One of the worst things about growing older is how you have to watch the people pass away. Friends, family, and also writers, directors, actors, musicians. We've had more than our share of losses in the past few years. Beloved, legendary writers, filmmakers, actors, whose work we revered all our lives.

They all hurt, but the shocking news that Harold Ramis died last week cut me especially deep. Even though his work did not really start until I was nearly an adult, I feel like I grew up with Ramis.

It all started for me, and for a lot of other people, with Animal House. Harold Ramis was one of the main writers of that classic comedy. Animal House is one of the most beloved comedies of all time. You'll be hard-pressed to find anyone who dislikes it. Oh, I've heard a few sad reports that people found some of the humor to be offensive. Un-PC. Most thinking individuals took it all in good fun. I think there are an alarming number of people out there today who actually hope to be offended.

I went to the movies and saw Animal House two nights in a row. Everyone was seeing it. Classic barely even begins to describe the impact his movie has had on popular culture.

Of course Ramis was a head writer for SCTV prior to the making of Animal House, but to this day I have not seen a single minute of the show.

Producers were quick to copy the success of Animal House, but Harold Ramis, Ivan Reitman, and SNL alumni Bill Murray turned the idea on its head and made a family-friendly, warm movie called Meatballs. Some pressings referred to Meatballs as "Animal House at a Summer Camp", but this movie eschewed the raunchy elements of Animal House and instead focused on good-natured juvenile pranks and mild titillation.

Meatballs was a huge success, and it was the first motion picture collaboration between Harold Ramis and Bill Murray. The two went on to make several other memorable comedies. I consider their working relationship to rival Scorcese and DeNiro's epic work.

They were off and running, and Caddyshack came next. My feelings toward this film are mixed. While I like the Rodney Dangerfield parts, and there are some very funny moments in the movie, I felt that Murray was too over the top. I have trouble watching Caddyshack again, but it certainly has its enthusiastic fans.

The following year, 1981, saw the release of Stripes. This one is a big favorite of mine. Me and some friends saw it repeatedly at the drive-in. This time Ramis had a major role in the movie, and his infectious charm was an effective counterpart to Murray's lovable wiseguy shtick. Yes, Stripes falls apart in the European scenes, but the first two thirds of the movie are so funny and endearing.

Jump three years and the team of Reitman-Murray-Ramis really hit pay dirt. Ghostbusters is one of the most beloved movies in cinema history. I hate to say it, but I find the movie a little tiresome. I do like it, and I have a great deal of affection for Ghostbusters, but it doesn't hold up for me in repeated viewings.

Happily, many feel otherwise. Ghostbusters was nearly an industry in itself. A hit song, spinoffs, merchandise, you name it. The inevitable sequel followed, but to date I have never seen it. I heard it was weaker than the first, and I never bothered. I need to do something about that.

In 1993 Bill Murray and Harold Ramis worked on their final collaboration, and it is arguably their best movie. Groundhog Day is a wonderful motion picture experience. It's funny, but the movie also has things to say about human nature. In it, a narcissistic weatherman must repeat a miserable day over and over again until he loses his ego and learns that the richest people are those to give to others with no thought of reward. Only then can he achieve happiness and win the heart of the woman he loves.

Ramis was a writer on the Rodney Dangerfield comedy, Back To School. I heard that they producers had the script all ready to go, but they felt something was missing. They decided to bring in the best: Harold Ramis. He looked over the screenplay and suggested that they make the Dangerfield character rich. It was originally intended that Dangerfield be a janitor who goes to college with his son. The norm for these sort of comedies is that the rich be the stuffy antagonists, and the poor slobs be the heroes. Ramis said to make Rodney the rich man everyone wished they were. It worked.

I can't underestimate the profound effect these movies had upon me. Even the ones I didn't care so much for helped mold me to who I am today.

I also shared all of these movies with my children, and I am happy to report that they loved them as much as I did. Meatballs was my stepdaughter's favorite movie. In fact, for a few years it was a tradition to watch Meatballs on the night of the last day of school for her ("Are you ready for the Summer?!?), and we watched Back To School on the night before the first day of the new school year.


Harold Ramis was a class act. His movies were never hateful or ugly. He understood wit, and he did not have to resort to sleaze. He was too good for that.

Goodbye, Harold. Those of us who treasure great comedy will love your work forever.




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