Actor, screen writer, producer, and director Harold Ramis died 24 February 2014 of complications from autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis, a rare disease that involves swelling of the blood vessels. Born 21 November 1944 in Chicago, Illinois, Ramis was the first head writer (and a performer) on Second City’s groundbreaking television series SCTV, and came up with the first generation of Saturday Night Live. He earned Hugo Award nominations in 1985 and 1994 for Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day, as well as a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for Animal House (1978), and Saturn Award nominations for writing and directing Groundhog Day.

After graduating from Washington University in St Louis, Ramis wrote for Chicago newspapers, but his ability to find the absurd led him to comedy, writing jokes for Playboy, and the Second City troupe.

He wrote or co-wrote four of the American Film Institute’s 100 Funniest Movies: #28, Ghostbusters (1984); #34, Groundhog Day (1993), #34, Animal House (1978);and #36, Caddyshack (1980); as well as three which didn’t make the final list: Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), and Back to School (1986). His sf writing credits include the entire Ghostbusters ouevre, Groundhog Day (1993), Bedazzled (2000). He also directed Groundhog Day and Bedazzled. As an actor, he took smaller parts in many of his own movies, and also appeared in Heavy Metal (1981) and Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983).

The Chicago Tribune has a long and loving obituary of Ramis here.

Ramis is survived by his wife, daughter, two sons, a brother, and two grandchildren.