Harold Ramis died earlier this week. When I first heard the news I was both shocked and sad. I couldn’t believe he was dead. I was also stunned to learn he was 69 years old.

I had been following Ramis and his career since the days of the amazing SCTV and I’ve always viewed him as one of the most underappreciated men in comedy. He really was one of the greats.

From Animal House to Caddyshack to Ghostbusters, Ramis wrote, starred in, or directed many of the classic comedies of my adolescence. I would venture to say most people of my generation had their views of comedy greatly shaped and impacted by his work.

Some knew him only as one of the ghostbusters but anyone that knows anything about comedy knew and appreciated his great talent.

As I was reading articles about his death and the corresponding tributes, I became aware of his true greatness.

It seems that he was a good man that cared about others. He would go out of his way to help others.

His former personal assistant shared about how he took care of her and insisted on making sure she accompanied him on big trips to Hollywood, even when he didn’t need her, just so she could have the exposure to show business and broaden her career.

Jud Apatow shared how Ramis made time for him when he sought to interview Ramis for his high school radio show.

Others spoke of how he left Los Angeles to return to his beloved home town of Chicago. While their he helped many locals with their careers.

IMDB credits and Wikipedia pages are nice, but the true measure of anyone’s impact is the kindness and love they’ve shown others as they’ve made their way through this life.  Ramis evidently scored well in both columns and that’s what made him truly great.