Harold Ramis

Harold Allen RamisHarold Allen Ramis (born November 21, 1944) is an American actor, director, and writer, specializing in comedy. His best-known film acting roles are as Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters (1984) and Russell Ziskey in Stripes (1981); Ramis also co-wrote both films. As a writer/director, his films include the comedies Caddyshack (1980), Groundhog Day (1993), and Analyze This (1999). Ramis was the original head writer of the TV series SCTV (in which he also performed), and one of three writers to pen the screenplay for the film National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978).
Ramis left SCTV to pursue a film career, writing, Harold Ramiswith National Lampoon magazine’s Douglas Kenney, the script for what would become National Lampoon’s Animal House; they were later joined by a third writer, Chris Miller. The 1978 film followed the struggle between a rowdy college fraternity house and the college dean. Its humor was raunchy for its time. Animal House “broke all box-office records for comedies” and earned $141 million.
Ramis has three children. His daughter Violet was born in 1977 with his first wife, Anne, and sons Julian Arthur (born May 10, 1990) and Daniel Hayes (born August 10, 1994), with his wife, Erica Mann. Actor Bill Murray is Violet Ramis’ godfather.