Hollywood has lost legend Drew Struzan, the visionary poster artist whose work defined the look of blockbuster films for decades including Harry Potter and Star Wars
Drew Struzan, the legendary artist behind some of Hollywood’s most iconic film posters, has died at the age of 78. His family confirmed the sad news via his official Instagram account 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,” read a statement from his brother, Greg Struzan.
“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,” he added in his statement.
Struzan’s career spanned decades, leaving an indelible mark on cinema. He created posters for blockbuster franchises and beloved films including Star Wars, Back to the Future, Harry Potter, The Empire Strikes Back, The Goonies, The Shawshank Redemption, and The Thing.
Spielberg once described him as his “favourite movie artist” and admitted to feeling pressure to “live up to the art” Struzan produced.
His process was meticulous as each poster began as a pencil drawing, then was layered with airbrush acrylics and colored pencils to produce a vibrant, hand-crafted final image. His style was distinctive, capturing mood and emotion rather than merely summarizing a film’s plot.
“I wasn’t looking to tell a story. I’m looking to give a person a feeling about something they could hope for,” Struzan explained in a 2021 interview with Slash Film.
“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. 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.”
Before making his mark in Hollywood, Struzan designed album covers for some of the music world’s biggest names, including the Beach Boys, Bee Gees, Earth, Wind & Fire, Liberace, and Black Sabbath. His artwork for Alice Cooper’s Welcome to My Nightmare was later named one of the greatest album covers ever by Rolling Stone.
Earlier this year, Struzan’s wife revealed that he had been battling Alzheimer’s. “Drew can no longer paint or sign things for you,” she wrote on Facebook in March.
“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.
“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,” she added.
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