Drew Struzan, the artist behind posters for “Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones,” “Back to the Future” and more, has died. He was 78.
His cause of death was complications from Alzheimer’s disease, his family said in a statement.
“With a heavy heart, I must share the news that Drew Struzan has departed from this life on October 13th,” reads a statement on his official Instagram. “I believe it’s vital you know how frequently he expressed the joy he derived from your admiration of his art.”
Struzan studied at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California, before joining design studio Pacific Eye & Ear in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, where he created album covers for musical acts such as The Beach Boys, Bee Gees, Alice Cooper, and Black Sabbath.
He subsequently founded his own business named Pencil Pushers, where he began crafting posters for B-movies. His major breakthrough came when 20th Century Fox commissioned him to design a poster for a theatrical re-release of “Star Wars,” marking the beginning of his era as Hollywood’s “one-sheet wonder.”
Struzan went on to create posters for numerous acclaimed films, including “The Muppet Movie,” “Blade Runner,” “The Thing,” “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” “Coming to America,” “The Goonies,” and many more, as well as the first four films in the “Indiana Jones” series.
“I felt the need to almost match the art that we would later commission Drew to produce for the poster,” director and long-time collaborator Steven Spielberg mentioned to LA Magazine in a 2014 article about Struzan.
The artist also designed the original logo for George Lucas’ special effects studio Industrial Light & Magic.
Although he officially retired in 2008 after designing the poster for “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” he occasionally crafted posters for special events or film re-releases.
Struzan’s wife, Dylan, revealed earlier this year that his Alzheimer’s meant he could no longer paint or sign posters for fans.
Struzan is survived by his spouse, son Christian and grandchildren.
