[Mick]

RIP, Harold . . . man, that saddens me for some inexplicable reason.

P.S.  On those Animal House retrospectives, I recall having distinct impression that Ramis felt he should have actually been cast in the movie itself, instead of contributing solely from behind the camera.  And on-camera, how about when John Candy (another lost great one) was giving his story to Sargeant Hulka and the troops?  The facial expressions of Ramis made that scene (along with his quote ". . . I'll be behind you all the way.").

You're right, Teejers.  Ramis' two co-writers had reasonably substantial parts (Doug Kenney was Stork and Chris Miller was Hardbar) Ramis wrote the role of Boon for himself, but John Landis told him he was too old to play the part and Landis cast Peter Riegert (who was 2 1/2 years younger) instead.  He offered him a much smaller part, possibly the dishwasher part that Landis himself took.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_House

BTW, Bravo's Hundred Funniest Movies of all time include a number of Ramis' hits, including (with position on list) Animal House and Caddyshack as #1 and #2:

1.  Animal House
2.  Caddyshack
18.  Stripes
33.  Groundhog Day
52.  National Lampoon's Vacation
76.  Ghostbusters

[Mick]

RIP, Harold . . . man, that saddens me for some inexplicable reason.

P.S.  On those Animal House retrospectives, I recall having distinct impression that Ramis felt he should have actually been cast in the movie itself, instead of contributing solely from behind the camera.  And on-camera, how about when John Candy (another lost great one) was giving his story to Sargeant Hulka and the troops?  The facial expressions of Ramis made that scene (along with his quote ". . . I'll be behind you all the way.").

You're right, Teejers.  Ramis' two co-writers had reasonably substantial parts (Doug Kenney was Stork and Chris Miller was Hardbar) Ramis wrote the role of Boon for himself, but John Landis told him he was too old to play the part and Landis cast Peter Riegert (who was 2 1/2 years younger) instead.  He offered him a much smaller part, possibly the dishwasher part that Landis himself took.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_House

BTW, Bravo's Hundred Funniest Movies of all time include a number of Ramis' hits, including (with position on list) Animal House and Caddyshack as #1 and #2:

1.  Animal House
2.  Caddyshack
18.  Stripes
33.  Groundhog Day
52.  National Lampoon's Vacation
76.  Ghostbusters