President Obama Remembers Harold Ramis With “Caddyshack” Joke

Comedy fans are reeling from the death Monday of Harold Ramis, the director of Caddyshack and Groundhog Day, writer of Animal House, and actor in Ghostbusters, among other credits. Ramis was 69.

In a statement released by the White House this morning, President Obama remembered his fellow Chicagoan, finishing with a nod to one of the eminently quotable Ramis’s most famous lines.

Michelle and I were saddened to hear of the passing of Harold Ramis, one of America’s greatest satirists, and like so many other comedic geniuses, a proud product of Chicago’s Second City. When we watched his movies—from Animal House and Caddyshack to Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day—we didn’t just laugh until it hurt. We questioned authority. We identified with the outsider. We rooted for the underdog. And through it all, we never lost our faith in happy endings. Our thoughts and prayers are with Harold’s wife, Erica, his children and grandchildren, and all those who loved him, who quote his work with abandon, and who hope that he received total consciousness.

Here’s the context, if you need it.

Benjamin Freed

Staff Writer

Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.