Not many people will know the name Drew Struzan, but his works were often the first thing audiences saw in a movie. Outside or inside the cinema. The legendary artist, who created illustrations for some of the industry’s highest-grossing features —Indiana Jones and the last crusade, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back y back to the futureto name a few—died Monday at age 78. His death was announced by his family on his official Instagram account where they recalled that Struzan “saw life through rose-colored glasses to convey an improved version of it.” His legacy reached Spain with the poster of Torrent 3: the protector (2005), the comedy and action saga written, directed and starring Santiago Segura.
Struzan, a favorite of directors Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, suffered from Alzheimer’s for several years, an illness that “left him breathless,” according to the statement. “She could no longer speak out loud,” the family wrote, “we respected her tenacity, her ability to hold on to the inner fire that continued to burn.” The American artist fueled that flame every day by reviewing the paintings of those he had admired for a long time, such as Van Gogh or Paul Gauguin.
“Drew created art for events,” said filmmaker Spielberg for the magazine Variety. “His posters turned many of our films into destinations… and the memory of those films and the age we were when we saw them always comes to mind just by taking a look at his iconic photorealistic images. With his own invented style, no one drew like Drew.”
He created the iconic illustrations that accompany some of the most iconic films of the last century and the beginning of this one: the gold-toned drawings of Indiana Jones and the last crusadewith Harrison Ford and his inseparable hat in the center; the special edition of The empire strikes back, starring an imposing figure of Darth Vader; and Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stonewhere several characters surround a young, bespectacled Daniel Radcliffe.
Struzan’s cinematographic work, collected in the documentary by director Erik Sharkey Drew: The Man Behind the Poster (2013), bears witness to a notable number of films, including Blade Runner, The thing, The race of life, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, ET, the Extra-Terrestrial, The Muppets, Los Goonies, among others. His repertoire includes album covers for groups such as The Beach Boys, Bee Gees and Earth, Wind & Fire. But the album cover stands out Welcome to My Nightmare by Alice Cooper.
As noted by a special Los Angeles Times in 2008, published on Struzan’s website: What do Indiana Jones, Luke Skywalker and Harry Potter and the Muppets have in common? A creator of iconic images.