Drew Struzan
1947–2025 · American illustrator and film poster artist
Drew Struzan (Oregon City, 1947-2025) was an American illustrator and film poster artist, best known for posters for major franchises such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Back to the Future. Together with John Alvin, Saul Bass, Richard Amsel and Bob Peak, he is considered one of the finest movie poster artists in film history. His work includes more than 215 film posters. He died in October 2025 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.
He trained as an illustrator at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, although he had wanted to be a painter, and began selling his work while still a student. After becoming a father and facing financial hardship, he worked as a graphic artist for Pacific Eye & Ear, which commissioned the cover of Alice Cooper's album Welcome to My Nightmare. He later spent around eight years at Pencil Pushers, illustrating posters for low-budget films, and there he refined the airbrush technique that would define his style.
In 1978, 20th Century Fox asked Charles White III for a poster for the re-release of Star Wars. White was unhappy with the result and asked Struzan to paint the actors. The outcome, known as the "circus" poster, pleased George Lucas and led to decades of work with Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic. In the 1980s his work was in high demand, with posters for Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, The Goonies and the Back to the Future trilogy. He also designed Industrial Light & Magic's first logo.
In the late 1980s digital imaging began replacing painting in poster design, and during the 1990s Struzan worked less for cinema and more for collectibles, postage stamps and book covers. He announced his retirement in 2008, though he returned occasionally in the following decade.
His airbrush, oil and acrylic technique on canvas, without digital retouching, and his legacy in poster design make him a reference for later illustrators. The 2013 documentary Drew: The Man Behind the Poster reviewed his career with testimonies from directors such as Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.