He was approached to play the character of accountant Louis Tully in Ghostbusters (1984), starring Aykroyd and directed by Reitman, but ultimately did not get the role because of his conflicting ideas of how to play the character; the part went instead to SCTV colleague Rick Moranis, whose ideas were better received.
Who was originally supposed to play Peter Venkman?
Dan Aykroyd originally wrote the script with John Belushi in mind to play the role of Venkman but Belushi died of a drug overdose on March 5 1982, leading Murray to get the role.
Moranis passed on lending his voice and likeness to the 2009 release of Ghostbusters: The Video Game, and also decided not to cameo in Paul Feig's 2016 reboot Ghostbusters, saying that it didn't make sense to him to "do just one day of shooting on something I did 30 years ago.” (via The Hollywood Reporter).
John Candy supposedly had some trouble understanding the character and Reitman did not agree with his ideas on how to portray him, specifically with a German accent and multiple German Doberman-Pinschers. John declined the role and it would be offered to his SCTV colleague Rick Moranis.
I lived in Europe for six months or so, and I was supposed to do a movie when I came back, and when I came back, and I saw the script that I was supposed to do, I didn't want to do it." Murray also cited the seasons of the movie business and how his disappearance screwed up his schedule.
Since then, Aykroyd has been honest and up-front about his experiences with living with the autism spectrum. The talented actor and writer has spoken to great detail about how his experiences on the autism spectrum contributed to his character in the movie "Ghostbusters".
Jennifer Runyon was born on 1 April 1960 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Ghostbusters (1984), A Very Brady Christmas (1988) and Up the Creek (1984)
Tom Hanks and Robin Williams were considered for the role of Dr. Peter Venkman. Almost none of the scenes were filmed as scripted, most had at least one ad-lib.
In 1981, Aykroyd read an article on quantum physics and parapsychology in The Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, which gave him the idea of trapping ghosts.
The role was offered to Michael Keaton, Chevy Chase, and Steve Guttenberg but they all turned it down, with Chase later sharing that the script he read wasn't the one used in the film, and was dark and scary.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, the eldest daughter of the late Harold Ramis — Violet Ramis Stiel — talked about how Reitman brought Egon Spengler back for one last Ghostbusters adventure. Depicted as an eccentric recluse, Spengler is killed off by Gozer at the beginning of the story.
There were reports that it got so bad during filming that Ramis slammed Murray up against a wall at one point. “They were like two brothers who weren't getting along,” Rubin told The New Yorker.
Phoebe Spengler, granddaughter of Ghostbuster Egon saves the day in the latest supernatural sequel. What they don't mention is that heroine Phoebe is neurodivergent, and it is her autistic personality traits that make her a hero.
That was never mentioned in the original movies – they referenced how Spengler held two doctorates, one in microbiology and one in parapsychology, but didn't exactly go into his full curriculum vitae.
What happened to the actor who played Egon in Ghostbusters?
Ramis died in 2014 at the age of 69 due to complications from autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis. The beloved actor and director famously played Egon Spengler in the Ghostbusters films and voiced the character for the 2009 video game.
In Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Egon's daughter Callie finally makes peace with her late, estranged father. He certainly wasn't the best father, abandoning his family for his work, but he did love her.
Star Murray and director Ramis had such intense creative disagreements that one day Ramis grabbed Murray by the shirt collar and threw him against a wall. After that, Murray didn't speak to Ramis for over 20 years.
Lawsuit. Shortly after the film's release, Huey Lewis sued Ray Parker Jr. for plagiarism, alleging that Parker had copied the melody (primarily the bassline) from Lewis's 1983 song "I Want a New Drug".
