Hey, guys. Quint here. One of the more eye-catching stories that hit the inbox in the last few days was the passing of a man by the name of John Alvin. I saw it as I was traveling back to Austin and now that I've settled back in I looked into it. You probably don't know John Alvin by name, but if you've stepped foot in the cinema anytime in the last 30 years you know his work. He was a poster artist that was responsible for some of the most iconic poster work of not only my generation, but the generation before mine, going back to some of Mel Brooks' earlier movies. Instead of rattling off a list for you, I'm going to post some words from a reader and pepper in some of his most memorable work. I have many of these posters myself and didn't realize they were by the same artist, which is a testament to Mr. Alvin's versatility. At the end I'll include some of his other art. You can tell by this art that he really loved film and used his considerable talents to create some great work from some of our best films.
Hey Harry, Never contributed before, but I've been an avid reader for years now.
My heart is broken and I didn't know who to contact, but I figured maybe you might be willing to make a little tribute. I always enjoy finding out about people in the "industry" that I've never heard of before on your site, and I doubt many people have heard of John Alvin. A quick history, I grew up with John's daughter and spent many nights at the Alvin's with John and his wonderfully sweet wife Andrea during high school just slack-jawed and wide-eyed. You see, John Alvin was an amazing artist that created amazing poster art that I guarantee you've admired before. While everyone might know Drew Struzan by name, everyone knows John Alvin by his art. Lion King? John Alvin. E.T.? John Alvin. Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, Hook, Darkman, Gremlins? All John Alvin. I grew up knowing one of my heroes, and that was John Alvin.
John Alvin had a heart attack this last Wednesday, and has since passed away. You can see some of John Alvin's work at this site.
I last talked to John and Andrea at the 30th anniversary Star Wars Celebration in LA last year, and was delighted to tell him that I was now working in the movie and television advertising industry myself. He was so proud of me. And now he's gone. Please. Just look at his work and see for yourself. He was a talent that will be sorely missed. I miss him very much already. He had since moved to New York with his family. And due to funding issues, I will not be able to attend the funeral on Sunday. But I do have the mortuary, if you do decide to write anything before Sunday. Thanks, BizarroClark
Let's look at some more of his famous poster work. Keep in mind the below only represents a selection of his work... there are many more recognizable pieces, but these are the ones that really jumped out to me:
And here are a few more pieces... not poster art, but geek art anyway. Especially look at the Jurassic Park pieces... I love the gates image and from what I understand, the Bronto art was a rejected design for a poster... Looks like quite a nod to his other big Spielberg awe-flick poster work, doesn't it? Instead of an alien finger it's a dinosaur.
And perhaps my favorite of his recent poster work... not for a film, but for the great Bruce Campbell film within a film... from Frank Darabont's underappreciated THE MAJESTIC.
The man led an incredible life and his talent was taken away from us too soon. My thoughts are with Mr. Alvin's friends, family and fans.
