"If someone asks you if you're a God, say yes..."
For some cinema-goers who dreamed of a full reunion of the Ghostbusters team - always unlikely, but sometimes tantilisingly close - the death of Harold Ramis earlier today (from reported complications of autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis according to the Chicago Tribune) will be akin to all hope of a classic Beatles reunion being scuppered by Lennon's death - albeit with more spectral slime. That may sound grandiose and irreverent, but Ramis and his contribution - not just to the famous Ghostbusters franchise but to the wry cinema landscape - should not go undervalued.
Ramis was an accomplished actor writer and director - receiving plaudits, respect and awards for all three. His writing work, often in comedies, included National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978) Stripes (1981), Caddyshack (1980), National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), the much-beloved Groundhog Day (1993), Analyze This (1999) and Analyze That (2002) . He co-wrote the classic Ghostbusters as well as being part of its central anti-spook team.
Born in 1944, he was always involved in writing. Originally a comedian and joke writer, he was Playboy's in-house joke-editor before he made his way through the famous 'Second City' circuit and eventually into television and film. He would go on to influence a whole raft of modern day film-makers who were brought up on his always clever, sometimes snarky but never objectionable brand of comedic drama. He worked closely with the likes of legendary comics such as John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray and Dan Ackroyd but in recent years his apperances in front of the camera were more cameos and he had concentrated on directing, most recently helping direct key episodes of tv's The Office. His health had detiriorated in the last couple of years after an infection caused the autoimmune disease to flare up.
On the subject of a possible return of the Ghostbusters team, he had been reported as saying: " "My attitude is generally like Bill (Murray)'s old attitude-- there's no point unless it has some interesting quality or something to say about the subject. Personally, I don't rule it out. I'm skeptical, but maybe it'll work."
Ramis passed away surrounded by his family.