Happy Birthday: Harold Ramis (1944–2014)

Harold Ramis (1944–2014)

Born: November 21, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois, USA
Died: February 24, 2014 (age 69) in Chicago, Illinois, USA

Married to: Erica Mann (7 May 1989 – 24 February 2014) (his death) (2 children)
Anne Ramis (2 July 1967 – 27 March 1984) (divorced) (1 child)

Said in an interview that his working relationship with actor Bill Murray ended while filming Groundhog Day (1993) due to differing views on what the film should be about (Murray wanted it to be more philosophical, Ramis wanted it to be a comedy). Ramis also cites that Murray’s real life personal problems at the time (specifically the ending of his first marriage) was having a ripple effect on his behavior at work as another factor in the unfortunate ending of their working relationship.

I’m at my best when I’m working with really talented people, and I’m there to gently suggest or guide or inspire or contribute whatever I can to their effort. It’s not like I’m gonna tell Robert De Niro how to act – but I could provide him with useful anecdotal material from my own life or other people I’ve known, or actual psychological information, or insights into his character. The technique’s up to him. But, there are ways to gently urge an actor to pick up the pace or slow it down or focus more, to go bigger or smaller. Some actors are very open right at the beginning – they say, “You only need four words with me: Bigger, smaller, faster, slower.”.

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