Drew Struzan - Wikipedia
Drew Struzan, Iconic Movie Poster Artist and Favorite of Spielberg and Lucas, Dies at 78
Iconic movie poster artist Drew Struzan - who created the iconic marketing art for an enormous number of popular films - has died at the age of 78. Struzan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease several years ago and retreated from public life.
Struzan's official Instagram account announced the news on Tuesday: "It is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that Drew Struzan has moved on from this world as of yesterday, October 13th. I feel it is important that you all know how many times he expressed to me the joy he felt knowing how much you appreciated his art."
Struzan was once dubbed the "one-sheet wonder," a go-to artist for Steven Spielberg and George Lucas who created the posters for films such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Risky Business, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Back to the Future, The Goonies, The Thing and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
The artist's signature style was bold, dramatic and colorful. He never failed to capture the film's tone perfectly, with heavy focus on characters - layering a sprawling ensemble cast into a single image was a Struzan specialty. Spielberg once called him "my favorite movie artist" and later added, "I had to almost live up to the art that we later were going to ask Drew to create for the poster."
At a tribute to Struzan back in 2018, the artist said, "I'm thinking about my childhood and how I never had a birthday party, never had a good meal, everywhere I went, I worked my ass off. Nothing was ever given to me before, except by these lovely people" - referring to the directors who hired him over the years.