Drew Struzan, best known for his iconic work on movie posters for some of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters, died Monday at the age of 78, a social media post announced Wednesday.
Struzan, it was reported in March, was battling Alzheimer’s and “fighting for his life.”
His official Instagram account announced the news Tuesday.
“It is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that Drew Struzan has moved on from this world as of yesterday, October 13th. I feel it is important that you all know how many times he expressed to me the joy he felt knowing how much you appreciated his art.”
Struzan is known for his illustration work for the “Star Wars” franchise, “E.T.,” “The Shawshank Redemption,” “Back to the Future,” “Indiana Jones” and more.
Spielberg, per The Hollywood Reporter, once called him “my favorite movie artist” and later added, “I had to almost live up to the art that we later were going to ask Drew to create for the poster.”
In March, his wife Dylan shared the news of his medical battles.
“Some doctors believe this disease is reversible,” she posted. “For years, Drew and I have used the protocols that are supposed to, at the very least, arrest the forward momentum of the disease to no avail. His body has continued to decline. He is ‘still in there’, as they say. It seems that specialised brains have an advantage as their knowledge is part of the structure of the brain, not just an add-on stored in the brain.”
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