Michael C. Gross (October 3, 1945 – November 16, 2015) was an American artist, designer, and film producer. From 1970 to 1974 he art-directed '' National Lampoon'' magazine, and subsequently co-ran a design company. In 1980 he started working in Hollywood, and is perhaps best remembered for designing the logo for the movie ''

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and ...

'' (with

Brent Boates Brent Boates is an American storyboard and visual effects artist. He was nominated at the 61st Academy Awards in the category Best Visual Effects for his work on the film ''Die Hard''. His nomination was shared with Al DiSarro, Richard Edlund ...

) based on

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1979). During his tenure on ''SNL'' ...

’s original concept. He served as producer or executive producer on 11 films.

The 1960s

Gross was a designer for the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, and he art-directed ''EYE'' magazine.

National Lampoon magazine

Gross was the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

of ''National Lampoon'' magazine. He was hired in 1970, and his work first appeared in the eighth issue of the magazine, the "Nostalgia" issue, which was published in November 1970. His most famous ''National Lampoon'' piece was the cover for the January 1973 "Death" issue. He created "If You Don't Buy This Magazine, We'll Kill This Dog" (for an image of this cover, see the '' National Lampoon'' article).

Design company

Gross left ''National Lampoon'' in 1974, and formed Pellegrini, Kaestle, & Gross, Inc. He became the personal designer for

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

, as well as being a consultant to

the Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompasses ...

. In the late 1970s he art directed

Esquire magazine ''Esquire'' is an American men's magazine. Currently published in the United States by Hearst Communications, it also has more than 20 international editions. Founded in 1933, it flourished during the Great Depression and World War II under t ...

and was also design director for

Mobil Oil Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999. ...

Movie work

In 1980, Gross moved to California, where he worked as producer or an executive producer on 11 films, including ''Heavy Metal'', ''

'' (he and

designed the "no ghosts" logo, and he was surprised to see it so popular that it was painted on the nose of a

B-52 bomber The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic aircraft, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the ...

), ''Ghostbusters II'', ''Twins'', ''Beethoven'', ''

Legal Eagles ''Legal Eagles'' is a 1986 American legal romantic comedy mystery crime thriller film directed by Ivan Reitman, written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps, Jr. from a story by Reitman and the screenwriters, and starring Robert Redford, Debra Winger, and ...

'', ''

Kindergarten Cop ''Kindergarten Cop'' is a 1990 American action comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and distributed by Universal Pictures. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as John Kimble, a tough police detective working undercover as a kindergarten teacher to apprehen ...

'' and ''Dave''. He was also the producer for 5 television shows, including ''

The Real Ghostbusters ''The Real Ghostbusters'' is an American animated television series, a spin-off/sequel of the 1984 comedy film ''Ghostbusters''. The series ran from September 13, 1986, to October 5, 1991, and was produced by Columbia Pictures Television and DI ...

'' and ''Beethoven''.

After 1995

In 1995 Gross left Hollywood. He went back to painting, one of his first interests, and moved to Italy. He lived in

Oceanside, California Oceanside is a city on the South Coast (California), South Coast of California, located in San Diego County, California, San Diego County. The city had a population of 167,086 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The city is a popular ...

. He was a painter, photographer and museum curator, who taught and lectured.

Family

Gross died on November 16, 2015 in

from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

at the age of 70. Gross is survived by his son, Director of Photography Dylan Goss,Dylan Goss IMDb entry
/ref> daughter Gina, and grandchildren Luke, Oliver and Lou-Andrea.

References

External links

*

* ttp://lampoon.rwinters.com/Lampoon1970.htm The National Lampoon covers for 1970 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gross, Michael 1945 births 2015 deaths American art directors Deaths from cancer in California Film producers from California National Lampoon people People from Oceanside, California Television producers from California