Actor Rick Moranis ‘fine’ after being punched in the head in New York
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Beloved 1980s brainiac Rick Moranis was the victim of an apparently “random unprovoked assault” in New York on Thursday.
“Rick Moranis was assaulted on the Upper West Side yesterday. He is fine but grateful for everyone’s thoughts and well wishes,” a spokesperson for the actor said Friday in a statement to The Times.
The “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” star was punched in the head on an Upper West Side sidewalk early Thursday morning, according to the New York City Police Dept.
The 67-year-old actor was walking near his apartment building when a passerby struck him in the head with a closed fist, knocking Moranis to the ground, as seen in surveillance footage distributed by NYPD.
Moranis suffered pain in his head, back and right hip and went to a local hospital to be evaluated, police said. He later reported the attack to police.
An unidentified male fled the scene on foot, and the NYPD is asking for the public’s assistance to find the suspect. He was still at large Friday morning, the New York Post reported.
The Canadian “SCTV” sketch comedy alum is beloved for his string of zany comedies in the 1980s and ’90s. He starred in the original “Ghostbusters” feature film, the live-action 1994 “Flintstones” movie, the kids football comedy “Little Giants” and Mel Brooks’ “Star Wars” spoof “Spaceballs.”
But he’s arguably best known for his role as the well-meaning inventor Wayne Szalinski in Disney’s “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” franchise. The actor is reprising the character in a new sequel, “Shrunk,” which features “Frozen” star Josh Gad as the scientist’s son who also miniaturizes his children. (Production on the film has been halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.)
The actor has kept a relatively low profile since the death of his wife, Ann Belsky, in 1991. He continued doing voice work and other projects while caring for their two young children.
“I took a break, which turned into a longer break,” he told the Hollywood Reporter in 2015. “But I’m interested in anything that I would find interesting. I still get the occasional query about a film or television role… and as soon as one comes along that piques my interest, I’ll probably do it. [But the ‘Ghostbusters’ reboot] didn’t appeal to me.”