‘Groundhog Day’ Cast Reunites 31 Years After Fan-Favorite Movie Was Released
Bill Murray runs through the snow in a scene from the film 'Groundhog Day,' 1993.
It’s a reunion we’ll want to relive over and over again.
On Feb. 2, several members of the Groundhog Day cast officially reunited for the first time 31 years after the fan-favorite movie’s release to attend a special event recognizing its director, Harold Ramis.
Local officials in Chicago declared Feb. 2 Harold Ramis Day to pay tribute to the Chicago native nearly 10 years after the actor, filmmaker and screenwriter’s death in 2014 at age 69. Cast members Bill Murray, Brian Doyle-Murray, Marita Geraghty, David Pasquesi, Robin Duke and Richard Henzel were among those who gathered at Chicago’s Navy Pier to celebrate Ramis. The event was live-streamed via social media by local TV news station WGN-TV.
The event kicked off with a reenactment of the alarm clock Murray’s character battles throughout the movie as it turned from 5:59 a.m. to 6 a.m. As the new hour struck, Sonny & Cher’s “I Got You Babe” began to play and Henzel, who played one of the radio DJs in the film, announced the start of Groundhog Day—just as he had in the film.
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The celebration that followed was peppered with jokes about time loops, including one from Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, who attended to deliver remarks about his friendship with Ramis. Durbin jokingly predicted that his speech would continue to get better as the event repeated itself in the days to come.
Pasquesi was among the first cast members who spoke about Ramis. He acknowledged that the film was beloved, but said they were all there “for Harold.”
“I can’t think of a better occasion to get together than this, Harold Ramis Day,” Pasquesi said. The actor recognized Ramis as a “comedy legend” and acknowledged other comedy projects Ramis delivered over the course of his career, including 1978's Animal House and 1980’s Caddyshack.
Groundhog Day was filmed in Woodstock, Ill., a city northwest of Chicago. Murray starred in the film as Phil Connors, a grumpy weatherman caught in a time loop after traveling with his news crew to cover Punxsutawney Phil’s annual Groundhog Day prediction in Punxsutawney, Penn.
When it came time for Murray to deliver his remarks about Ramis, the Ghostbusters actor also shared jokes about time loops and the weather. He began with a reference to Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction of an early spring for 2024 before speaking seriously about how Ramis helped his actors to make movies better.
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