Harold Ramis Passed Away!

Famed comic writer and actor Harold Ramis passed away.

If you're a fan of the iconic movies Animal House, Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, and Groundhog Day, you can thank the Chicago actor and comedic writer Harold Ramis.

He passed away on Monday.

He and actor Dan Aykroyd were working on a revival of the movie franchise.

Ramis contracted an infection that resulted in complications from autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis. He lost the ability to walk; after relearning to do so, he suffered a relapse of the disease in late 2011.

On February 24, 2014, Ramis died at his Chicago-area home from complications arising from vasculitis.

He played the role of Egon Spangler, the de facto leader of Ghostbusters.

Harold Ramis (as Spangler), Ernie Hudson (as Zeddmore), Bill Murray (as Veckman) and Dan Aykroyd (as Stantz) in the iconic movie Ghostbusters.

Ghostbusters was a critical success, receiving a positive response from critics and audiences, while grossing US$238 million in the United States and more than $291 million worldwide. The film was nominated for two Oscars at the 57th Academy Awards ceremony for Best Visual Effects and Best Original Song (for the eponymous theme song), but lost both to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Woman in Red respectively. The American Film Institute ranked Ghostbusters 28th in its AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs list of film comedies. The film launched the Ghostbusters media franchise, which includes: a 1989 sequel, Ghostbusters II; two animated television series, The Real Ghostbusters and Extreme Ghostbusters; and several video games.

We here at Journal de la Reyna send our condolences to the family of Harold Ramis.