Ivan Reitman, the renowned filmmaker and producer behind popular films such as “Animal House” and “Ghostbusters,” has died at the age of 75.
His death was peaceful, according to his relatives. He passed away while sleeping on Saturday night at home in Montecito, California, according to The Associated Press.
“Our family is in shock as we mourn the unexpected death of a husband, father, and grandfather who taught us to seek the enchantment in life,” the Reitmans’ children said.
“We take comfort in the fact that his job as a filmmaker brought joy and laughter to people all over the world. While we mourn privately, we hope those who knew him through his films will think of him with love always.”
Reitman is best known for raunchy comedies from the 1960s and 1970s that captured the era’s spirit. His big break came with the rowdy college fraternity spoof “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” which he produced.
He was the first person to direct Bill Murray in a starring role, in the summer camp comedy “Meatballs” (1979), and then again in “Stripes” (1981), but his greatest achievement came with 1984’s “Ghostbusters.”
The humorous supernatural comedy featuring Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Rick Moranis has grossed almost $300 million worldwide since its 1988 release. It was nominated for two Oscars and launched a cinematic franchise with spinoffs, TV series, and a new film called “Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
“A legend,” stated comedian and actor Kumail Nanjiani on Twitter. “His body of work is incredible.”
He’s also directed “Twins,” “Kindergarten Cop,” “Dave,” “Junior,” and 1998’s “Six Days, Seven Nights.”
He’s directed films like “Beethoven” and “Old School,” as well as his son’s Oscar-nominated movie “Up in the Air.”
He was born in Komárno, Czechoslovakia, in 1946, at which time his father ran the country’s major vinegar factory. His mother had survived Auschwitz, and his father was a member of the resistance.
The Reitmans fled when the communists began imprisoning capitalists after World War II. When Ivan Reitman was only 4, they decided to flee and escaped by hiding in the boards of a barge heading for Vienna.
“I recall brief flashes of images,” Reitman remarked to the AP in 1979. “Later, they told me about how they drugged me so I wouldn’t make a sound. They were afraid that if I was quiet, I’d be dead.”
The Reitmans settled in Toronto, where Ivan’s show business inclinations were on full display: he established a puppet theater, amused at summer camps, and performed in coffee houses with a folk music group.
His education about music and film took place at McMaster University in Ontario, where he began filming short films.
When his friends and $12,000 weren’t enough, Reitman shot a nine-day movie, “Cannibal Girls,” which A.I. agreed to release.
He created a weekly TV revue, “Greed,” with Dan Aykroyd, and became involved with the Lampoon group in its off-Broadway revue, which also included John Belushi, Gilda Radner, and Murray. That paved the way for “Animal House.”
After the enormous success of “Animal House,” Reitman raised cash to produce “Meatballs,” which would be more family-friendly than the hard-R “Animal House.”
Reitman wanted Murray to star, which would turn out to be a major boost for the comic, but Ramis later stated that Reitman didn’t know whether Murray would show up until the first day of filming.
Reitman’s relationship with Brown began with “Animal House,” which he said was made on the way to the premiere of “Meatballs.” The collaboration produced “Stripes,” a war comedy that Reitman claimed he thought up en route to the premiere of “Meatballs” and “Ghostbusters,” as well as several other films.
He became famous by the time 1990’s “Kindergarten Cop” rolled around. Reitman became the most successful comedy director in history during this decade.
He had no idea of what to expect when he was assigned the responsibility of directing 30 children between the ages of 4 and 7 in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s comedy.
“Dave,” a political comedy in which Kevin Kline plays an average guy who has to double for the US President, was a change of pace for Reitman.
“It’s more proof that it isn’t what you do, it’s how you do it: Ivan Reitman’s direction and Gary Ross’ screenplay employ smarts and warm sentiments to create Dave into a wonderful lighthearted comedy,” wrote critic Roger Ebert.
After “Six Days, Seven Nights,” which he wrote and directed in 1998, Reitman stopped producing films after four years with “Evolution,” “My Super Ex-Girlfriend,” “No Strings Attached” and “Draft Day.”
But he persevered, and, with “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” even found himself on the press tour with his son, sharing heartfelt moments as the torch was handed down. Even in this new feature, there are some allusions to his father’s movies such as “Beethoven” and “Cannibal Girls.”