Legendary Poster Artist Drew Struzan Has Passed Away at 78
Drew Struzan, the famed artist known for creating some of the most iconic posters in movie history, has passed away at the age of 78.
It is impossible to tell the story of American cinema without mentioning the name Drew Struzan.
Photo: Variety
Born in Oregon City, Struzan studied at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena before eventually taking a job at Pacific Eye and Ear. There, he designed album covers for artists that included The Beach Boys, Alice Cooper, and Earth, Wind & Fire.
‘Star Wars’ and Movie Posters
After designing artwork for low-budget films like Empire of the Ants, Struzan was approached by Charles White III, who had been hired by 20th Century Fox to create a poster for the 1978 re-release of Star Wars.
Struzan was hired to help paint the human colors in oil for the poster.
Photo: Disney
From there, he would launch a career in movie poster design, creating some of the most iconic artwork of all time.
Struzan would become a frequent collaborator of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, creating posters for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Back to the Future, The Goonies, Risky Business, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
Photo: Drew Struzan
“Drew made event art. His posters made many of our movies into destinations,” Spielberg said after learning that Struzan had passed.
Photo: Drew Struzan
“And the memory of those movies and the age we were when we saw them always comes flashing back just by glancing at his iconic photorealistic imagery. In his own invented style, nobody drew like Drew.”
Later Career
While Struzan retired in 2008, he would later return to design posters for The Force Awakens, The Dark Tower, and the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy.
The Force Awakens. Photo: Lucasfilm
News of Struzan’s passing was first announced on his Instagram page.
“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,” the statement from longtime collaborator Greg Aronowitz read.
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