Ivan Reitman, the legendary director of ‘Ghostbusters’ has passed away at the age of 75.
Reitman died peacefully in his sleep on Saturday, February 12, 2022, in his home in Montecito, California. His family shared the news of his passing with The Associated Press.
“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, Catherine, and Caroline Reitman said in a joint statement.
They continued by stating, “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.”
Additionally, son Jason Reitman took to Instagram to further express his feelings over the loss of his father.
Despite originally being born in Czechoslovakia, Reitman would call Toronto his home, after his family emigrated to Canada when Reitman was only 4.
It was while attending McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, that Reitman first started to make his own short films. This would ultimately lead to him developing a local comedy show in his adopted hometown of Toronto. It was here where he first met Dan Akyroyd.
His big break would eventually come in 1978 when he produced ‘National Lampoon’s Animal House’. This would also mark the first time he would officially work with Harold Ramis.
He would then have the opportunity the following year to step behind the camera to direct Bill Murray in ‘Stripes’, another film written by Ramis. He would follow this up with ‘Stripes’ in 1981, where he once again teamed up with Murray and Ramis.
But his biggest accomplishment would come in 1984 when he teamed up with Aykroyd and Ramis to develop ‘Ghostbusters’.
The film would go on to gross $229.1 million at the box office and claim the title of being the highest-grossing comedy of all time, until eventually being beaten by ‘Home Alone’ in 1990.
‘Ghostbusters’ stars Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson took to Twitter to express their sadness over the passing of Ivan Reitman.
We at Horror Facts want to thank Ivan Reitman for his contribution to film, which also includes ‘Twins’, ‘Kindergarten Cop’ and ‘Evolution’.
We would also like to express our condolences to the Reitman family during this time.
Ivan Reitman was a legendary filmmaker, and he will be missed.
