 PM ^
With Shirley Temple Black, Peter O’Toole, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Roger Ebert, Jonathan Winters, James Gandolfini, Sid Caesar, Annette Funicello and now Harold Ramis, the in memoriam tribute during the Academy Awards telecast just became a bit more of a tear jerker.
Very sad news. But the tears will fade and the laughter will endure. . . . And now to determine whether human emotions will affect my physical environment.
February 24th, 2014 at 2:59 PM ^
Well done Harold!
February 24th, 2014 at 3:28 PM ^
And how weird too because just yesterday afternoon I dug out an old copy of Esquire because it had an interview with him that I wanted to re-read. Spooky!
February 24th, 2014 at 3:41 PM ^
I was just watching Stripes yesterday.
February 24th, 2014 at 4:47 PM ^
I don't know how many time growing up I heard, "Never hit anyone in anger, unless you're absolutely sure you can get away with it."