Ghostbusters (1984)
In 1984, Louis was a resident of the Shandor Building at 550 Central Park West and lived in apartment 2202 on the 22nd floor. He had unreciprocated romantic feelings for his neighbor Dana Barrett and tended to burst out of his apartment whenever she passed in the hallway. He was frequently locked out of his own apartment, unaware of the building's supernatural history. In one exchange, he told Dana about taping a 20-minute aerobics workout and playing it back at high speed so it only took ten minutes, then offered her some low-sodium mineral water before locking himself out again.
That Thursday night, Louis hosted a party celebrating his fourth anniversary as an accountant. He handed a guest a bottle of generic acetylsalicylic acid in place of name-brand aspirin (better value, he explained), served what he called authentic Nova Scotia smoked salmon, and loudly recited the private finances of arriving guests Ted and Annette Fleming. While putting coats away in his bedroom, he failed to notice Vinz Clortho, one of the Terror Dogs released from the statues atop the building. The creature burst through the bedroom door, scattering the party, and Louis fled the building screaming that there was a bear loose in his apartment.
Louis ran across the street into Central Park and reached the Tavern on the Green, where he banged on the windows begging to be let in while the diners ignored him. Vinz Clortho cornered him against the glass and possessed him. Now inhabiting Louis, the Keymaster roamed the park searching for Zuul, the Gatekeeper, until the police picked him up and dropped him at the firehouse. Egon Spengler took P.K.E. readings, scanned his brainwaves, and saw the image of the Terror Dog's head; the possessed Louis introduced himself as Vinz Clortho and explained his purpose. After Walter Peck forced the shutdown of the containment grid and the resulting explosion, Louis escaped and made his way to Dana's wrecked apartment, where the Keymaster met the Gatekeeper (the possessed Dana) and the two ascended to the rooftop temple of Gozer.
After the Ghostbusters defeated Gozer, Louis was freed from his possession in the charred remains of the Terror Dog. Ray Stantz and Winston Zeddemore helped him out, and his first question on returning to himself was who did their taxes. Ray told him he had been a participant in the biggest interdimensional cross-rip since the Tunguska blast of 1909, and Egon asked for a sample of his brain tissue, which Louis unwittingly agreed to. He left the building wrapped in a blanket, asking if anyone wanted to interview him as an eyewitness.
Ghostbusters II
Between 1984 and 1989, Louis earned a law degree at night school and expanded into work as a tax attorney, also handling probate. In late 1989 he reluctantly served as defense counsel for the Ghostbusters at their trial, a role he took partly because, as he put it, he had once turned into a dog and they had helped him. His opening remarks were brief, and Egon judged them "very good, short but pointless." During the trial the Prosecutor reminded the court of a judicial restraining order barring the Ghostbusters from paranormal work, and Louis, with Peter feeding him his lines, struggled to make headway.
The case turned in the Ghostbusters' favor only because the Scoleri Brothers materialized in the courtroom and panicked everyone. After the brothers were captured, Judge Wexler rescinded the charges and dropped the case so the Ghostbusters could deal with the threat, and Louis celebrated the win while holding up the trap. Once the team was back in business, Louis was hired on as their personal accountant and tax attorney, even appearing in one of their TV ads. He once caught Slimer eating his lunch at the firehouse, sending both of them fleeing in opposite directions.
During the week of New Year's Eve, Louis finally worked up the nerve to ask Janine Melnitz to dinner. She was busy babysitting Oscar at Peter's apartment but invited him to come along. The two grew closer over the evening; Louis told Oscar his accountant's retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, mentioned that his old roommate had been his mother until she moved to Florida, and the pair ended up making out on the couch before Dana returned home.
Later, while Louis, Janine, and Dana were watching "The Lady from Shanghai," Dana discovered Oscar had been carried out onto the window ledge and was then snatched away by Janosz Poha in ghostly form. After Dana rushed to the Manhattan Museum of Art, Louis learned the Ghostbusters had been committed to Parkview Psychiatric Hospital. He helped get them released, then returned to the firehouse and, with Janine's help, suited up in one of Egon's uniforms and a Proton Pack. Underestimating the weight of the gear, he tired quickly on foot until Slimer arrived driving a commandeered city bus. At the museum, Louis fired on the slime shell coating the building as Vigo was weakened by the singing crowd. When the shield dissipated, the crowd hailed him as a hero and he proudly proclaimed himself "a Ghostbuster," joining the others at the Liberty Island ceremony afterward.
Quotes
Selected lines from both films, many of them improvised by Rick Moranis on set.
"Oh, no, I feel great. I just ordered some more vitamins. I see you were exercising. So was I. I taped '20 Minute Workout' and played it back at high speed so it only took ten minutes and I got a really good workout. You wanna come in and have a mineral water or something?"
