Harold Ramis Day in Chicago Date in the current year: February 2, 2026

Harold Ramis was born on November 21, 1944, in Chicago. He began his entertainment career in the late 1960s after graduating from Washington University in St. Louis in 1966. Ramis worked at Playboy magazine as a joke editor before transitioning more directly into performance and comedy in the early 1970s, writing for The National Lampoon Radio Hour and joining the Second City comedy troupe.

While working for The National Lampoon Radio Hour, Ramis starred in The National Lampoon Show with Bill Murray, John Belushi, Joe Flaherty, Christopher Guest, and Gilda Radner. He later worked as a performer and writer on the Canadian sketch comedy show SCTV, but eventually left it to pursue a film career.

Ramis’s first film project was National Lampoon’s Animal House, which he co-wrote with Douglas Kenney and Chris Miller. Although it received mixed reviews from critics, it was very successful with audiences. He then co-wrote Meatballs, starring Bill Murray, which marked the beginning of their long collaboration. Meatballs also launched the directing career of Ivan Reitman, who would later direct Ghostbusters, co-written by Ramis and Dan Aykroyd and starring Ramis, Aykroyd, and Murray.

Meatballs, Ghostbusters and its 1989 sequel, as well as Ramis’s directorial debut, Caddyshack, were all commercial successes. However, it is Groundhog Day, which Ramis co-wrote with Danny Rubin and directed, that is considered the pinnacle of his career. Starring Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, and Chris Elliott, Groundhog Day tells the story of a cynical television weatherman who gets stuck in a time loop and relives February 2 (Groundhog Day) repeatedly. Groundhog Day is widely regarded as one of the greatest comedy films of all time.

Sadly, Ramis and Murray had a falling out while filming Groundhog Day. They did not collaborate or even speak for more than 20 years, but they reconciled shortly before Ramis’s death. Following the success of Groundhog Day, Ramis directed Stuart Saves His Family, Multiplicity, Analyze This, Bedazzled, Analyze That, The Ice Harvest, and Year One. He fell severely ill in 2010 and passed away on February 24, 2014.

The city of Chicago officially designated February 2 as Harold Ramis Day in 2024, nearly a decade after Ramis’s death. The date was chosen as a reference to Ramis’s iconic film Groundhog Day. For the first Harold Ramis Day, the cast of the movie reunited for an event honoring the late director, with some cast members seeing each other for the first time in three decades.

Traditionally, Harold Ramis Day events are hosted by Harry Caray’s Tavern on Navy Pier since Ramis was a partner of the restaurant chain. Some of his items are on display at the tavern, including Egon Spengler’s glasses and jumpsuit from Ghostbusters. Initially, the celebrations focused on Groundhog Day, but they have since expanded to pay tribute to Ramis’s other work, such as National Lampoon’s Animal House.