
Harold Ramis dies aged 69 - rb2e
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/26327020
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jackgavigan
I reckon Harold Ramis is one of those guys where it's okay to make jokes about
his death because doing so is actually a better way of remembering him than
being all sad and miserable.

So... I'm looking forward to Ghostbusters 3 even more now! One question,
though: Are ghost actors eligible for Oscars nominations?

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unclebucknasty
Yeah, but to really honor him, the jokes should be funny.

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jader201
I actually laughed out loud.

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debt
A while back I read an article using Groundhog Day as an example how we can
never have perfect information in an economic system.

"The movie Groundhog Day (1993) illustrates the importance of the Mises-Hayek
paradigm as an alternative to equilibrium economics by illustrating the unreal
nature of equilibrium theorizing."

[http://archive.mises.org/5546/the-economics-of-groundhog-
day...](http://archive.mises.org/5546/the-economics-of-groundhog-day/)

~~~
vanderZwan
> _The ability of this fictional character to relive a single day points to
> vital issues in economics. Perfectly competitive equilibrium requires
> perfect information. Ignorance leads to errors that put the ideal state of
> equilibrium out of reach. Ignorance and error exist due to perpetual change.
> In a world where everything stays the same — except our knowledge of
> previous days — we can approach perfection._

And it makes sense too! I mean, I already knew that practically _every_
religion out there somehow manages to turn it into an example of teaching X or
scripture Y, but if even economists can relate it to their field you know you
have something special.

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atomicfiredoll
I think I want to cry. As Egon, he was an idol for me when I was a kid--some
kind of amazing nerd superhero. I wanted to be that smart and cool. RIP.

~~~
madsushi
His character in Ghostbusters 2 was a tech role model for me too. The idea
that science and engineering could solve practical problems was eye-opening as
a kid.

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skywhopper
Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day are both truly great films with an astonishing
influence on American culture. He'll be missed, but never forgotten.

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sreyaNotfilc
This man was a legend! He wrote/directed/produced/started in some of the most
icon comedy films every (love me some Stripes). Its strange that he was able
to slip under the radar. I think he liked it that way.

Harold seemed like a great guy. Always smiling. Always willing to give the
funny lines to everyone else.

I hope he gets the coverage that he deserves. He truly was one of the greats!

I know this sounds a bit selfish of me, but I kinda wish there was a third
Ghostbusters movie (ya ya ya, the game was the "3rd" movie). It would've been
great to see him in a suit again and to be praised for the amazing films he
brought to us.

R.I.P. Mr. Ramis

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igfRYtwpQyU](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igfRYtwpQyU)

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joedevon
He did fly under the radar. He was one of my favorites. I'd always talk about
him, but few knew who he was. But seeing the memorials on twitter and the net,
I see many others recognized him. RIP Russell Ziskey. You will be sorely
missed.

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acjohnson55
What a bummer. It's nearly impossible to overstate his impact on modern
Hollywood comedy.

Groundhog Day blew my mind. There was something so dark about the idea that
Bill Murray's character couldn't even kill himself to escape the cycle, and
also the idea of how lonely it would be to have eternity but no one to share
it with. I can't think of another comedy that was so thought provoking.

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skywhopper
Agreed 100%. Not just comedy, but culture. It's amazing to me that "Groundhog
Day" has entered American English as an idiom meaning something unpleasant
repeating itself from this movie. An incredible accomplishment by Ramis,
Murray, and everyone else involved in the film.

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dctoedt
Near the end of the article, it said that Ramis was visited recently by Bill
Murray, from whom he'd been estranged for years. I wonder what that was all
about, given their history together?

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tomelders
There was some animosity as a result of Groundhog day I think. Creative
difference I believe.

