Famous “Stripes” and “Ghostbusters” Actor Dies at 69

Harold Ramis, a famous Chicago actor, writer, and director died on February 24 at 69 years old. The cause of his death was complications of autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis, which is a disease that involves swelling of blood vessels. Ramis was well-known for his acting roles in “Groundhog Day” and “Ghostbusters.” He was also well-known as the director of “Caddyshack” and the screenwriter for “Animal House.”

His serious health problems began in May 2010 with an infection that led to complications related to the autoimmune disease. With these complications, he had to learn how to walk again since he lost the ability to do so. After learning how to walk again, he suffered a relapse of the autoimmune disease in late 2011. The major effects of this disease  caused his death. He was surrounded by family in his North Shore home when he died at 12:53 a.m.

Ramis was great at creating hilarious plots with hysterical characters. He collaborated with people who were considered royalty of comedy in the 1970s and 1980s with his movie features and his television features.

Ramis joined Douglas Kenney and Chris Miller to write the movie hit, “National Lampoon’s Animal House” (1978), and it broke the box-office record for comedies at this time with the earnings of $141 million. He went on to write “Ghostbusters” (1984) and “Ghostbusters II” (1989) with Dan Aykroyd.

Ramis also played the super-intellectual Dr. Egon Spengler in tales of a contractor squad based in New York City who specialized in ghost-removal. Ghostbusters became one of the comedy hits of the summer in that year. He considered a later film, “Groundhog Day” his masterpiece of work.

The actor was born in Chicago on Nov. 21, 1944. He had a huge love for television so much that he would get up early on Saturday mornings and stare at the screen until the first program began. He was editor-in-chief of his high school yearbook and also a National Merit scholar. He attended Washington University in St. Louis with a full scholarship.

After he dropped pre-medical studies, he later went on to learn and receive a degree in English in 1967. He got a job as an orderly in a psychiatric hospital in St. Louis after graduating college. His wife at the time, Anne Plotkin, accompanied him moving to Chicago where Ramis worked as a substitute teacher. He also wrote freelance articles for “The Chicago Daily News.” He told “The Chicago Tribune” that he could be a comedian after covering Chicago’s Second City improvisational troupe, which included John Belushi and Bill Murray.

After Ramis’s first marriage ended, he remarried to Erica Mann, whom he was with at the time of his death. He is remembered by his sons Julian and Daniel, daughter Violet, brother Steve and two grandchildren. Among his other talents, Ramis also participated in fencing and drumming. He could also speak Greek, and he taught himself to ski.

Ramis was very quiet about his illness but friends and family often visited. There was a private service that was planned for his loved one, followed by a public memorial in Chicago in his memory. Harold Ramis touched many with his films and he will continue to carry the legacy after he is gone.