"Gee, I think all I got is acetylsalicylic acid, generic. See, I can get six hundred tablets of that for the same price as three hundred of a name brand. That makes good financial sense, good advice. Hey, this is real smoked salmon from Nova Scotia, Canada, $24.95 a pound! It only cost me $14.12 after tax, though. I'm givin' this whole thing as a promotional expense, that's why I invited clients instead of friends. You havin' a good time, Mark? How you doing? Why don't you have some of the brie, it's at room temperature! You think it's too warm in here for the brie?"
"Okay, who brought the dog?"
"Nice doggy! I think I have a milk-bone...AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"
"Gozer the Traveler. He will come in one of the pre-chosen forms. During the rectification of the Vuldrini, the traveler came as a large and moving Torg! Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the McKetrick supplicants, they chose a new form for him: that of a giant Slor! Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you!"
"Boy, the superintendent's gonna be pissed!"
"Who does your taxes?"
"I think you guys are making a big mistake, I do mostly tax laws and probate stuff occasionally, I got my law degree at night school."
"Your honor, ladies and gentlemen of the audience, I don't think it's fair to call my clients frauds, OK so the blackout was a big problem with everybody OK, I got stuck in a elevator for two hours and I had to make the whole time, but I don't blame them, 'cause this one time I turned into a dog and they helped me. Thank you."
"I used to have a roommate, but my mom moved to Florida."
Personality
Louis is the quintessential nerd, a good-natured man whose social awkwardness eclipses even Egon's. He tries to be hip and never quite pulls it off, and he is obsessive about taxes and money; conversation with him tends to drift toward tax or monetary matters. He is always willing to help, sometimes with embarrassing results, and is quick to point out where a friend could save money. He is also good with children, a skill he claimed to have practiced on his pet hamster. Beneath the awkwardness he wants to break out of his humdrum life and be a hero, which is why he threw himself into the otherwise negligible assault on the museum's slime shell. Despite his social handicaps, he is a top-notch CPA and tax attorney, which is why Peter kept him on as the team's finance specialist.
The Real Ghostbusters
In the animated series, Louis appeared in seasons 5 and 6 (1989-1990), voiced by Rodger Bumpass, and was written as a wimpy but frugal and competent accountant focused on keeping the Ghostbusters in the black. He was hired by the team before the Doctor McCatheter incident and worked as their accountant and tax attorney, occasionally taking up a Proton Pack. His accountant duties included courting financiers for investment and reminding the team (especially Peter) that they would not get paid unless clients' checks were endorsed. He usually wore a bow tie on the job, often worked alongside Janine, and had a rudimentary knowledge of the team's equipment, once running Egon's P.K.E. meter to confirm high levels of ectoplasm when Janine suspected the team had been lured into a trap.
A few early episodes of season 5 follow directly after Ghostbusters II and depict Louis in a relationship with Janine Melnitz; the series writers eventually restore her earlier relationship with Egon Spengler as the season progresses.
Louis's frugality was a recurring trait. He once said he had an aversion to health food but picked some up anyway because "the price was right." That same frugality was used against him when he accepted free New Spirit Chips from McCatheter, which caused the Ghostbusters to develop an allergy to ghosts; during the incident he donned a Proton Pack and helped trap McCatheter. He tried to keep the business from going bankrupt by giving a tour to prospective investors, who refused to donate after a young Egon threw water balloons at them. He cared more about returning rented uniforms before 5 p.m. to get the deposit back than about most crises, and he played a large part in rescuing his spoiled nephew, Lawrence Tully, from the demon Lothgar. Lawrence is a spoiled brat; Louis repeatedly tries to choose the right birthday presents for him, but Lawrence is rarely grateful. Lawrence wore oversized glasses and a bow tie like his uncle and shared some facial features with him, suggesting Louis has a sibling who dresses similarly.
Louis introduced himself on a few occasions as a "tax attorney," one of the few nods to Ghostbusters II in the cartoon, and always carried business cards to hand out. He never appeared in or was mentioned in Extreme Ghostbusters, making him the only member of the Ghostbusters' circle never referenced in that series.
A few additional personal details emerge across his episodes: Louis hates beets, and he gets carsick at high speeds.
His speaking appearances span thirteen episodes across seasons 5 and 6: "Something's Going Around," "Three Men and an Egon," "Elementary My Dear Winston," "Partners in Slime," "Jailbusters," "The Ghostbusters Live! from Al Capone's Tomb!," "The Halloween Door," "Trading Faces," "Kitty-Cornered," "The Ransom of Greenspud," "Afterlife in the Fast Lane," and "Busters in Toyland." He appears as a photograph in a scrapbook in "Janine, You've Changed."
