Trivia

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.

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.

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.

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.

Has appeared with John Candy in four films: Brewster's Millions (1985), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Spaceballs (1987) and The Rocket Boy (1989).

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).

Attended Sir Sandford Fleming Secondary School in Toronto, Canada with Geddy Lee, from the rock band Rush.

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 afternoon deejay on Toronto radio station CHUM-FM in the 1970s.

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 considered for the role of Gov. Lewis in Evolution (2001), which went to Dan Aykroyd.

Mentioned in Death of a Shoe Salesman (1992).

Attended the funeral of his good friend John Candy.

Went to elementary school with Rush lead singer, bass player, and keyboardist Geddy Lee.

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.

Worked with his good friend Steve Martin several times before retiring.

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.

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.

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

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.