Michael Gross, the illustrator who designed the iconic “No Ghosts” logo for the 1984 comedy Ghostbusters has died of cancer on Monday. He was 70.
An illustrator who also had numerous producing credits, including the original Ghostbusters film and it’s 1989 sequel, Gross’s simple cartoonish ghost set against a common traffic sign image was voted first among a 2012 survey done by the prestigious Pratt Institute of the 125 most admired icons created by its alumni and faculty, beating out the Chrysler Building.
As an early art director for the satirical National Lampoon, Gross was also responsible for creating the iconic “If You Don’t Buy This Magazine, We’ll Kill This Dog” cover for the January 1973 issue. It was rated one of the top ten greatest magazine covers of all time by the American Society of Magazine Editors in 2005. It was ross’s ability to mimic nearly any art style that helped the magazine to really flourish in its early years.
Gross migrated to Hollywood in 1980 at the urging of friends John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. His first producing credit was on 1981’s animated anthology film Heavy Metal,which drew its stories from those that appeared in the National Lampoon sister publication of the same name. He also worked as a producer on a number of other films directed by Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman including Twins, Legal Eagles, Kindergarten Cop, and Dave.
