Rick Moranis's Real Name: Frederick Alan Moranis

Quick answer: Rick Moranis's documented original name is Frederick Alan Moranis. The Canadian Encyclopedia uses that form and dates his birth to April 18, 1953, in Toronto. TV Guide independently lists the birth name Frederick Alan Moranis and a birth place of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, without giving a calendar date (The Canadian Encyclopedia; TV Guide).

Real name and early life

He is known professionally as Rick Moranis. Both sources agree on Frederick Alan Moranis. The Canadian Encyclopedia dates the birth to 18 April 1953 in Toronto. TV Guide confirms the city and province but not the day. The encyclopedia says he worked part-time as a radio engineer during high school, studied philosophy at York University for two years, then did standup and radio work at Toronto stations including CHUM-FM, and appeared at The Comedy Store and The Improv in Los Angeles in the late 1970s. TV Guide independently says he began as a local disc jockey in Toronto.

Career highlights

The Canadian Encyclopedia says he worked on local television, including 90 Minutes Live (1976–78), before joining Second City TV (SCTV) in 1980. With Dave Thomas he created the "Great White North" Bob and Doug McKenzie segments, which led to the album Great White North, a 1982 Juno for best comedy album and a Grammy nomination, and the feature Strange Brew (1983), which Moranis and Thomas wrote, directed, and starred in. He then played Louis Tully in Ghostbusters (1984) opposite Bill Murray. Later credits in the same article include Little Shop of Horrors (1986), the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids trilogy (1989, 1992, 1997), Parenthood, and voice work including Brother Bear (2003). Along with the SCTV company, he received a 1982 Emmy for outstanding writing in a variety or music program, the encyclopedia says, and a 1990 American Comedy Award for Parenthood. TV Guide independently lists Strange Brew, Ghostbusters, and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, the 1982 Emmy, the 1984 Juno, and the 1990 comedy award, and notes that friends persuaded him to join SCTV in 1980.

TV Guide says that after losing his wife to cancer in 1991 he officially retired from acting in 1997, citing single parenthood. The Canadian Encyclopedia, last edited in 2013, does not discuss that retirement in the extract consulted, but it does record a 2005 self-released album, The Agoraphobic Cowboy.

Name notes for searchers

Frederick Alan Moranis is the documented original name in both sources; Rick Moranis is the professional form. Searchers looking for Louis Tully in Ghostbusters or Wayne Szalinski in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids are usually aiming at the same person.