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As TV shows go, “The Office” is a goldmine of endless trivia, as evidenced by the fact that multiple former stars have started podcasts breaking down the series since it went off the air in 2013. The “Office Ladies” podcast is hosted by Pam and Angela actors Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, while Kevin actor Brian Baumgartner hosted the podcast “An Oral History of The Office” before spinning that off into yet another podcast “The Office Deep Dive with Brian Baumgartner.” Each of these retrospectives are must-listen resources for fans of the original series, as they provide exhaustive insights into how the show was produced, revealing every bit of behind-the-scenes trivia you could possibly want — and there’s a heck of a lot of it.
One particularly interesting aspect of these series is that it allows the former cast members to reminisce about some of the series’ high-profile directors. Throughout its nine-season run, “The Office” hosted a seriously impressive array of filmmakers. J.J. Abrams oversaw season three episode “Cocktails” while Jon Favreau — who was actually on the original shortlist of actors to play Michael Scott in “The Office” — directed the season nine episode “Moving On.” Bryan Cranston of “Breaking Bad” fame even directed one of the potentially deadliest episodes of “The Office,” in which the entire cast almost suffered carbon monoxide poisoning as the result of a makeshift air conditioning setup.
On top of all that, the show even hosted a legendary “Ghostbusters” star and co-writer in the form of Harold Ramis, who actually directed a full four episodes of the beloved NBC series.
Harold Ramis directed four classic episodes of The Office
Harold Ramis, who sadly passed away in 2014, remains a comedy and filmmaking legend. This is, after all, the man who co-wrote “Meatballs” and “Animal House,” and who wrote and directed “Caddyshack” and “Groundhog Day” — which unfortunately left Ramis and star Bill Murray’s friendship in shambles for a time. He also wrote and appeared in the 1981 action comedy “Stripes,” and while Ramis might have missed a spot on “Saturday Night Live,” he clearly wasn’t fazed, charting a successful career that saw him working right up until his final years. Even if that were his entire filmography, it would be enough to make him an irreplaceable part of American pop culture, but he also co-wrote and starred in “Ghostbusters,” and “Ghostbusters 2,” becoming a bonafide movie star for an entire generation who grew up on those classic supernatural comedies.
As such, Ramis remains one of the most distinguished guest directors in the history of “The Office,” having helmed four episodes of the show, most of which were in season 3. The multi-hyphenate directed the two-part “A Benihana Christmas,” as well as “Beach Games,” and “Safety Training” which featured Michael Scott’s infamous attempt to draw attention to the mental pressure of office work by pretending to jump from the top of the Dunder Mifflin office block. All of these were season 3 episodes, but Ramis returned in season 6 to oversee “The Delivery,” yet another historic episode in which Pam gives birth to her first child with Jim.
Those are all some of the best episodes of “The Office,” partly because they belong to a time before series lost its way following the departure of Steve Carrell. But Ramis’ influence is a big part of why these episodes remain so beloved, as the cast and crew’s recollections reveal.
The cast and crew of The Office were enamored with Harold Ramis
On the “Office Ladies” episode for “A Benihana Christmas,” Angela Kinsey summed up Harold Ramis’ towering presence, saying “I mean, Jenna. My whole childhood were his movies,” adding, “He was just a comic, a legend. And I was in awe.” The actress recalled Ramis being “just a teddy bear of a human” and said he made the cast feel very comfortable on-set. Kinsey even recalled how he calmed her down ahead of a scene in “A Benihana Christmas” in which she had to sing in front of the cast:
“I was terrified to sing the song in front of everyone. I do not like singing in front of people […] And I’ll never forget. I went up to Harold Ramis, who, you guys, you know, we’ve said he was just a teddy bear. And I went up to him and I was like, ‘Here’s the thing, Harold. I can’t do it. I can’t do it. I really just can’t sing in front of people and I can’t do it.’ He really calmly put his hand on my back and looked at me and said, ‘But you will.'”
After this, Kinsey recalled how she went through with the scene, and it all went to plan, thanks to her newfound confidence courtesy of Ramis.
Elsewhere, cinematographer and director Randall Einhorn recalled working with Ramis on season 3, noting how the director came in with “meticulously drawn out” plans but scrapped them as soon as he saw the cast rehearse the first scene. According to Einhorn, following the rehearsal Ramis said, “I should just get rid of this, right?'” before Einhorn tried to reassure him. But after one more scene, Ramis got Einhorn’s attention and “just chucked his plans in Pam’s trash bin.”
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