Meet the Oscars – and Harold Ramis! (or…I love my job)

There are certain actors that make you smile. They just seem like they’d be really nice people and would probably be fun to hang out with. A few that come to mind are Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Aniston, and Harold Ramis.

I don’t know about the ladies, but I met Harold Ramis and he certainly is. The Chicagoan was at The Shops At North Bridge for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Meet The Oscars. The attraction invites film buffs to hold an actual Oscar and get a free picture to prove it. It also features historic statues and the one that will be presented to the best male actor. 

After being introduced as a “Chicago Treasure”, Harold opened with the self-deprecating comment that “this is as close as I’ll ever get to an Academy Award”. Then he graciously sat down with me for a few minutes and chatted about his current and upcoming projects. (Yes, my fellow 80s kids, there will be another Ghostbusters!) He truly is a Chicagoan and shares our characteristic love for the city; while much of his work takes him out of Chicago, he said he wishes he could do all of his films here! Of course, I had to ask him about his favorite hangouts and he gave shout-outs to Joe’s Stone Crab, Rockit, the Goodman, Steppenwolf, Lookingglass, Chicago Botanic Gardens and Ravinia.

He’s nice in this video, but what really got me was that after I thanked him, he just chatted like we were old friends. When he found out I have a son in high school he even told me I look like a senior! Yep, he’s my new favorite.

Thanks for taking the time, Harold! You truly are a Chicago treasure.

The sound quality on this video isn’t great. Since we were more conversational our voices were lower. 

Thanks to Barbara Rozgonyi for shooting the video!