NOW Comics and The Real Ghostbusters Magazine
Louis made a single appearance in the NOW Comics run, dropping by to keep Janine company while the team was out of town; he was not allowed to drive Ecto-1, and his hair was drawn black rather than the brown of the animated series. His brief romance with Janine, never shown on screen, surfaced in the comic when Egon made a barbed remark about it and Janine described Louis as sweet but harmless.1 He also appeared in several issues of The Real Ghostbusters Magazine across 1990 and 1991, including the Spring 1990 issue (which revealed he has an uncle named Elwell who works on a farm2), Summer 1990, Fall 1990, and Winter 1991. The magazine depicted him in two additional jumpsuits beyond his usual bow-tie look: one gray with red trim and one purple with yellow trim.
Kenner produced three Louis Tully action figures in the post-Ghostbusters II Real Ghostbusters toyline: one paired with a mini-mech unit, one with a slime gimmick that appeared when the figure was dipped in water, and one with a glow-in-the-dark outfit and matching accessories. As in the NOW Comics, the figures gave Louis black hair. All three depicted him in an ill-fitting jumpsuit, though Louis only wore a jumpsuit on screen in "Jailbusters" and "Something's Going Around."
IDW Comics
In IDW's continuity, Louis and Dana retained mild aggressive tendencies and a taste for rare meat for several weeks after the Gozer incident.3 Weeks afterward, journalist Rebecca Morales interviewed Louis for a book about the Ghostbusters, and he revealed he and Peter had a deal: free use of the Ghostbusters logo in his yellow pages advertisement in exchange for doing Peter's taxes for three years.4 Around 1992, Janine and Louis broke up,5 and Louis soon left New York, abandoning his thriving practice and his position with the team to settle in Ocala, Marion County, Florida.6 His law degree later inspired Winston to study law.
A few years later, Tiamat began manipulating Louis's dreams with images of fire, dogs, and snakes, driving him to return to Manhattan. After arriving and meeting his cousin Sherman Tully, Louis was approached in a bar by Tiamat disguised as a blonde woman, who whisked him to Dana's apartment, where he was possessed by Mot. He returned to normal after the Ghostbusters defeated Tiamat by crossing the streams. He later went to the firehouse for testing to confirm he was no longer possessed; the examination instead drew out the Terror Bird that had taken hold, which Egon and Kylie Griffin extracted with a trap before clearing him. Back home in Ocala, Louis briefly considered opening a Florida branch of the Ghostbusters before deciding he was happier dealing with just numbers. He also bought a refurbished microwave that turned out to be possessed and called the Ghostbusters for help; Ray advised him to pull the plug, which worked, then hung up on him.
Ghostbusters: The Video Game
In the realistic versions of the game, Louis kept Egon's coveralls from the Vigo incident as a memento, hung behind his lobby desk with the label switched from Spengler to Tully. In anticipation of franchising, he was tasked with scouting locations around the United States, including Chicago, Los Angeles, and Cincinnati. During the Thanksgiving 1991 weekend, when the new recruit was hired, Louis was out sick, having left a note on his desk for the others. In the stylized versions, he is mentioned by Winston at the Natural History Museum, and after Ivo Shandor's defeat Peter notes Louis has been scouting franchise locations.
The development team had extensive plans to include Louis as the game's fifth, playable Ghostbuster. Bill Murray strongly advocated for Moranis's involvement and personally called him to make the case. Moranis came around near the end of production and was open to participating; his likeness had already been modeled and was ready to use. However, the animation team had no bandwidth remaining to rig the character properly, as everyone was occupied finishing the cinematics. The development team considered alternatives: putting Louis in a full body cast, or having only his hand emerge from the area where the No Ghost sign, satellite dish, and Ecto-1a doors are stored, delivering pre-recorded lines. None of those workarounds made the final cut, and Louis was instead written out as being on sick leave.7
88MPH Studios: Legion
In the Legion miniseries, set in an alternate continuity, Louis became rich and famous after Gozer's defeat. He landed magazine covers, set off a "geek chic" fashion trend, became the spokesman for Keymaster Cologne, and dated models, yet still pined for Dana and secretly moved into the unit across from her new apartment. He continued to dabble in financial planning, tried to get the Ghostbusters into a mutual fund, and sponsored the Fireman's Ball as its guest of honor. He even offered Peter one million dollars, then two million, to stay away from Dana so he could have a chance with her; Peter declined.
