Ramis had been suffering from complications that stemmed from auto-immune inflammatory vasculitis, a condition which causes a weakening and narrowing of the blood vessels.
His most recent film, Year One, was released in 2009.
Ramis shot to fame in 1984 when he teamed up with Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray to write and star in Ghostbusters, in which he played spores, mould and fungus collector Egon Spengler. The much-loved classic still ranks in the top 25 grossing comedies of all time.
Tributes to the star have been flooding in, and his Ghostbusters co-stars have spoken out about Ramis’s death. Speaking to Time Magazine, Bill Murray said “Harold Ramis and I together did the National Lampoon Show off Broadway, Meatballs, Stripes, Caddyshack, Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day. He earned his keep on this planet. God bless him.”
Dan Ackroyd, who played bumbling ghostbuster Ray Stantz, was quoted on the Sky News website as saying he felt “deeply saddened to hear of the passing of my brilliant, gifted, funny friend.”
Ramis is survived by his wife Erica, the couple’s three children and two grandchildren.
Image credit: Getty
