Just when you thought you knew everything there was to know about the classic sci-fi comedy Ghostbusters, Dan Aykroyd is here to celebrate Halloween with a fascinating, little-known piece of movie history. According to Aykroyd, who famously played Dr. Raymond Stantz, production on the original 1984 film began before Columbia Pictures had fully secured the rights to the name. To play it safe, the cast had to film alternate takes using different business names.
As Aykroyd recently revealed on X (formerly Twitter), the title was originally tied up elsewhere:
“Taft Broadcasting owned the title Ghostbusters as part of their half-hour sitcom starring Larry Storch and Forrest Tucker (F-Troop) and a gorilla chasing ghosts,” Aykroyd wrote on X. “I had never heard of it. They didn’t have proton packs or Bill Murray. Columbia paid $500,000 to buy the name, but they really should have paid Dean Martin, from whom I first heard the term.”
Aykroyd went on to trace the linguistic origin of the iconic name back to classic Hollywood comedy:
“In the film Scared Stiff (1953), he and Jerry Lewis (check out his acrobatic stair descent) are in an old haunted castle, and Lizabeth Scott asks Dean: “Who are you guys?” And Dean answers: “You’ve heard of Trustbusters and Gangbusters, we’re Ghostbusters! For my research writing the first movie, I watched every single ‘ghost’ comedy ever made. Bowery Boys, Hope and Crosby, Abbot and Costello, Martin and Lewis all did such films.”
To top off the Halloween trivia, Aykroyd shared a vintage reel of promotional clips featuring himself, Bill Murray, and Harold Ramis pitching their paranormal business under alternate names, most notably introducing themselves as the “Ghostblasters!”
While Ghostbusters undoubtedly has a far better ring to it, these hilarious alternate takes serve as a great reminder of the legal tightropes studios often walk behind the scenes. Before you gear up with proton packs, it’s always smart to cover your ghost-busting butt!