As Rick Moranis celebrates his 73rd birthday today, the world is once again reminded of the remarkable story behind one of Hollywood’s most beloved and quietly heroic disappearing acts — and the even more remarkable story of his return.

The man who made generations laugh as the endearingly nerdy Louis Tully in Ghostbusters, Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, and the lovably shrinking dad in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids walked away from superstardom at the absolute height of his fame in 1997 — not for scandal, not for burnout,