Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman, known for that film and many others across a decades-long career in filmmaking, has died. He was 75.
Reitman passed away peacefully in his sleep on Saturday, February 12 at his home in Montecito, California, his family confirmed to 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,” his children Jason Reitman, Catherine Reitman, and Caroline Reitman said. “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.”
One of Reitman’s first big films was the 1978 college comedy National Lampoon’s Animal House, a project that he produced. He would later direct Bill Murray in Meatballs and Stripes before making arguably his biggest movie ever, 1984’s Ghostbusters. Reitman would go on to have a long and successful career as a producer, earning an Academy Award nomination for Up in the Air.
Reitman also produced Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which was written and directed by his son, Jason Reitman.