5 Things
Rick Moranis: 5 Things To Know About The Actor Who Was Attacked Near NYC’s Central Park
Hollywood is enraged over the attack on Rick Moranis in New York City on October 1. The actor was punched in the head while on a solo stroll through Manhattan. Learn more about Rick Moranis.
Rick Moranis was the victim of a random attack on Thursday morning in New York City. The actor, 67, was walking by himself on Central Park West near 70th Street, when an unidentified man approached him and punched him in the head, knocking him to the ground. Video surveillance footage, which was released by the New York Police Department, shows the alleged suspect wearing a black hooded sweatshirt that reads, “I Love New York.” Rick has since been treated at a local New York hospital, and he later walked to a local precinct to report the crime. As police continue to search for Rick’s attacker, learn more about the actor.
1. Rick is a pretty big deal in Hollywood. — In case you forgot, Rick has starred in some major classic films. He played Louis Tully in Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989). Rick went on to star as Wayne Szalinski in the hit 1989 film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (and its two sequels in 1992 and 1997). Other popular films he’s starred in include: Strange Brew (1983), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Spaceballs (1987), Parenthood (1989), My Blue Heaven (1990), and The Flintstones (1994).
2. In 1997, Rick took a break from big-screen roles. — He decided to step away from live-action films to focus on being a full-time single dad to his two children after his wife’s death. Rick’s wife, Ann Belsky, passed away from breast cancer. The actor married the costume designer in 1986.
“So I took a little bit of a break. And the little bit of a break turned into a longer break, and then I found that I really didn’t miss it,” Rick told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015. The actor did clarify that his hiatus from acting didn’t mean retirement. Despite taking a break from the big screen, Rick has done a number of voice-over projects for film and television through the years. Additionally, he released a few comedy albums and made appearances at fan conventions.
3. Rick will be back on the big screen. — He signed on to appear in a new sequel to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, called Shrunk. Rick will join Josh Gad in the sequel, according to our sister site Deadline, which announced the news in February of 2020. The movie will center around Josh’s character, the son of Rick’s character, Wayne Szalinski. Rick also appears in the 2020 Second City TV reunion documentary on Netflix, An Afternoon with SCTV, which was directed by Martin Scorsese. In 2018, he made his on-screen return in a 2018 episode of The Goldbergs.
4. His most recent work includes Ryan Reynolds. — To our point that Rick Moranis is a pretty big deal in Hollywood (see No. 1), Ryan also recognizes the significance of Rick in his 2020 Mint Mobile ad. The Deadpool actor invited Rick to star in the commercial… just because he’s Rick Moranis. “Today @Mintmobile is launching unlimited for just $30 AND bringing back Rick Moranis,” Ryan wrote in a tweet above the commercial’s release in September of 2020. At the time, Ryan told a fan on Twitter, “Honestly, when [Rick] said yes, I wept.”
5. The Canadian actor hails from Toronto. — Before he got into acting, Rick was actually a radio disc jockey in the mid-1970s at a number of Toronto radio stations. He later moved onto comedic acting, and the rest is history!
