We have lost one of the great illustrators/fine artists with the passing of my enormously talented friend, Drew Struzan. I first became aware of his work when I began to notice the beautifully drawn album covers he did for Pacific Eye & Ear. My initial reaction was, “There’s a new guy in town, and boy, he really can draw.” I was also doing LP covers at the time but kept hearing that there was this great new high-paying market for illustrators: movie posters. I saw that this same guy I had been following had just jumped into that market. I was really impressed by his poster for a low budget horror film entitled Squirm. I delighted that he had included a small homage to the Austrian painter Gustaf Klimt in his poster.
Suddenly, the work of American illustrator Joseph Christian Leyendecker (Norman Rockwell‘s idol) began to have a huge impact on Drew’s movie posters. I was close to assembling a complete collection of all of J. C. Leyendecker’s 324 Saturday Evening Post covers. Our friendship began when I contacted Drew and offered him some of my duplicates. Drew and I both got most of our movie poster jobs from Seiniger & Associates. That ad agency was producing about 90% of all the major movie posters and film advertising that was being done at that time. It was the last Golden Age of movie poster illustration. More often than not, I would run into Drew when delivering or picking up a job from Tony Seiniger or one of his associates (usually David Reneric).
What was Drew like? He was low key, soft spoken and private — but I wouldn’t say he was shy. He had a subtle sense of humor that was always accompanied by a twinkle in his eye. His favorite restaurant was Houston’s in Pasadena. He dined there so often that he never needed to look at the menu. The restaurant already knew what to prepare for Drew the moment he walked through their doors. He had the excellent taste to marry Dylan, a fantastic wife, writer and protector of her hubby.
Struzan delighted in doing what he did. He quickly became the hottest movie poster artist in the world. For film directors, having a Drew Struzan poster representing your film was one of the signs that you had truly “made it” in the Film Biz. His most regular clients included directors George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Guillermo Del Toro and Frank Darabont, who often commissioned Drew to paint a poster for their latest film out of their own pocket.
Shortly after I began my fine art career, I was approached to join the California Art Club, the oldest art organization west of the Mississippi (it began in 1909). Dan Goozée and I (movie poster artists both) became heavily involved in this art club that promoted traditional art. I convinced Drew to join. We did panels together and Drew began a whole new direction in his art. His fine art career began to truly flourish. In addition to developing a bold new painting style, Drew began to sculpt. Drew exhibited his fine art in California Art Club exhibitions.
The Forest Lawn Museum began to host incredible art exhibitions that often included Drew’s work. I co-curated an exhibition on the history of animals in art for that museum and made sure that Struzan’s work was included. We both were a part of the museum’s largest and most successful exhibition, a show on music-related art that took the two of us back to our illustration roots.
Drew was extremely generous as an artist. He gave seminars that explained his entire process and how he created his own very particular style. This backfired on Drew a bit, as the artists who attended these how-to lectures began to offer up a version of Drew’s style while undercutting Drew’s prices. I don’t think it really mattered to Drew, as none of these imitators could draw or design half as well as Struzan.
Despite our living just a few blocks away from each other, we didn’t get together socially very often. We’re both workaholics and, on top of that, Drew had a series of dire health issues. Although his disease prevented us from having recent meaningful conversations, I miss the guy already. I miss his quiet kindness, his warm smile whenever he greeted me and sharing our enthusiasm for having what we considered the best job in the world.
Vaya con Dios, Amigo.