Ghostbusters, Animal House, Caddy Shack, Ground Hog Day, Stripes, etc. Died today of a stroke at 69. Man that guy made us laugh. RIP. _
That is of course quite a list of credits. His work on SCTV was also brilliant, and I always thought Meatballs was a very underrated "kids at summer camp" kind of movie. It really is impossible to understand the cultural impact of Animal House if you weren't between the ages of 13 and 30 at the time - there had literally never been anything like it before then. All of the teen sex and/or gross-out comedies that came afterwards, both good and bad, have Animal House as their original source and inspiration.
I think his true brilliance is how some of these movies have stood the test of time. You can still watch most of them and laugh just as you laughed back then and each time you've watched them since them. Do yourself a favor, go watch Beverly Hills Cop. Hillarious back in the day. Downright awful if you watch it now--Eddie's schtick back then was great--now it seems so forced and contrived that it's no longer funny. _
