Ramis, Harold 1944–

views updated

RAMIS, Harold 1944–

PERSONAL

Full name, Harold Allen Ramis; born November 21, 1944, in Chicago, IL; son of Nathan and Ruth (maiden name, Cokee) Ramis; married Anne Jean Plotkin, July 2, 1967 (divorced); married Erica Mann, May 7, 1989; children: (first marriage) Violet Isadora; (second marriage) Julian Arthur, Samuel. Education: Washington University, B.A., 1966.

Addresses: Agent—Jack Rapke, Creative Artists Agency, 9830 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

Career: Actor, director, writer, and producer. Playboy, associate editor, 1968–70. Affiliated with Ocean Pictures, Inc. Speaker at various venues. Worked as a hospital orderly.

Member: American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Screen Actors Guild, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Directors Guild of America, Writers Guild of America West, National Neurofibromatosis Foundation, Zeta Beta Tau.

Awards, Honors: Academy of Canadian Television and Radio Artists Award (with others), best writing—variety, 1978, for Second City TV; Writers Guild of America Award nomination (with Douglas Kenney and Chris Miller), best comedy written directly for the screen, 1979, for National Lampoon's Animal House; Washington University, St. Louis, MO, distinguished alumni award, 1988, honorary doctorate, 1993; Film Award (with Danny Rubin), British Academy of Film and Television Arts, best screenplay, and British Comedy Award, both 1993, and ALFS Award (with Danny Rubin), London Critics Circle Film awards, screenwriter of the year, 1994, all for Groundhog Day; Earle Grey Award (with others), Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, 1995; Father of the Year, Father's Day Council, 1997; Commitment to Chicago Award, Chicago Film Critics Association awards, 1997; Chicago Award, Chicago International Film Festival, 2000; named to Screenwriting Hall of Fame, American Screenwriters Association, 2001.

CREDITS

Film Appearances:

Russell Ziskey, Stripes, Columbia, 1981.

Voice of Zeke, Heavy Metal (animated), Columbia, 1981.

(Uncredited) Voice of police officer at Wally World, Vacation (also known as American Vacation and National Lampoon's Summer Vacation), Warner Bros., 1983.

Dr. Egon Spengler, Ghostbusters, Columbia, 1984.

Steven Buchner, Baby Boom, Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer, 1987.

Alan Appleby as an adult, Stealing Home, Warner Bros., 1988.

Dr. Egon Spengler, Ghostbusters II, Columbia, 1989.

Neurologist, Groundhog Day, Columbia, 1993.

Chris Moore, Airheads, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1994.

Sheldon Blumenthal, Love Affair, Warner Bros., 1994.

Dr. Martin Bettes, As Good As It Gets (also known as Old Friends), Columbia/TriStar, 1997.

Himself, Chicago Filmmakers on the Chicago River, 1998.

Jack, I'm with Lucy (also known as Autour de Lucy), Columbia/TriStar Home Video, 2000.

Rob's father, High Fidelity, Buena Vista, 2000.

Don Durkett, Orange County, Paramount, 2002.

Himself, American Storytellers, Indican Pictures, 2003.

Film Director:

Caddyshack, Orion, 1980.

Vacation (also known as American Vacation and National Lampoon's Summer Vacation), Warner Bros., 1983.

Club Paradise, Warner Bros., 1986.

Groundhog Day, Columbia, 1993.

Stuart Saves His Family (also known as Stuart Smalley), Paramount, 1995.

Multiplicity, Columbia, 1996.

Analyze This, Warner Bros., 1999.

Bedazzled (also known as Teuflisch), Twentieth Century–Fox, 2000.

Analyze That, Warner Bros., 2002.

Ice Harvest, Focus Features, 2005.

Film Executive Producer:

Armed and Dangerous, Columbia, 1986.

Back to School, Orion, 1986.

The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest, Twentieth Century–Fox, 2002.

Film Producer:

(With Trevor Albert) Groundhog Day, Columbia, 1993.

(With others) Stuart Saves His Family (also known as Stuart Smalley), Paramount, 1995.

(With Albert) Multiplicity, Columbia, 1996.

Bedazzled (also known as Teuflisch), Twentieth Century–Fox, 2000.

Television Appearances; Series:

Various roles, Second City TV (also known as SCTV), Global Television, CBC, and syndicated, 1976–1977.

Various roles, SCTV Network 90 (also known as SCTV Comedy Network and SCTV Network), NBC and [Canada], 1981–1982.

Television Appearances; Specials:

The Rodney Dangerfield Show: I Can't Take It No More, ABC, 1983.

Himself, Richard Lewis I'm in Pain Concert, Showtime, 1985.

Second City 25th Anniversary Special, HBO, 1985.

Moe Green, Comic Relief, HBO, 1986.

Host and narrator, Will Rogers: Look Back in Laughter, HBO, 1987.

The Best of SCTV, 1988.

Elon Spengler (brother of Egon Spengler), Time Warner Presents the Earth Day Special (also known as Time Warner Presents Earth Day), ABC, 1990.