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eli
_Offscreen, Ramis and Bill Murray were trapped in a cycle of personal strains.
Murray’s marriage was breaking up, and he was behaving erratically—the
whirling, unpredictable personality that Dan Aykroyd calls “the Murricane.”
Ramis sent Rubin to New York to work with Murray on the script, because he was
tired of taking his star’s 2 a.m. calls. Rubin says that when Ramis phoned him
to check in, Murray would shake his head and mouth the words “I’m not here.”
“They were like two brothers who weren’t getting along,” Rubin says. “And they
were pretty far apart on what the movie was about—Bill wanted it to be more
philosophical, and Harold kept reminding him it was a comedy.”_

 _“At times, Bill was just really irrationally mean and unavailable; he was
constantly late on set,” Ramis says. “What I’d want to say to him is just what
we tell our children: ‘You don’t have to throw tantrums to get what you want.
Just say what you want.’ ”_

 _After the film wrapped, Murray stopped speaking to Ramis. Some of the pair’s
friends believe that Murray resents how large a role Ramis had in creating the
Murray persona. Michael Shamberg, a Hollywood producer who has known Ramis
since college and who used to let Murray sleep on his couch, says, “Bill owes
everything to Harold, and he probably has a thimbleful of gratitude.”_

From the New Yorker profile of Ramis, which is worth reading in its entirety:
[http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/04/19/040419fa_fact3?c...](http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/04/19/040419fa_fact3?currentPage=all)

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paul_f
It would be interesting to see a remake of Groundhog Day, but as a dark drama
instead of a comedy.

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dclowd9901
I guess I'm the only one who thought of it as a black comedy. Doesn't Bill
Murray's character kill himself several times? Hasn't he been trapped in the
day for the equivalent of several lifetimes? Sounds amazingly awful.

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lifeisstillgood
apparently the scriptwriter had the Murray character visit the library each
day and read one word on one page of a book, as a way of marking time in a
world where nothing could be written down. The first drafts had him finish the
library - thousands of years in the same day.

RIP

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macrael
Groundhog Day is one of my favorite films of all time. I think it's really
Important that when trapped in his lonely cycle Murray finally settles on
taking care of others as perfectly as he can. Beautiful.

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logical42
I could literally watch that movie over and over and over..

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Byliner
Left this in another thread, but here's the definitive profile of Ramis, by
Tad Friend of The New Yorker. It examines the how and why Ramis's movies have
stayed so funny for so many years. The author has unlocked it for the next 24
hours:

[https://www.byliner.com/tad-friend/stories/comedy-
first?AFID...](https://www.byliner.com/tad-friend/stories/comedy-
first?AFID=273784&share=243720620f3aaa8a0e9e8308f0f067d0)

~~~
quickpost
Here as well, unlocked indefinitely:

[http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/04/19/040419fa_fact3?c...](http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/04/19/040419fa_fact3?currentPage=all)

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pravda
As I understand it, on his deathbed, he received total consciousness.

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tunap
Which is nice.

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spodek
You left out that he has that going for him.

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tunap
"So I jump ship in Hong Kong and make my way over to Tibet..."

Now I have to commence a Ramis Remembrance Week. He provided me many laughs
over the decades for which I gladly give him a mulligan for Caddyshack II.
RIP, funny man!

[1][https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Ramis#Writing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Ramis#Writing)

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homersapien
Please join me in straightening a Slinky in honor of a truly great actor and
director.

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hmart
Sad news. He directed one of my favourite movies Groundhog Day. RIP.

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jstalin
As a little kid, Egon was my hero. RIP.

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mjt0229
Dr. Spengler was my favorite ghostbuster when I was a kid and when I watched
the movie last weekend.

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ChuckMcM
This makes me sad, Harold made me laugh so very hard and I will always
remember him for that.

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kfcm
Horrible news.

Today's passing of Ramis added to the passing of John Hughes in '09, means the
two powerhouses of the Golden Age of cinematic comedy (70's, 80's and early
90's) are gone.

Thanks for the laughs, Harold.

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pasbesoin
Hughes. Ramis. We are starting to lose what might be, for all its diversity,
be called a significant "generation" of filmmakers. Certainly significant for
the generation that grew up with and a bit on their work, and for the
generations of filmmakers who have followed them.

Feels like a transition -- or the defining final notes for such transition.

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RexRollman
He was involved in some of my favorite movies: Animal House, Caddy Shack, and
Groundhog Day. He will be missed.

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kripy
Kids: we need to talk about Stripes!

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skylan_q
Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day, sure... but he was great on SCTV as well.

I won't forget Harold.

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barlescabbage
LEGEND

