HAROLD RAMIS (1944-2014)
HAROLD RAMIS (1944-2014) A Multitalented Comedian in Acting, Writing and Directing Written By Eric Plaut If you grew up in the 1980’s, you might have seen Harold Ramis first perform on the big screen in Stripes (1981), which he also co-wrote. Ramis portrayed Russell Ziskey, an English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teacher who ends up joining the Army with his down-and-out friend John Winger—played by Bill Murray. Russell, as a new ESL instructor, works with immigrants who recently arrived in the United States. On the first day, he asks if any of his students if any of them knows any English. One man raises his hand and responds with: “Son-of-bi--h! Sh%^!” His classmates repeat the profanities he’d just spoken. Ziskey doesn’t respond to any of this as the scene ends, though we all know that maybe the poor guy is in the wrong profession. However, Ramis’s brainy guys never received the heartache or embarrassment that many of his comic predecessors endured. Hi