Obama makes a Caddyshack reference in his tribute to director Harold Ramis saying that he hopes the comedian received 'total consciousness' on his deathbed

 

President Barack Obama has paid tribute to comedian and director Harold Ramis who died on Monday, with the President calling the late actor one of America's 'greatest satirists'.

'Michelle and I were saddened to hear of the passing of Harold Ramis, one of America’s greatest satirists, and like so many other comedic geniuses, a proud product of Chicago’s Second City.  

'When we watched his movies – from Animal House and 'Caddyshack to Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day – we didn’t just laugh until it hurt. We questioned authority. 
'We identified with the outsider. We rooted for the underdog.  And through it all, we never lost our faith in happy endings.'

The President even ended the statement with a Ramis reference that only the most ardent of fans would catch.

'Our thoughts and prayers are with Harold’s wife, Erica, his children and grandchildren, and all those who loved him, who quote his work with abandon, and who hope that he received total consciousness,' the statement concluded. 

'Total consciousness is not a phrase used often, and Gawker caught that it was a reference to a famous speech that actor Bill Murray made in Ramis' hit film 

Caddyshack where Murray's character tells a tale of how he was the caddy for the Dalai Lama one time in Tibet. 

'So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness. So I got that goin' for me, which is nice,' Murray says in the film.

Ramis, a native of President Obama's hometown of Chicago, died Monday at the age of 69.