The Cast of “Ghostbusters”: Where Are They Now?

It's hard to believe, but the classic film turns 40 years old on June 8, 2024

When there was something weird going on in the neighborhood, these guys answered the call.

Ghostbusters premiered on June 8, 1984, a perfect early summer offering (PEOPLE's review called it "irresistible nonsense") that has since become a beloved cultural touchstone, producing countless sequels and product lines and one very catchy theme song.

Anchored by stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson and Sigourney Weaver, and directed by Ivan Reitman, the movie went on to make $300 million at the box office.

As the movie celebrates its 40th anniversary, catch up with the cast of Ghostbusters, then and now.

Dan Aykroyd as Dr. Raymond Stantz

Dan Aykroyd co-wrote Ghostbusters with costar Harold Ramis, bringing the comedy skills he'd honed on Saturday Night Live a few years prior to the page. PEOPLE called the actor "a hoot" in the film, crediting his banter with costar Bill Murray for creating "the perfect summer tonic for raising spirits."

Aykroyd was fresh off a handful of other favorite films — Blues Brothers, Trading Places and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom among them — and has since had a non-stop acting career that includes My Girl, Driving Miss Daisy (for which he earned an Oscar nod), Tommy Boy, 50 First Dates, Crossroads, Pearl Harbor and series including Soul Man and Workin' Moms. Like many of his Ghostbusters costars, he appeared in many of the film's sequels and spinoffs, most recently, 2024's Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.

The 71-year-old separated from Donna Dixon, his wife of 39 years, in 2022; together they have three daughters.

Billy Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman

At the time of the film's release, PEOPLE said Bill Murray's "delivery is a fail-safe mechanism for laughter," helping to make the movie "something like Abbott & Costello Meet the Exorcist."

Like Aykroyd, he rose to fame on Saturday Night Live, and followed Ghostbusters with other '80s and '90s favorites including Little Shop of Horrors, What About Bob? and Groundhog Day. He earned an Oscar nomination and Golden Globe Award for his work in Lost in Translation, before joining the Wes Anderson world for films including Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. He most recently won an Emmy Award for 2015's Olive Kitteridge.

Murray was the subject of allegations of inappropriate behavior on set in 2022, which prompted other stars to speak out about negative experiences they had with the star. He reportedly paid a $100,000 settlement to his colleague on the 2022 film, and in the years since, has continued working in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.

Twice married, the 73-year-old has six sons.

Harold Ramis as Dr. Egon Spengler

The film's co-writer Harold Ramis recalled the difficult task of making the movie when speaking to PEOPLE in 1984.

"Danny, Bill and I had to act against characters who weren't there. 'Look scared' was the main direction. Then, 'Look more scared,' " he explained.

Ramis — who came up through Canada's Second City Television — went on to feature in Groundhog Day, High Fidelity, As Good as It Gets and Knocked Up, but was just as known for his writing, penning Groundhog Day in addition to Analyze This and Analyze That.

Ramis died in 2014 at the age of 69. He was survived by his wife of 25 years, Erica Mann Ramis, their two sons and his daughter from a previous marriage.

Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddmore

In a 2023 interview on SiriusXM, Ernie Hudson said that filming Ghostbusters was "probably the most difficult movie I ever did just from the psychological perspective."

"I was the guy who was brought in, and so finding my place in the middle of that — and they were all welcoming and inclusive," the actor said of the cast, per The Hollywood Reporter. "The studio wasn’t, and the studio continued not to be. So it made it very, very difficult because I was a part of it, but then I very selectively was pushed aside."

“Now," he said, "I know the fans see it differently, and I’m so thankful for the fans because the fans basically identified with Winston."

Prior to Ghostbusters, Hudson had been busy working in television, and hasn't slowed down since, appearing in everything from The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Oz and The Crow to The Basketball Diaries, Miss Congeniality and Grace and Frankie.

Most recently Hudson, 78, earned notice for his fit physique while promoting Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. He has been married to wife Linda Kingsberg for nearly 40 years and has children from his previous marriage.

Sigourney Weaver as Dana Barrett

Sigourney Weaver had Annie Hall and the first Alien movie to her name before joining Ghostbusters as the gang's haunted (and beautiful) client.

She immediately went on to the rest of the four-part Alien series, earning her first Oscar nod for 1986's Aliens (she followed that up with two more for Working Girl and Gorillas in the Mist) before jumping into films including Galaxy Quest, Heartbreakers, Abduction, A Monster Calls and the Avatar franchise. She also has a Grammy (best spoken word album for her narration of Jon Stewart's Earth (The Book)), and four Emmy nominations, the most recent for her narration on Secrets of the Whales.

Weaver, 74, has been married to theater director Jim Simpson since October 1984; together they have one daughter.

Rick Moranis as Louis Tully

Also an alumnus of the Canadian sketch series Second City Television, Rick Moranis was another '80s and '90s favorite, with standout roles in Little Shop of Horrors, Spaceballs, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Parenthood and My Blue Heaven on his résumé prior to his part as Dana's nerdy neighbor in Ghostbusters.

Later on in the '90s, Moranis took a step back from acting following the death of his wife, costume designer Ann Belsky.

"I took a break, which turned into a longer break," he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015. "Stuff happens to people all the time, and people make adjustments, change careers, move to another city. Really, that's all I did."

Moranis, now 71, has made a few cameos in recent years, and was slated to star in a 2020s Honey I Shrunk the Kids reboot that was ultimately scrapped.

The actor has two grown children with Belsky.

Annie Potts as Janine Melnitz

Annie Potts kept the Ghostbusters going as the group's secretary, returning alongside much of the cast for 1989's Ghostbusters II.

She followed up with a string of hits including Pretty in Pink, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Love & War, Any Day Now and the beloved series Designing Women, in addition to voicing Bo Peep in the Toy Story franchise.

More recently, Potts has stayed busy with roles on Law & Order: SVU, GCB, Chicago Med and The Fosters and in films like 2016's all-female Ghostbusters (Weaver cameoed, too) and 2024's Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. She also has made Broadway appearances in God of Carnage in 2009 and Pippin in 2014. Her latest series, Young Sheldon, just ended.

Potts, 71, married husband James Hayman in 1990; together they have two children. She also has one child from her first marriage.

William Atherton as Walter Peck

As the sole non-ghost bad guy of the film, William Atherton tried to take the Ghostbusters down, to no avail.

Prior to the film, he'd starred both on Broadway and in The Sugarland Express and The Day of the Locust. He's gone on to return for many of the subsequent Ghostbusters films and video games, in addition to Die Hard, The Pelican Brief, Bio-Dome, The Last Samurai and Desperate Housewives, among countless other TV roles.

Atherton, 76, is married to Bobbi Goldin.

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