AP just put a damper on Super Bowl Sunday with the devastating news that beloved filmmaker Ivan Reitman has passed away at the age of 75.
Reitman passed away peacefully in his sleep Saturday night at his home in Montecito, Calif., his family told The Associated Press.
Reitman is best known among the horror crowd as the director of the iconic 1984 supernatural comedy Ghostbusters and its sequel, Ghostbusters II. While he didn’t direct last year’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, he did return to produce and passed the baton on to his filmmaker son, Jason Reitman.
“Our family is grieving the unexpected loss of a husband, father, and grandfather who taught us to always seek the magic in life,” children Jason Reitman, Catherine Reitman and Caroline Reitman said in a joint statement. “We take comfort that his work as a filmmaker brought laughter and happiness to countless others around the world. While we mourn privately, we hope those who knew him through his films will remember him always.”
Known for big, bawdy comedies that caught the spirit of their time, Reitman’s big break came with the raucous, college fraternity sendup National Lampoon’s Animal House, which he produced, remembers AP. He directed Bill Murray in his first starring role in Meatballs and then again in Stripes, but his most significant success came with 1984’s Ghostbusters, which spawned several sequels and an animated series. The latter earned two Oscar nominations.
Reitman also directed Twins, Kindergarten Cop, Dave, Junior and the criminally underrated Evolution, which we just celebrated a few weeks ago. It’s also worth noting that he not only produced both comedy classics Beethoven and Old School, but was an executive producer on David Cronenberg’s Canadian horror masterpiece Rabid.
The Bloody Disgusting community sends our thoughts and prayers to all of Ivan’s surviving family and friends. He will be missed.
from left: Ivan Reitman, Carrie Coon, Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Jason Reitman (provided by Columbia PIctures)