biography of Rick Moranis

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Moranis and his wife Ann in 1990
Born	Frederick Allan Moranis April 18, 1953 (age 72) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupations	Actor comedian musician producer songwriter writer
Years active	1976–present
Spouse	Ann Belsky (m. 1986; died 1991)
Children	2

Frederick Allan Moranis :

(/məˈrænɪs/; born April 18, 1953) is a Canadian actor, comedian, musician, producer, songwriter and writer.

Moranis appeared in the sketch comedy series Second City Television (SCTV) in the 1980s and starred afterward in several Hollywood films, including Strange Brew (1983), Streets of Fire (1984), Ghostbusters (1984) and its sequel Ghostbusters II (1989), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Spaceballs (1987), Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989, and its 1992 and 1997 sequels), Parenthood (1989), My Blue Heaven (1990), and The Flintstones (1994).

In 1997, Moranis began a long break from acting to dedicate his time to his two children as a widower. He has not appeared in a live-action film for over 25 years, although he provided voice-over work for a few animated films, including Disney's Brother Bear (2003). He also released comedy albums and made appearances at fan conventions.

In 2020, after a hiatus of nearly 23 years from live-action films, Moranis signed to reprise his role of Wayne Szalinski in a new sequel to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, called Shrunk before the project was put on hold.

Early life

Moranis was born on April 18, 1953, in Toronto, Ontario, to a Jewish family. He attended elementary school with Geddy Lee, frontman of the rock band Rush

About

Canadian actor and writer who became known for his roles in such classic films as Ghostbusters and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. He also had roles in Spaceballs, Little Shop of Horrors, and The Flintstones.

Before Fame

He was introduced to audiences when he performed memorable impressions on Canada's Second City Television (SCTV).

Trivia

He won a 1984 Primetime Emmy for writing for his work on SCTV.

