Actor, writer, and director Harold Ramis is dead at 69

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Sad news today, as writer, actor, and director Harold Ramis has died at the age of 69, due to complications of autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis, a rare disease that involves swelling of the blood vessels. Ramis had been quietly battling the disease for years. He is survived by his wife, Erica Mann Ramis, daughter Violet Stiel, sons Julian and Daniel Ramis, and two grandchildren.

Ramis began his career with the renowned The Second City comedy group in Chicago along with John Belushi, whom he helped catapult to success with his writing on NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE. Later, Ramis would lend his writing and/or directing talents to a number of now classic comedies, including CADDYSHACK, STRIPES, MEATBALLS, GHOSTBUSTERS, GROUNDHOG DAY, ANALYZE THIS, MULTIPLICITY and a handful of  episodes of The Office.

Ramis appeared as an actor in many of his own films and those of others, including BABY BOOM, AIRHEADS, AS GOOD AS IT GETS, HIGH FIDELITY, ORANGE COUNTY, THE LAST KISS, KNOCKED UP, and WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY. He will be sorely missed, but always remembered for his tremendous contributions to the comedy genre, leaving behind a legacy of work that will be revisited long past his death.

RIP Harold Ramis (1944 – 2014)