Cliff Notes – Iconic film designer for Harry Potter and Star Wars Drew Struzan dies aged 78
- Drew Struzan, renowned for his iconic film posters for franchises like Star Wars and Harry Potter, passed away at the age of 78, as confirmed by a statement from his brother.
- Struzan’s artistic journey began with album covers for famous musicians before transitioning to film posters in the 1970s, where he became a leading figure in the industry.
- He had been battling Alzheimer’s disease, which affected his ability to create art, but his legacy remains influential in the world of visual storytelling.
Iconic film designer for Harry Potter and Star Wars Drew Struzan dies aged 78
Drew Struzan has died aged 78 (Picture: Alexandra Wyman/WireImage)
The man behind some of the most iconic film posters in Hollywood history has died aged 78.
Drew Struzan was behind the promotional visuals for films including Harry Potter, Back To The Future and Star Wars.
The designer’s official Instagram account released a statement confirming news of his death on Monday.
‘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,’ the statement from his brother Greg Struzan read.
‘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.’
His work included posters for films such as The Empire Strikes Back, The Goonies, The Shawshank Redemption and The Thing.
His work included posters for films such as Star Wars (Picture: 20th Century Fox)
Struzan had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s (Picture: Drew Struzan via Facebook)
He crafted his posters by hand, starting with pencil drawings, before layering on with airbrush acrylics and colored pencils.
Spielberg once described Struzan as his ‘favourite movie artist’ and admitted to feeling pressure to ‘live up to the art’ Drew created.
But before he designed the iconic posters for such films, Struzan got his start out designing album covers for equally renowned musicians.
He designed the covers for albums by the Beach Boys, the Bee Gees, Earth, Wind & Fire, Liberace and Black Sabbath. His cover for Alice Cooper’s Welcome to My Nightmare was named one of the greatest ever by Rolling Stone.
Struzan moved into the realm of film posters in the 1970s and by the following decade was one of the most sought-after poster artists, racking up 10 a year.
‘I had to do something different, and I think that the trouble with a lot of early movie posters is that they looked too much like classic illustration, which feels like it’s telling the whole story,’ he said in a 2021 interview with Slash Film.
‘I didn’t want to do that. I felt that art was more than just telling the story. In fact, telling the story in a poster is wrong for a movie.’
He added: ‘I wasn’t looking to tell a story. I’m looking to give a person a feeling about something they could hope for.’
He crafted all his posters by hand (Picture: Warner Bros.)
Before working on film posters, Struzan designed album covers (Picture: Paramount)
In March, his wife shared that he had Alzheimer’s in a Facebook post.
‘Drew can no longer paint or sign things for you,’ she wrote. ‘He is not enjoying a well-deserved retirement but rather fighting for his life.’
‘He hears all the comments you have left here on these pages. It encourages him. At first he was able to express his thoughts but as time progressed it became infinitely more difficult.’
She continued: ‘I rely on our 60 years of marriage working as a team to remember for him.
‘Drew has left a strong legacy of love and joy in the form of his work. It has always been a love letter of sorts. His aim was to make the earth a better place in which to live by creating something beautiful. But like a flower, his season is ending.’
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