Himself, Canned Ham: Michael Keaton, Comedy Central, 1996.

Himself, AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies (also known as AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Laughs), CBS, 2000.

All–Access Pass: Behind–the–Scenes Look at the 14th Annual American Comedy Awards, Comedy Central, 2000.

Himself, The Story Behind: Caddyshack (documentary), NBC, 2001.

Himself, Reel Comedy: Analyze That, Comedy Central, 2002.

Himself, Unseen + Untold: National Lampoon's Animal House, Spike TV, 2003.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

Himself, Uncomfortably Close with Michael McKean: Harold Ramis, Comedy Central, c. 1999.

Russell Ziskey, The Sweet Spot, Comedy Central, 2002.

Television Character Creator; with Dan Ackroyd; Series:

The Real Ghostbusters (animated), ABC, 1986–1988.

Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters (animated), ABC, 1988–1992.

Extreme Ghostbusters (animated), syndicated, 1997.

Television Producer; Movies:

The Inspector General, 2000.

Television Work; Specials:

Producer, The Rodney Dangerfield Special: It's Not Easy Bein' Me, ABC, 1980.

Executive producer, Will Rogers: Look Back in Laughter, HBO, 1987.

Character creator, The Halloween Door, 1989.

Stage Appearances:

The National Lampoon Show, New Palladium, New York City, 1975.

Appeared in revues for Second City Theatre, Chicago, IL.

Radio Appearances:

The National Lampoon Radio Hour, 1974–1975.

RECORDINGS

Videos:

Himself, The Yearbook: An "Animal House" Reunion, 1998.

Himself, Caddyshack: The 19th Hole, Warner Bros. Home Video, 1999.

Himself and Dr. Egon Spengler, Ghostbusters 1999, 1999.

Himself, The Weight of Time, Columbia/TriStar Home Video, 2002.

Himself, Stars and Stripes 1, Columbia/TriStar Home Video, 2004.

Himself, Stars and Stripes 2, Columbia/TriStar Home Video, 2004.

WRITINGS

Screenplays:

(With Douglas Kenney and Chris Miller) National Lampoon's Animal House (also known as Animal House), Universal, 1978.

(With Dan Goldberg, Len Blum, and Janice Allen) Meatballs (also known as Summer Camp and Arrete de ramer t'es sur le sable), Paramount, 1979.

(With Kenney and Brian Doyle–Murray) Caddyshack, Orion, 1980.

(With Goldberg and Blum) Stripes, Columbia, 1981.

(With Dan Ackroyd) Ghostbusters, Columbia, 1984, published as Making Ghostbusters: The Screenplay, edited by Don Shay, Zoetrope, 1985.

(With Peter Torokvei) Armed and Dangerous (based on a story by Ramis, Brian Grazer, and James Keach), Columbia, 1986.

(With Torokvei, Steven Kampmann, and Will Porter) Back to School (based on a story by Rodney Dangerfield, Greg Fields, and Dennis Snee), Orion, 1986.

(With Doyle–Murray) Club Paradise (based on a story by Miller, Ed Roboto, Tom Leopold, and David Standish), Warner Bros., 1986.

(With Torokvei) Caddyshack II, Warner Bros., 1988.

(With Ackroyd) Ghostbusters II, Columbia, 1989.

(Story with Dangerfield) Rover Dangerfield, Warner Bros., 1991.

(With Danny Rubin) Groundhog Day (based on a story by Rubin), Columbia, 1993.

(With others) Analyze This, Warner Bros., 1999.

Bedazzled (also known as Teuflisch), Twentieth Century–Fox, 2000.

Analyze That, Warner Bros., 2002.

Film Songs:

"Weatherman," Ghostbusters II, Columbia, 1989.

"Dolphin Song," Bedazzled (also known as Teuflisch), Twentieth Century–Fox, 2000.

Teleplays; Series:

(With others) Second City TV (also known as SCTV), Global Television, CBC, and syndicated, 1976–1977.

Teleplays; Specials:

(With others) The Rodney Dangerfield Special: It's Not Easy Bein' Me, ABC, 1980.

(With others) The Rodney Dangerfield Show: I Can't Take It No More, ABC, 1983.

Teleplays with Others:

Delta House (pilot), ABC, 1979.

Writings for the Stage:

(With others) The National Lampoon Show, New Palladium, New York City, 1975.

Also coauthor of revues for Second City Theatre, Chicago, IL.

Radio Scripts:

The National Lampoon Radio Hour, 1974–1975.

Writings; Other:

With Rodney Dangerfield, author of the story "Rover Dangerfield." Contributor to periodicals, including Premiere.

ADAPTATIONS

E gia ieri (also known as It's Already Yesterday), released by Columbia/TriStar in 2004, is an Italian remake of Groundhog Day.

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals:

Chicago, July, 1996, p. 46.

Los Angeles Magazine, July, 2000, p. 168.

Psychology Today, July/August, 1996, p. 28.

About this article

Ramis, Harold 1944–

Updated About encyclopedia.com content Print Article