Ghostbuster’s Daughter, Violet Ramis’ book on her late father, Harold, features an array of insightful tidbits about the Groundhog Day and Caddyshack director.
But the most startling revelation from the book is undoubtedly that the “Ghostbusters” star and writer is the dad of Mollie Heckerling, who he fathered after having an affair with “Clueless” director Amy Heckerling in 1985.
This wasn’t new information for Violet, who, after having her suspisions, at the age of 9 read a page from her stepmom Erica Mann’s diary that confirmed Heckerling was Ramis’ daughter.
Harold didn’t make this admission to Violet until 1999, while Mollie Heckerling eventually learned that “Police Academy” writer Neal Israel, who was married to Amy Heckerling, wasn’t her real father in 2004, which is when she met Harold.
Mollie and Violet have since become really close, which is why Heckerling was more than happy for Violet to put this revelation in “Ghostbuster’s Daughter.”
I recently had the chance to speak to Ramis about her book, during which time I asked her about including this shocking revelation.
“It wasn’t new information for me. The shock part wasn’t there. She and I are very close. But I wanted to make sure that she was OK with everything. That she was comfortable, and that her family was comfortable.”
At the same time, though, Vilolet felt the urge to make the revelation for her father, who died in February, 2014. “I sort of wanted to do it for my dad.”
“Because if he had lived longer he would have made that public on his own. And really embraced her in that way. I wanted to do it for her and him and my family.”
You can learn more about Harold Ramis, Violet Ramis, and Mollie Heckerling, who is also an actress, in “Ghostbuster’s Daughter,” which is now available in all good book stores.
