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In Memoriam: Harold Allen Ramis, 1944-2014
Mar. 3rd, 2014 11:12 amAs the poets have mournfully sung,
Death takes the innocent young,
The rolling in money,
The screamingly funny
And those who are very well hung.
—W. H. Auden
One of the finest examples of Auden's third category ever to come out of that superstar-comedian factory known as Chicago's Second City troupe is lost to us now. Actor-director-writer Harold Ramis, perhaps best known for his portrayal of bespectacled, deadpan occult scientist Dr. Egon Spengler in the two Ghostbusters films and his masterwork Groundhog Day, has died at 69 after a long struggle with autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis that for a while had cost him his ability to walk. His hometown paper has an obit for him here. He passed away a week ago, on Feb. 24, and I only just learned of it yesterday through reading a remembrance of him in the latest issue of Time magazine, written by his friend and sometime director Ivan Reitman.
At last night's 86th annual Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood, CA, Ramis' longtime friend and frequent comedic partner-in-crime Bill Murray, appearing as the cinematography award presenter, managed to sneak in a tribute to his old pal, with whom he'd ironically been on the outs for the past decade. (Reports indicate, however, that they did patch things up prior to Ramis' death, and that Murray even visited him at his home in his final days.) I am now informed that the producers of the Oscarcast did in fact include a formal tribute to him in their memorial segment—which relieves me greatly; not having done so would have been a scandal to the jaybirds, as Ramis made possible some of the industry's biggest paydays over his long career. (You can read about Murray's effort to honor his friend here.)
He was also responsible for some of the finest, funniest, most entertaining hours Your Humble (and millions of others) ever spent sitting in front of screens both large and small. Deepest sympathies to his two wives and three children, the rest of his relations, Mr. Murray and his other collaborators and friends, and his many fans. I hope and pray to whatever God or gods there be that he knew before he left us how much he was loved and appreciated, and what a mark he made on our culture. As Murray put it in a formal statement, Harold Ramis "earned his keep on this planet"...in spades.
Death takes the innocent young,
The rolling in money,
The screamingly funny
And those who are very well hung.
—W. H. Auden
One of the finest examples of Auden's third category ever to come out of that superstar-comedian factory known as Chicago's Second City troupe is lost to us now. Actor-director-writer Harold Ramis, perhaps best known for his portrayal of bespectacled, deadpan occult scientist Dr. Egon Spengler in the two Ghostbusters films and his masterwork Groundhog Day, has died at 69 after a long struggle with autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis that for a while had cost him his ability to walk. His hometown paper has an obit for him here. He passed away a week ago, on Feb. 24, and I only just learned of it yesterday through reading a remembrance of him in the latest issue of Time magazine, written by his friend and sometime director Ivan Reitman.
At last night's 86th annual Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood, CA, Ramis' longtime friend and frequent comedic partner-in-crime Bill Murray, appearing as the cinematography award presenter, managed to sneak in a tribute to his old pal, with whom he'd ironically been on the outs for the past decade. (Reports indicate, however, that they did patch things up prior to Ramis' death, and that Murray even visited him at his home in his final days.) I am now informed that the producers of the Oscarcast did in fact include a formal tribute to him in their memorial segment—which relieves me greatly; not having done so would have been a scandal to the jaybirds, as Ramis made possible some of the industry's biggest paydays over his long career. (You can read about Murray's effort to honor his friend here.)
He was also responsible for some of the finest, funniest, most entertaining hours Your Humble (and millions of others) ever spent sitting in front of screens both large and small. Deepest sympathies to his two wives and three children, the rest of his relations, Mr. Murray and his other collaborators and friends, and his many fans. I hope and pray to whatever God or gods there be that he knew before he left us how much he was loved and appreciated, and what a mark he made on our culture. As Murray put it in a formal statement, Harold Ramis "earned his keep on this planet"...in spades.
