It will be announced today that a film school specialising in comedy will be founded in honour of legendary director Harold Ramis.

World-famous improv comedy institution The Second City will be setting up the school in their Chicago headquarters, with comedians Martin Short, Steve Carell, Eugene Levy and Keegan-Michael Key, along with president of Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group Doug Belgrad, Ben Stiller's Red Hour Films' producer Stuart Cornfeld, and president of production at 20th Century Fox Film Corp Emma Watts among others.

Martin Short stated: "Harold is the perfect person to have a school named after him. He taught us all how to act and how to live. He was the ultimate teacher."

Harold Ramis directed such classic comedies as Caddyshack, Groundhog Day, National Lampoon's Vacation and several episodes of The Office. He was also well-known for playing the role of Dr. Egon Spengler in the Ghostbusters movies, as well as playing Seth Rogen's bad-advice giving father in Knocked Up.

The school will not be giving a formal degree, with the year-long programme instead intending to give students a healthy portfolio of scripts, short films and pilot episodes, intended to act as calling card in Hollywood, with the clout of The Second City behind them.

Previous alumni of The Second City comedy troupe include Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Stephen Colbert, Mike Myers, Joan Rivers and Harold Ramis himself.