Harold Ramis (born November 21, 1944) is an American actor, director, and writer. His best known acting roles are as "Egon Spengler" in Ghostbusters and "Russell Ziskey" in Stripes.

After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri his first job was as a mental-ward orderly. Ramis was a member of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity at Washington, it is reputed that some of his own experiences in ZBT helped inspire Animal House. Ramis worked as joke editor for Playboy magazine. He performed with Chicago's Second City improvisational comedy troupe and the Broadway revue National Lampoon's Lemmings. Ramis was also a writer and performer on the SCTV television series.

Memorable characterizations by Ramis on SCTV include corrupt Dialing for Dollars host Moe Green, amiable cop Officer Friendly, exercise guru Swami Banananda, board chairman Allan 'Crazy Legs' Hirschwood and home dentist Mort Finkel.

Although occasionally mistaken for a Canadian, Ramis is actually from Chicago, Illinois. He has worked frequently with Bill Murray and Ivan Reitman.

In 2004 he was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

Selected Filmography (actor)

• Stripes (1981)
• Heavy Metal (1981) (voice)
• Ghostbusters (1984)
• Baby Boom (1987)
• Stealing Home (1988)
• Ghostbusters II (1989)
• Groundhog Day (1993) (cameo)
• Airheads (1994)
• As Good as It Gets (1997)
• Orange County (2002)

Filmography (director)

• Caddyshack (1980)
• National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
• Club Paradise (1986)
• Groundhog Day (1993)
• Stuart Saves His Family (1995)
• Multiplicity (1996)
• Analyze This (1999)
• Bedazzled (2000)
• Analyze That (2002)
• The Ice Harvest (2005)

Selected Filmography (writer)

• SCTV (1976 - 1978) TV Series
• National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
• Meatballs (1979)
• Caddyshack (1980)
• Stripes (1981)
• Ghostbusters (1984)
• Back to School (1986)
• Club Paradise (1986)
• Caddyshack II (1988)
• Ghostbusters II (1989)
• Groundhog Day (1993)
• Analyze This (1999)
• Bedazzled (2000)
• Analyze That (2002)

External links

• Official Website
• Harold Ramis Forever
• Interview with Las Vegas Weekly (1999)
• DVD Review - Harold Ramis
• St. Louis Walk of Fame
• Yesterdayland Interview
• Profile of Ramis in The New Yorker

Trivia

Celebrities impersonated by Ramis on SCTV include Kenneth Clark and Leonard Nimoy.

1944 births | Living people | American film actors | American film directors | American television actors | Chicagoans | Jewish American actors | Jewish American comedians | Jewish American film directors | National Lampoon people | Jewish comedy | SCTV | St. Louis Walk of Fame | Washington University in St. Louis alumni | Zeta Beta Tau brothers | English-language film directors

Harold Ramis | Harold Ramis