When looking at some of the best comedies from the late seventies to early eighties one name continued to pop up Harold Ramis. He was influential to these two decades not only as an Actor but as a screenwriter director and producer. It seems like most of the big comedies that came out during that time period he has some sort of tie to. He was a writer for such great movies such as Animal House, Caddyshack, Meatballs, and Back to School. He directed hits like Vacation and Groundhog Day. He also acted in amazing films like Ghostbusters and stripes. It seems as though most of the comedies that you associate with the eighties he played some sort of role in. He was the mastermind behind movies that you wouldn’t even associate him with who knew that this actor who usually plays small roles had such a huge impact on comedies.
Harold Ramis was born in Chicago Illinois in 1944.He was a very intelligent kid who thought his opportunity to go to college was over in the first grade when he was sent to the principal’s office as a kid. Harold was a good student receiving a National Merit Scholarship while attending high school. In 1967 he graduated from Washington University in ST. Louis, Missouri. (editors) Ramis was able to avoid being drafted by the military by taking a methamphetamine that helped him fail his physical test. (Grim 41) His first job came as a jokes editor for Playboy Magazine. Although Harold had success at Playboy eventually obtaining the job of associate editor he eventually left the magazine to pursue a job in comedy. (Grim 52)He had always been fascinated with comedians like Sid Caesar, and Steve Allen. In 1969 he ventured out and joined Second City. (Dean 5338) There he got a chance to improve his skills improving with other comedians. Harold stood out right away with his quick wit and natural ability to ab lib. It was at second City where Ramis first met such stars as Bill Murray, and John Belushi. (editors) It was his relationship with Murray that led to his most success as an actor and a writer. When thinking about Harold Ramis there are too many great movies to list them all but here are a few that really stood out to me and the roles he played in making them.
Actor and Writer
In Stripes the Murray and Ramis team up as two down on their luck guys who decide that joining the army will fix their problems. You can tell when you watch the movie that Murray and Ramis have incredible chemistry. Murray plays John Winger a cab driver and Ramis plays Russell Ziskey. The two stand out in basic training as misfits and consistently locking horns with their drill sergeant. (Dean 3839) After their sergeant is injured in a training assignment the John is forced to train the group so that they can march and complete basic training. The group pulls it together although a little unconventionally impress the General who passes them. They are then sent to Italy where they complete a mission and are seen as Heroes. In stripes both Murray and Ramis play off of each other perfectly you can really tell that the two actors enjoy working with each other.
One of the first movies that I remember seeing as a kid was Ghostbusters. In the move Harold Ramis alongside Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd play scientist who start a business of catching ghost in New York City. Ramis plays the nerdy Egon Spengler who along with his friends are put in the unenviable task of saving the city from destruction from the outer world. (Dean 1451,3325) The movie was written by Ramis and Aykroyd and had huge commercial success in the United States doing almost 295 million dollars. (Box Office Mojo) I remember the excitement I had as a kid seeing this movie as a kid. Little did I know that two of the stars of the film were the ones who had written the movie? Ghostbuster was one of those movies that you begged your parents or older siblings to take you to again. Ramis was a true Triple threat when it came to comedy here are a few of the movies that stood out to me and what his roles were.
Writer
As a writer the one movie that really stands out for me is Animal House. (Dean 5692) Ramis co-wrote the movie with Chris Miller and Douglas Kenney. He got the idea for the movie while attending college at Washington University. In the movie Harold got to work with friend and Second City alum John Belushi. When he saw Belushi on stage for the first time he knew his days of being a comedic front man were behind him. In a lot of his movies Harold would get the opportunity to work with his friends from his Second City Days. The movie about an out of control fraternity and their relationship with the college went on to become a huge hit.
Director and Writer
Harold Ramis made his directorial debut in the 1980 classic Caddyshack. The movie stars a laundry list of top comedic actors including Chevy Chase , Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight and of course Bill Murray. The movie shows the antics on a golf course. The movie shows the interactions between the caddie’s and some of the club members. One of the best parts of the movie is the back and forth between snobby Judge Smails (Ted Knight) and the Crude Al Czervik (Rodney Dangerfield). My favorite part of the movie as a kid was when Carl Spackler (Bill Murray) attempts to get rid of a gopher that is tearing up the course. This movie has always been one of my favorites and I am amazed that some of the lines and catch phrases are still quoted today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR0sWU1HzTE
National Lampoons vacation was a great movie that he both wrote and directed. It is the story of a family vacation to a mythical amusement park named Wally World. In the movie Clark Griswold takes his family on an unbelievable adventure where things just keep going wrong. In an interview with David Letterman in 1983 Ramis described how he would constantly laugh at the jokes during filming but the laughter stopped in the editing room. (Dean 5405) He also explained how important the reaction to the audience was to comedic movie. He tells Letterman that it makes a huge difference. The movie was very important to Ramis as his daughter Violet makes a cameo as Cousin Eddie’s daughter Daisy Mabel.
Personal Life
Harrold Ramis was married twice and is the father of three children. He had two boys with his second wife Erica. With his first wife Anne Plotkin he had a daughter. He was also the grandfather of two. He was inducted into the Saint Louis hall of fame in 2005. (Dean Pg.392) In 2015 he received a lifetime achievement award by the writer’s guild of America. In 2016 The Second City started the Harold Ramis film school to honor him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_SPWeDWxDs
Death
On February of 2014 Ramis passed away from complications of a disease he had been battling. He had picked up the inflection and had been struggling with it for almost four years. He was 69 years old when he died. (editors) The comedy world mourned his loss. He is an irreplaceable comedic legend. At the time of his death Mr. Ramis had fourteen credits director and thirty seven as a writer.
Conclusion
Harrold Ramis was the man behind most of the comedic movies that I remember seeing as a kid. I have to admit that I liked his movies before I even understood most of the jokes. He truly was one of the funniest people to work in comedy. I thought meatballs was the most exciting thing to watch when I was a kid. Ghostbusters was the first movie that I forced my parents to sit through multiple times. Most of his movies whether he acts directs or writes them have a similar theme of them it is a group of outcast that gain respect or attention through their actions. I was amazed when I started to gather information on him just how many movie the man had a hand in. I never knew as a kid that the geeky guy on the Ghostbuster films wasn’t just a genius in the film he was a genius in real life. It seems to me that he lived a tremendous life and accomplished more than people could ever image. (Grim 58)
References
Dean, Dorthy. Harol Ramis 131 Success facts. 2014. Kindle Book.
editors, Biography.com. "The Biogrphy .com website." n.d. Biography.com/Harrol Ramis. 13 March 2016.
Grim, R.B. Harold Ramis Uauthorized and Uncensored. 7 November 2014. Kindle Book
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hbh8_l0JDI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_SPWeDWxDs
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