A Ghostbusters Star Has Died
Kymberly Herrin, who starred as the Dream Ghost in Ghostbusters, has died at age 65.
For many children who grew up in the 1980s, Ghostbusters was the film of the decade for them, as it highlighted some of the funniest and scariest moments in pop culture history. The Bill Murray film might be almost 40 years old, but it still holds up due to its impressive cast, New York City locations, and unbelievably witty dialogue. But tragedy has struck the classic movie because, according to a report by The New York Post, a 65-year-old cast member from the 1984 classic has passed away: Kymberly Herrin.
Kymberly Herrin portrayed the Dream Ghost in the original Ghostbusters, where she famously appears in a sexual sequence alongside Dan Aykroyd’s character of Ray Stantz. While she doesn’t have a significant supporting role in the film, Herrin’s appearance is notable and is often recounted by a lot of fans of the franchise. Herrin was a model and actor outside of her work on Ghostbusters, with projects that included roles in Romancing the Stone opposite Michael Douglas, Beverly Hills Cop II with Eddie Murphy, and a stint as Playmate of the Month in Playboy’s March 1981 issue.
With the help of an ensemble cast that included Kymberly Herrin, Ghostbusters went on to start a multimedia franchise of movies, television series, video games, and merchandise. Directed by Ivan Reitman and written by costars Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, Ghostbusters tells the story of a group of parapsychologists that start a business catching ghosts for New York City residents. Ahead of its time for its humor and incredible visual effects, Ghostbusters featured legendary performances from Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, and Ernie Hudson.
Ghostbusters went on to become a huge financial success when it was released in the summer of 1984. The film was the second highest-grossing movie of that year when it took in over $295 million against a budget of around $30 million, making it the highest-grossing comedy up to that point. Critics and audiences took a liking to the film upon its release as well, with Rotten Tomatoes currently ranking Ghostbusters as Certified Fresh with a 97% on its Tomatometer based on 77 critics’ reviews, as well as an Audience Score of 88% from over 250,000 verified ratings from users to the site.
After the huge box office haul that Ghostbusters took in, a sequel was made in 1989 starring the original cast from the initial 1984 film, and was almost as successful as the first with a box office gross of over $215 million against a budget of $40 million. Several other sequels were spawned since the 1980s, including an all-female 2016 reboot starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones aptly titled Ghostbusters.
Just last year, another sequel was added to the growing franchise called Ghostbusters: Afterlife which starred Paul Rudd and was directed by Ivan Reitman’s son Jason and became the first film in the franchise since Ghostbusters II to feature original cast mates Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and Sigourney Weaver.