Following the death of his wife in 1991, the difficulty of raising their two children on his own, and his increasing disenchantment with Hollywood, Moranis retired from acting in 1997. He had intended the retirement to be a sabbatical of a couple of years, but later realized that he did not miss the pressure. He still does occasional voice work, e.g. Brother Bear (2003).
He is notoriously private about his children; so much so that in interviews he won't give out their names.
Was invited to the party Steve Martin was throwing that turned out to be his wedding.
Was widowed in 1991 when his wife died of breast cancer. Has two children from that marriage.
Is coming out of retirement in 2021 to reprise the role of Wayne Szalinski in an upcoming 3rd sequel to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids movie series.
His character in Ghostbusters (1984), Louis Tully, was originally written for John Candy. Moranis was brought in as a last-minute replacement when Candy dropped out. Moranis, Candy and Ghostbusters co-star Harold Ramis are all alumni of SCTV (1976).
Moranis and Dave Thomas originally created the characters Bob and Doug McKenzie in protest against government requirements for "identifiable Canadian content" in domestically produced television programming. The skits, as an "SCTV" (198) program "The Great White North" featured two dimwitted brothers who combined as many negative Canadian stereotypes as possible. Despite this, they became so popular that the skits were included in the American version of the program, and Moranis and Thomas were made members of the Order of Canada for their contribution to Canadian culture.
Along with Dave Thomas, scored a Billboard Top 40 hit in 1982, called "Take Off", as Bob and Doug MacKenzie, in a duet with Rush lead singer Geddy Lee.
Was cast as Phil in City Slickers (1991), but his wife became terminally ill before filming began and he chose to pull out. Daniel Stern replaced him in the role at the last minute.
His impersonation of George Carlin on SCTV (1976) was not done with the intention of mocking the comedy legend, but rather as an affectionate tribute. However, due partially to his being in a difficult period at the time, both personally and professionally, Carlin was hurt by the imitation. Moranis had no idea that Carlin had taken issue with the impersonation until his daughter, Kelly Carlin, contacted him while researching her 2015 memoir and spent nearly an hour on the phone apologizing, which she greatly appreciated.
On October 1, 2020, he was walking down the street in New York's Upper East Side near Central Park when he was knocked down to the ground by a complete stranger who then walked off and flashed a peace sign to a surveillance camera. Over a month later the perpetrator who was revealed to be 30-year-old Marquis Ventura was charged with second-degree assault. Rick suffered injuries to his head, back, and hip. He managed to take himself to the police station to file a police report and then he took himself to the hospital to get checked out. A trauma team from the Manhattan Police Precinct went to check on him and they said he was fine, he was grateful for everyone's concern, and he just wanted the perpetrator to be caught.
Has appeared with Bill Murray in three films: Ghostbusters (1984), Little Shop of Horrors (1986) and Ghostbusters II (1989).
Has appeared with Steve Martin in four films: Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Parenthood (1989), My Blue Heaven (1990), L.A. Story (1991).
Had a letter published (as Ricky Moranis) in "Mad" magazine, issue #120 (July 1968). The subject was "Don Martin Looks at Frogs".
Using the on-air name of "Rick Allen" he was the overnight deejay on Toronto radio station CFTR-AM in the early 1970s after that station switched formats from Beautiful Music to Top 40.
Made the cover of the first issue of "Disney Adventures" magazine in 1990.
Was the only SCTV (1976) cast member who did not come from the Second City theatre.
Attended Sir Sandford Fleming Secondary School in Toronto, Canada with Geddy Lee, from the rock band Rush.
He has appeared in one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Ghostbusters (1984).
Has appeared with John Candy in four films: Brewster's Millions (1985), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Spaceballs (1987) and The Rocket Boy (1989).
Is the only actor to appear in all three "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" films: Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992) and Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves! (1997).
His paternal grandparents, Jacob and Lena Moranis, were Russian Jewish immigrants who moved to Philadelphia, PS, and later to Canada. His mother is of Polish Jewish ancestry.
While working for CHUM radio in Toronto, wrote and provided voices for the locally famous "Al Palladini" car dealership radio commercials.
Was the producer's first choice to play Sherman Klump/Buddy Love in the 1996 remake of The Nutty Professor and although he loved the script he was forced to decline because he was busy with other projects and raising his children as a single parent. The part was then re-written for Eddie Murphy whose career was in a huge decline at that point and it was considered to be the comeback movie for Murphy by critics and audiences.
Was the afternoon deejay on Toronto radio station CHUM-FM in the 1970s.
Was considered for the role of Gov. Lewis in Evolution (2001), which went to Dan Aykroyd.
Went to elementary school with Rush lead singer, bass player, and keyboardist Geddy Lee.
Attended the funeral of his good friend John Candy.
Mentioned in Death of a Shoe Salesman (1992).
Has played a character named Barney in two movies: Barney Coopersmith in My Blue Heaven (1990) and Barney Rubble in The Flintstones (1994).
He was offered the role of Martin Harvey in the now cult classic Captain Ron (1992) as that movies director helped write the screenplay for Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992) which he starred in. However he had too many commitments to other movies and with his wife having been passed away very recently at the time, he declined the role. His SCTV colleague Martin Short got the role instead.
Director Dennis Dugan whom co-starred with Moranis in Parenthood (1999) offered him the role of Arthur Brooks a social worker in his film Big Daddy (1999) with Adam Sandler. Moranis had to respectfully decline as he started his acting hiatus two years prior to raise his children as a single parent after his wife's passing in 1991.
Worked with his good friend Steve Martin several times before retiring.
Was offered the role of social worker Arthur Brooks in Big Daddy (1999) but began his long hiatus from acting two years prior and declined to continue raising his children. The role instead went to Josh Mostel.
The part of Stanley Ipkiss in The Mask (1994) was written with him being considered for the role. However he chose to do The Flintstones (1994) instead, so the studio decided to cast Jim Carrey as Ipkiss.
Was asked to play Michael in Three Men and a Baby (1987) but was burned out after filming Little Shop of Horrors (1986) and Spaceballs (1987) so he passed. The role eventually went to Steve Guttenberg.
He was introduced to audiences when he performed memorable impressions on Canada's Second City Television (SCTV).

Family Life

His marriage to Ann Belsky Moranis produced two children.

Associated With

He co-starred with Ed O'Neill in the 1994 family comedy film Little Giants.

Career

His career as an entertainer began as a radio disc jockey in the mid-1970s, using the on-air name "Rick Allan" at Toronto radio stations CFTR, CKFH, 1050 CHUM and CHUM-FM In the mid-1970s, Moranis and comedy partner Rob Cowan, also a budding young radio announcer, performed on CBC-TV. Their spoof of Hockey Night in Canada was popular, and they periodically performed it on the road, including a charity sports dinner in Sarnia, Ontario.^{[citation needed]}

In 1977, he teamed up with Winnipeg-born writer/director and performer Ken Finkleman on a series of live performances on CBC's 90 Minutes Live; comedy radio specials; and television comedy pilots, including one called Midweek and another called 1980 (produced at CBC Toronto in 1979). Both pilots starred Finkleman and Moranis in a series of irreverent sketches, including an early mockumentary sketch featuring Moranis as a Canadian movie producer, and another featuring the dubbed-in voiceovers of Nazi war criminals as they appear to be discussing their Hollywood agents and the money one can earn being interviewed on major documentary series like The World at War

In 1980, Moranis was persuaded to join the third-season cast of Second City Television (SCTV) by friend and SCTV writer/performer Dave Thomas.^[8] At the time, Moranis was the only cast member not to have come from a Second City stage troupe.^{[citation needed]} He became especially noted for his impressions of celebrities ranging from pop culture icons like Woody Allen, Merv Griffin, and David Brinkley to somewhat lower-level stars such as comedian George Carlin and musician Michael McDonald, and even to the marginally notable Teri Shields (mother of Brooke).