Other appearances and references
Louis appears or is referenced across several other works in the franchise. The IDW one-shot Ghostbusters: Deviations presents an alternate timeline in which the Ghostbusters do not cross the streams and Dana and Louis are only half restored, leaving Louis able to run fast on the lower body of a Terror Dog. In the unproduced Ghostbusters III: Hellbent script, Louis has a brief cameo running numbers on five computers and trying to forestall the company's insolvency.8 In Ghostbusters: The Official Cookbook, Winston recalls taking Louis to lunch a couple of years after the team's last bust to get tax advice on starting his own business.9 A supplement to a later Proton Pack release notes that Louis went on to open an accounting firm called Tully & Tully (despite there being no second Tully) at 534 West 50th Street in Hell's Kitchen, and continued to moonlight as a tax probate lawyer.
In the Ghostbusters role-playing game, Louis heads the business end of the "Ghostbusters International" franchise and sends player characters memos regarding the state of operations; he prefers to be called "Lou." In Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord, the Full Containment Edition and first Buster Bundle included a Keymaster DLC costume based on Louis's appearance while possessed by Vinz Clortho in the first film.
In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the source notes only a background nod: an undertaker's vehicle early in the film bears the name "Tully & Son Haulage Co." The source documents no new performance or speaking appearance by Louis in that film.
Louis is not associated with the signature prop builds that define the GBFans.com workshop community, but he has a presence across the franchise's collectible landscape. The three Kenner Real Ghostbusters figures described above represent his most common collector touchpoints; all three are part of the post-Ghostbusters II Kenner wave and are sought as a set by completionists. In the video game space, the Rise of the Ghost Lord Keymaster DLC costume is the most recent officially licensed representation of his possessed appearance. For fans who want to portray Louis at conventions, his look in the first film (blue tracksuit, large glasses, business-casual separates) and his Ghostbusters II uniform appearance (Egon's ill-fitting coveralls over street clothes) require no specialized fabrication and are recognizable from the character alone.
Development and casting
Much of the casting history and production development in this section is drawn from Don Shay's Making Ghostbusters.10
John Candy was originally going to play Louis, and the character was first molded to suit his persona, appearing in the June draft as a fellow refugee of the creature that became Peter Venkman's interdimensional love interest. Joe Medjuck noted the early Louis was closer to Candy's Johnny LaRue character from SCTV. Candy could not commit (his ideas, including giving Louis a German accent and Rottweilers, did not fit the film), and Rick Moranis took the role, reshaping the character into an accountant. Moranis improvised extensively on set; a surprising number of Louis's lines were nonetheless also present in the script by Ramis, Reitman, and Aykroyd. Michael McKean also auditioned for the part after Candy passed.7 By the September 30, 1983 draft the character had reached the form seen in the final film.
Moranis suggested the "nerd party" shortly before principal photography began, and Ivan Reitman shot the entire sequence, up to the Terror Dog's appearance, as one long take to keep Moranis's comedic flow. An early draft cast Louis as a visiting conventioneer rather than a neighbor, and the John Candy version was written with "earthier interests." For the scene in which Egon and Janine interviewed the possessed Louis, the production crew had Moranis step aside and substituted one of the rubber Terror Dog heads for the shots in which Vinz Clortho appears on screen.
Years later, Rick Moranis's Ghostbusters glasses were auctioned at a 1988 Toronto fundraiser for the Special Olympics.11 After his wife died in 1991, Moranis reduced his acting commitments significantly and entered a full professional hiatus in 1997 to focus on raising his children. Around 2009 and 2010, an associate of Dan Aykroyd contacted him about involvement in a potential third Ghostbusters film; he also passed on a cameo in the 2016 reboot because the offered role did not appeal to him. Ivan Reitman approached Moranis to reprise the role for Ghostbusters: Afterlife before Reitman's passing; others continued the approach afterward, and Moranis again declined.
References
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The Real Ghostbusters Issue #16 (1989). NOW Comics, Chicago IL USA.
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Lerner, Andrew (1990). The Real Ghostbusters Magazine Spring 1990. Welsh Publishing Group Inc., New York NY USA, ISSN 1043-3945.
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Tobin's Spirit Guide (2016). Insight Editions.
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Ghostbusters: Year One Issue #3 (2020). IDW Publishing.
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Ghostbusters Volume 1 Issue #2 (2011). IDW Publishing.
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Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #4 (2013). IDW Publishing.
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Greene, James, Jr. (2022). A Convenient Parallel Dimension: How Ghostbusters Slimed Us Forever. Lyons Press, Essex CT USA, ISBN 9781493048243.
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Aykroyd, Dan (2006). Ghostbusters III: Hellbent (June 23, 2006 Draft).
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Fukikawa, Jenn & Burnham, Erik (2022). Ghostbusters: The Official Cookbook. Insight Editions, San Rafael CA USA, ISBN 9781647227401.
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Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters. New York Zoetrope, New York NY USA, ISBN 0918432685.
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Toronto Star, "Don Daynard, 'Ghostbusters' glasses and the history of the Special Olympics" (February 6, 2022).
