And so a sad farewell to the inspired, hitherto undersung comedian, writer and director Harold Ramis.
69 is young these days.
Ramis, almost a sub-genre unto himself with hits such as Groundhog Day, Ghostbusters and Caddyshack to his name, would surely have had some more beautifully judged turns in him in one or other of his various incarnations.
True, we don't know how much of a fan he was of classical music.
But we're betting he liked it, given that it tended to turn up in his movies.
Just as a strange, rather random tribute, here are Classicalite's Five Best...Musical Moments in Harold Ramis Films.
Groundhog Day
Bill Murray's time-warp-trapped TV weatherman, puts his years reliving one day to pianistic use, learning to play a souped-up version of Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini. Andie MacDowell seems convinced. And that's actually Murray playing, by the way.
Analyze This
Classical cues abound in this gangster-with-issues flick, among them "M'appari tutt'amor" from Flotow's Martha, "La donna è mobile" from Verdi's Rigoletto (the Solti recording, since you ask) and Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2.
Caddyshack
Yes, even Ramis' early, classic screwball comedy features an appearance from the Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker.
Back to School
The Rodney Dangerfield star vehicle, written by Ramis, features Enrico Caruso singing "A Dream," not strictly classical, but a Caruso favorite.
Animal House
Even earlier, in his most anarchic phase, Ramis still sneaked in Rossini's William Tell overture and Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf.