With SCTV moving to CBC in 1980 (and syndicated in the United States), Moranis and Thomas were challenged to fill two additional minutes with "identifiable Canadian content", and created a sketch called The Great White North featuring the characters Bob and Doug McKenzie, a couple of Canadian buffoons. By the time NBC ordered 90-minute programs for the U.S. in 1981 (the fourth season of SCTV overall), there had been such favourable feedback from affiliates on the McKenzies that the network requested the duo have a sketch in every show.

Bob and Doug became a pop-culture phenomenon, which led to a top-selling and Grammy-nominated album, Great White Nor and the 1983 movie Strange Brew, Moranis's first major film role. He followed that up with the 1984 movie Streets of Fire.

Another notable Moranis character on SCTV was Gerry Todd, a disc jockey who presented music clips on television. The sketch aired before the debut of MTV in the United States, leading both Sound & Vision and Martin Short to dub Moranis as the creator of the video jockey. "There had been no such thing" up until that point, recalled Short, so "the joke was that there would be such a thing."

Feature films

After his SCTV work, and the Strange Brew and Streets of Fire movies, Moranis had a busy career in feature films that lasted over a decade, most notably Ghostbusters (1984) and its sequel, Ghostbusters II (1989); Brewster's Millions (1985); Little Shop of Horrors (1986); Spaceballs (1987); Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) and its 1992 and 1997 sequels; Parenthood (1989); My Blue Heaven (1990); and Barney Rubble in The Flintstones (1994). He also did the voice-over for a short-lived cartoon series on NBC called Gravedale High (1990).

Personal life

Moranis married make-up designer Ann Belsky in 1986 and together they had two children: a son and a daughter. Belsky died of cancer in February 1991. Moranis then slowly left public life to become a full-time single father.

On October 1, 2020, Moranis was assaulted in New York City in the vicinity of West 70th Street, Manhattan. He suffered minor injuries to his head, back and hip. He reported the incident to the New York Police Department, who posted security footage of the attack. On November 14, 2020, the alleged perpetrator was arrested in New York City.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role
1983	Strange Brew	Bob McKenzie
1984	Streets of Fire	Billy Fish
	Ghostbusters	Louis Tully
	The Wild Life	Harry
1985	Brewster's Millions	Morty King
1985	Head Office	Howard Gross
1986	Club Paradise	Barry Nye
1986	Little Shop of Horrors	Seymour Krelborn
1987	Spaceballs	Dark Helmet
1989	Ghostbusters II	Louis Tully
	Honey, I Shrunk the Kids	Wayne Szalinski
	Parenthood	Nathan Huffner
1990	My Blue Heaven	Barney Coopersmith
1991	L.A. Story	Gravedigger
1992	Honey, I Blew Up the Kid	Wayne Szalinski
1993	Splitting Heirs	Henry Bullock
1994	The Flintstones	Barney Rubble
1994	Little Giants	Danny O'Shea
1996	Big Bully	David Leary
1997	Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves	Wayne Szalinski
2001	Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys	The Toy Taker / Mr. Cuddles (voices)
2003	Brother Bear	Rutt (voice)
2006	Brother Bear 2	Rutt (voice)

Television

Year	Title	Role
1979	1980 (TV pilot)	Various roles
1980–1981	SCTV
1981–1982	SCTV Network
1982	Twilight Theater
1983, 1989	Saturday Night Live	Himself
1984	Hockey Night	Coach
1985	The Last Polka	Linsk Minyk
1988	The Best of SCTV	Various roles
1989	The Rocket Boy	Automatic Safety System
1990	Gravedale High	Max Schneider (voice)
1990	The Earth Day Special	Vic's Buddy
1992	Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories	Narrator
1997	Muppets Tonight	Himself
2003	Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Kids	Holley (voice)
2007	Bob & Doug McKenzie's Two-Four Anniversary	Bob McKenzie
2009	Bob & Doug
2018	The Goldbergs	Pannakin Crybaby / Lord Dark Helmet (voice)
2020	Prop Culture	Himself
TBA	An Afternoon with SCTV	Himself