Bill Murray speaks out about the passing of Harold Ramis: ‘He earned his keep on this planet’

He has earned his keep on this planet. God bless him,’ Bill Murray said in a statement Monday about the late Harold Ramis.

Bill Murray has spoken out regarding the death of his estranged friend and longtime collaborator Harold Ramis.
The Oscar-nominated actor issued a statement to Time magazine Monday through his lawyer.
“Harold Ramis and I together did the ‘National Lampoon Show’ off Broadway, ‘Meatballs,’ ‘Stripes,’ ‘Caddyshack,’ ‘Ghostbusters’ and ‘Groundhog Day.’ He earned his keep on this planet. God bless him.”
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Murray’s statement is noteworthy since he and Ramis had a fruitful creative partnership which saw Ramis write the actor’s hit comedies “Meatballs” (1979) and “Caddyshack” (1980), and co-star together in 1981’s “Stripes,” 1984’s “Ghostbusters” and its 1989 sequel.

But their friendship and professional partnership ended after the two had a falling out while working on 1993’s “Groundhog Day,” which Murray starred in and Ramis directed. In a 2004 interview with The New Yorker, Ramis said that Murray’s “erratic” behavior, due to the star’s marriage falling apart at the time, had put a strain on their relationship.
“At times, Bill was just really irrationally mean and unavailable; he was constantly late on set,” Ramis told The New Yorker. “What I’d want to say to him is just what we tell our children: ‘You don’t have to throw tantrums to get what you want. Just say what you want.’”

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Ramis said that Murray had stopped speaking to him after they completed filming “Groundhog Day.”
“It’s a huge hole in my life,” Ramis said about their estrangement in the 2004 interview. “But there are so many pride issues about reaching out. Bill would give you his kidney if you needed it, but he wouldn’t necessarily return your phone calls.”

The 1984 film ‘Ghostbusters’ starred Bill Murray (left), Dan Aykroyd (center) and Harold Ramis.

It seems the two reconciled before Ramis’ passing. According to the Chicago Tribune, Murray and his brother Brian Doyle-Murray, who also appeared in several of Ramis’ films, visited him before his death.
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Ramis, 69, passed away Monday from complications from autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis, which he had been suffering from since 2010.
His death has elicited remembrances and tributes from other friends and collaborators who had worked with him.
"Deeply saddened to hear of the passing of my brilliant, gifted, funny friend, co-writer/performer and teacher Harold Ramis. May he now get the answers he was always seeking,” Ramis’ “Ghostbusters” co-star Dan Aykroyd said in a statement.

Sean Young (left), Harold Ramis (second from left), Bill Murray (second from right) and P.J. Soles, the stars of the film 'Stripes'.