BREAKING: Comedian Harold Ramis Dead at 69

Legendary comedian Harold Ramis passed away early Monday morning, the Chicago Tribune is reporting. Ramis was one of the most successful comic actor/directors of his generation.

Ramis catapulted into the Hollywood spotlight when he was one of three writers for National Lampoon’s Animal House in 1978. He would go on to star as Russell Ziskey in Stripes (1981) and Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters (1984), both films he wrote. Behind the camera, he wrote and directed the comedies Caddyshack (1980), Groundhog Day (1993) and Analyze This (1999).

Ramis was born and raised in Chicago. His wife and family were at his bedside when he passed away at 12:53 a.m. from complications of autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis, a rare disease that causes blood vessels to swell.