‘Caddyshack’ gopher puppeteer Pat Brymer dead at 70

Puppeteer Pat Brymer, who manipulated the hell-raising gopher that drives Bill Murray to the brink of insanity in the beloved comedy “Caddyshack,” is dead at the age of 70.

Brymer died April 12 from cardiomyopathy in Burbank, Calif., family friend Stephen Dolainski confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.

After college, Brymer worked for “The Banana Splits” and “H.R. Pufnstuf” creators Sid and Marty Krofft. He later collaborated with legendary ventriloquist Shari Lewis for an updated version of her famous puppet Lamb Chop in the 1990s.

He also served as principal puppeteer for the 2004 Matt Stone-Trey Parker cult classic “Team America: World Police,” providing the physical movement of three different characters, according to Hollywood Reporter.

Other films he worked on included “Short Circuit,” My Stepmother is an Alien," “So I Married an Axe Murderer” and “Extreme Movie,” according to IMDb.

But it was his work on “Caddyshack” that Brymer will most likely be remembered for.

The crude gopher, manipulated by Brymer, continually sends Murray’s character Carl Spackler into fits of rage as he develops an Ahab-like obsession to destroy it.

“In the immortal words of Jean-Paul Sartre, ‘Au revoir, gopher,'” says Murray before blasting its tunnels with dynamite.

Another scene has Murray singing “Ballad of the Green Berets” while engaging in war with the creature.

The classic final scene shows the gopher celebrating his outwitting Murray by dancing to Kenny Loggins’ “I’m Alright” as the closing credits roll.

In 2016, a real-life gopher was recorded interrupting Murray’s round of golf by poking its head out of a hole on the course.

“I thought it was fake,” joked Murray in a video posted on TMZ Sports.