Yesterday the geek world was rocked by news of the death of Harold Ramis. Ramis is perhaps best known as Dr. Egon Spengler in the “Ghostbusters” franchise, but he had a prolific career as an actor, writer, director, and producer. He donned many hats in his time here and left an indelible mark on all of our minds. The response to his death has been heavy and emotional, more than is usually seen with the loss of a celebrity. He was loved by many and his passing has left us saddened, but also inspired. 

We’ve seen an outpouring of art in the last 24 hours, some very talented people felt an immediate need to memorialize Mr. Ramis in the best way they know how, through their craft. Some are silly, some are straightforward, some are sad, but they are all wonderful. 

Artist: Ash Vicker at Megacynics

Artist: Andry “Shango” Rajoelina

Artist Ninjaink: The Art of the Phantom Lim

Artist: Howie Noel

Artist: James Hance

Artist: Joe Heller

Artist: Federico Blee

Artist: Paolo M Rivera

Artist: Ilias Kriazis

One of voices in Hollywood that shaped the way we laughed for years passed away today. I think it would be difficult for anyone to look at his body of work and not have seen something that touched them. The Chicago Tribune broke the news this morning:

Ramis, a longtime North Shore resident, was surrounded by family when he died at 12:53 a.m. from complications of autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis, a rare disease that involves swelling of the blood vessels, his wife Erica Mann Ramis said. He was 69.

Ramis’ serious health struggles began in May 2010 with an infection that led to complications related to the autoimmune disease, his wife said. Ramis had to relearn to walk but suffered a relapse of the vaculitis in late 2011, said Laurel Ward, vice president of development at Ramis’ Ocean Pictures production company.

Growing up in the 80’s, my life is filled with memories of his movies. “National Lampoon’s Vacation”, “Caddyshack”, “Ghostbusters” and “Groundhong Day”, just to name a few. Today is truly a sad day for comedy and those of us that grew up watching his movies. Please share some of your favorite memories about his career in the comments.