Hi, Bryan Here….

This just sucks beyond belief. Actor/Writer/Director/Producer Harold Ramis passed away this morning at his home in Chicago. He is most known for playing Dr. Egon Spangler in the ‘Ghostbusters‘, meaning he was an actual Ghostbuster. He was 69. He started off at Second City and got his big break as a co-writer of the famous 1978 film ‘National Lampoon’s Animal House‘. He also wrote ‘Meatballs‘, which starred his friend Bill Murray.

He then went on to direct his first film, which was ‘Caddyshack‘, which he also wrote, then went on to direct ‘Vacation‘, which starred Chevy Chase. From there, ‘Ghostbusters‘ came along and changed everything. Let’s not forget that Ramis directed Murray again in ‘Groundhog Day‘ and then Michael Keaton in ‘Multiplicity‘, which is one of the funniest movies ever made.

He also directed the ‘Analyze This‘ and ‘Analyze That‘, which starred Billy Crystal and Robert De Niro, then more recently he made ‘Year One‘ in 2009 and ‘The Ice Harvest‘ in 2005. You could have seen him make appearances in ‘As Good As Gets‘ as the doctor who helped Helen Hunt’s sick kid, or in ‘Knocked Up‘ as Seth Rogen’s father who smokes tons of weed. He was also in one of Colin Hanks’s first films, ‘Orange County‘, where things got a bit awkward.

Needless to say, Ramis was an amazing entertainer, writer, and director. He is responsible for some of the funniest films and characters ever made. I know he and Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Bill Murray have been trying to get a ‘Ghostbusters 3‘ off the ground for a number of years, btu it looks like this will not happen any more. How can you have a ‘Ghostbusters’ film without Ramis. You just can’t. This news is terribly sad and I give all my good thoughts to his family and friends. What a huge loss in the comedy and film world. I just hope he is somewhere now still collecting spores, molds, and fungus, and capturing the ghosts that need to be laid to rest.

You will be missed.