Man behind memorable 'Ghostbusters' spook logo dies at 70
Celebrity
Man behind memorable ‘Ghostbusters’ spook logo dies at 70
If you saw “Ghostbusters,” you saw that logo — the one of a ponytailed ghost restrained by a red circle with a slash through it. That might well be Michael C. Gross’ greatest creation. Gross, an artist, illustrator, film producer and personal designer who created that logo as well as another iconic image of a dog with a gun to its head for the cover of National Lampoon, died of cancer at age 70 on Monday. The artist, who had survived cancer for 30 years before he was given a terminal diagnosis in 2014, said he decided to forgo any life-extending efforts. Gross lived in the San Diego suburb of Oceanside.
That’s where I paint, I photograph and I do things like this … I don’t work very hard.
Michael Gross
He was a prolific artist, and his work ranged from animation to comic strips to political cartoons to abstract expressionist paintings. Various examples of it have been displayed in New York’s Museum of Modern Art, Switzerland’s Olympic Museum and other institutions. His first movie credit, as associate producer, was for “Heavy Metal,” the 1981 cult film that merged animation with science fiction, sex and blaring rock music. From there he would go on to produce nearly a dozen films, including “Twins,” “Kindergarten Cop,” “Legal Eagles” and both of the “Ghostbusters” movies.
