Bill Murray and Harold Ramis Fought Over ‘Groundhog Day’

The Big Picture

• Bill Murray and Harold Ramis, known for
  Ghostbusters
  and
  Stripes
  , were the perfect comedic pair.
• Behind the scenes of
  Groundhog Day
  , Murray’s behavior and thoughts about the film caused clashes and ended their friendship.
• Murray and Ramis reconciled shortly before Ramis’s death, and Murray now speaks highly of their friendship and collaboration.

In 1993, Bill Murray starred in what is arguably his best and most popular film when he played weatherman, Phil Connors, in the hilarious time loop comedy, Groundhog Day. Written by Danny Rubin, Groundhog Day is one of the greatest feel good movies, with a complex story about second (and second thousandth) chances and how true happiness waits when we learn to live for others — not just for ourselves. One of the best parts about Groundhog Day is that it reunited Murray with Harold Ramis, his co-star in Stripes and the Ghostbusters movies. Though Ramis does have a cameo as a doctor in Groundhog Day, it’s a different type of role that Ramis is known for this time around.

Ramis directed the film, and with him being the boss of things, it led to a clash with Murray, who was going through a horrible time in his life. The two fought so badly that their decades-long friendship came to a bitter end when Groundhog Day was all said and done. We can watch the movie with joy now, but the men who created it were breaking apart behind the scenes. Thankfully, though, their story together has a much happier ending.

Bill Murray and Harold Ramis Worked Together on ‘Stripes’ and ‘Ghostbusters’

When you think of Bill Murray and Harold Ramis together, Ghostbusters will probably come to mind first, and that’s understandable. The 1984 film, which Ramis co-wrote with Dan Aykroyd, was the biggest film released that year and became an instant pop culture hit. Three years before that, the two had starred in Stripes, another comedy that Ramis wrote. Ramis was also the writer of 1979’s Ivan Reitman-directed Meatballs, marking the first of six times that Ramis would work with Murray. He also wrote and directed the classic, Caddyshack, in 1980.

For many fans, Murray and Ramis will always be Peter Venkman and Egon Spengler. The characters were the perfect clash with Murray’s carefree Venkman and Ramis’ more serious Spengler. Along with Dan Aykroyd as Ray Stantz and Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddemore, it’s the characters more than anything that made Ghostbusters so popular. Even the failures of Ghosbusters II in 1989, which Ramis again co-wrote, are easily overcome by how well-written the leads are. Murray and Ramis were a perfect collaborating pair, and with that in mind, they got together again for Groundhog Day in 1993. The film is one of the greatest comedies ever made, but sadly, behind the scenes, Murray and Ramis were fighting so much that it ended their relationship. Groundhog Day marked the last time that the two would ever work together.

‘Groundhog Day’ Ended Bill Murray and Harold Ramis’ Friendship

Groundhog Day was such an influential film that today, the expression, “Groundhog Day,” refers to feeling like you’re stuck living the same day every day; it’s a phrase that everyone understands. Bill Murray is perfect as Phil Connors, with his popular cranky, smart-ass persona. Phil Connors isn’t a good person: we need to see him being selfish and awful for him to change and save himself from the time loop that becomes his never-ending life. Behind the scenes, though, Murray’s allegedly real-life cranky behavior became hard to deal with during the filming of Groundhog Day.

Ramis’ daughter, Violet Ramis Stiel, wrote about the fallout between her father and her godfather, Bill Murray, in her book, Ghostbuster’s Daughter: Life with My Dad, Harold Ramis. Stiel wrote that Murray was going through a difficult time in his life, as his marriage with Margaret Kelly was in bad shape, and by 1996, they would be divorced. Stiel also wrote that her dad and Bill Murray couldn’t agree on the tone for Groundhog Day. That was elaborated on by the film’s writer, Danny Rubin, in the book, Wild and Crazy Guys by Nick De Semlyen. According to Rubin, Ramis was going for a lighter comedy, while Murray wanted it to be more serious. Even though pre-production was underway, Murray wasn’t sure he wanted to stay on. He even managed to get a hold of the script for rewrites, which Ramis hated. Ramis himself talked about how bad things were with Murray in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, saying:

“Bill had all these obvious resentments toward the production, so it was very hard for a time to communicate with him. Calls would go unreturned. Production assistants couldn’t find him.”

As told by Violet Ramis Stiel, her father and Murray argued often. She wrote in her book that it’s a mystery why he was so upset with Harold Ramis. She wondered if her father had offended him in some way, or if Bill Murray was resentful because so much of his career was tied to Ramis. Stiel said her father was diplomatic about the issues, but she knew it hurt him. He couldn’t always be diplomatic, however. She wrote:

“They had a few arguments on set, including one in which my dad uncharacteristically lost his temper and grabbed Bill by the collar, and shoved him up against a wall. Eventually, Bill just completely shut my dad out…for the next twenty-plus years.”

Bill Murray Made up With Harold Ramis Before He Passed Away

It angered Ramis’ daughter to see Murray treat her father this way, but Ramis told her he’d seen him turn on others, too, for no reason. In a 2009 interview with the A.V. Club, Ramis talked about his nonexistent relationship with Murray, including this heartbreaking sentence:

“I’ve had many dreams about him, that we’re friends again. There was a great reunion feeling in those dreams.”

Just one year later, Harold Ramis’ life took a drastic turn when he was diagnosed with vasculitis. The autoimmune disease was so destructive that it left him barely able to speak and unable to walk. Ramis suffered with the disease for years, and when it was known that he wasn’t going to make it, Bill Murray’s brother, Brian Doyle Murray (who also has a small role in Groundhog Day), told Bill it was time to see his old friend. Stiel wrote that, in true Bill Murray fashion, he randomly showed up at the house at 7 a.m. one day, accompanied by a police escort. They weren’t able to talk much, but they did laugh and make their peace. Not too long later, Harold Ramis died on February 24, 2014, at the age of 69.

Bill Murray softened on Ramis after that; whatever anger he was holding onto was finally gone. He gave a shout-out to Ramis while presenting a writing award at the Oscars that year, and after refusing to do a third Ghostbusters film for decades, he finally signed on for Ghostbusters: Afterlife, where Peter Venkman was reunited with the ghost of Egon Spengler in a heartwarming moment. In a Ghostbusters reunion talk with Josh Gad, Murray raved about his friend, saying that Ramis was always very kind and gracious to him and that he treated Bill like a little brother. He also added that “he was never mean to me,” and, “he could withstand enormous amounts of discomfort.” Perhaps that was an acknowledgment from Murray of how he treated Ramis. If only the two could have gone back in time and relived that same day over and over again until they made up and fixed their friendship before the end.

Groundhog Day is available to stream on Tubi in the U.S.

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