I

van Reitman, a Hollywood direc-
tor and producer who was born in 
Czechoslovakia and went on to helm 
Ghostbusters and other beloved American 
blockbuster comedies, died Feb. 12, 2022, 
at 75. Reitman died in his sleep at his home 
in Montecito, California, according to the 
Associated Press.
Reitman’s first major commercial success 
came in 1978 when he produced National 
Lampoon’s Animal House, but his most 
famous work was Ghostbusters, the para-
normal comedy he directed and which was 
released to widespread acclaim in 1984. In 
a career spanning some 50 years, Reitman 
worked with some of the most beloved 
comedic actors of his generation, includ-
ing Dan Aykroyd, Robin Williams, Danny 
DeVito, Billy Crystal and Bill Murray, and 
set the stage for the landscape of movie com-
edies to follow.
Born in 1946 to Jewish parents who 
survived the Holocaust — his mother hav-
ing survived Auschwitz, his father having 
escaped a concentration camp and later 
fought as a member of the Slovakian resis-
tance — in Komárno, Czechoslovakia, 
Reitman was 4 years old when the family left 
the country. The family made their escape 
after the communist Czech government 
began threatening Reitman’s father, a factory 
owner. The family escaped hidden in a coal 
barge that made its way from Komarno to 
Vienna on the Danube, and eventually made 
their way to Toronto in 1950.
“I remember flashes of scenes. Later they 
told me about how they gave me a couple of 
sleeping pills so I wouldn’t make any noise. I 
was so knocked out that I slept with my eyes 
open. My parents were afraid I was dead,” 
Reitman told the Associated Press in 1979.
In Toronto, Reitman displayed an inter-
est in performance from an early age and 
studied music and drama at McMaster 
University. His first film, a low-budget film 
called Cannibal Girls, was released in 1973. 
His big break came in 1978 with National 
Lampoon’s Animal House, which he pro-
duced, followed by the summer-camp com-
edy Meatballs in 1979 starring Bill Murray, 
for which he had moved over to the direc-
tor’s chair.

Ghostbusters in 1984 was where Reitman 
left his biggest cultural footprint: a unique 
fusion of smart-aleck comedy and big-bud-
get paranormal special effects that con-
nected with audiences around the globe. 
It spawned a franchise of films, TV shows 
and video games that remains popular to 
this day.
His other big hits included Stripes, a 1981 
military comedy soon to be rebooted as a 
TV series; Dave, a 1993 political fable star-
ring Kevin Kline as an ordinary guy who is a 
doppelgänger for the U.S. president; and the 
2011 rom-com No Strings Attached, starring 
Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher.
“I love to tell good stories and make 
people laugh,” Reitman told the Forward in 
2007. “I seem to do it okay.”
Reitman married Genevieve Robert, who 
converted to Judaism, in 1976, and the 
couple had three children. Their son Jason 
Reitman followed his father into directing. 
Father and son worked together on some 
films, including the 2009 Oscar-nominated 
film Up in the Air, which was written and 
directed by Jason Reitman and produced by 
Ivan Reitman. Last fall, the two teamed up 
again for the latest Ghostbusters installment, 
with Jason directing and Ivan producing 
Ghostbusters: Afterlife, a film that func-
tioned as a tribute to the father’s beloved 
original.
At the time of his death, Reitman was 
in pre-production on a number of other 
films, including Triplets, a sequel to his 
1988 comedy Twins about genetically engi-
neered twins played by DeVito and Arnold 
Schwarzenegger. 

Famed Director 
Ivan Reitman Died

FEBRUARY 24 • 2022 | 61

Anchill, the late Leonard 
Hammer.
Interment took place at 
Beth Abraham Cemetery in 
Ferndale. Contributions may 
be made to the Crohn’s and 
Colitis Foundation, Temple 
Israel or Jewish Hospice. 
Arrangements by Dorfman 
Chapel.

STEVEN LYLE 
SCHWARTZ, 58, 
of Bloomfield 
Hills, died Feb. 
15, 2022. 
He is survived 
by his wife, Lisa Schwartz; 
daughter, Ryan Schwartz; 
son, Asher Schwartz; mother, 
Sheila Schwartz; sister-in-law 
and brother-in-law, Deborah 
and Josh Laraby; mother-
in-law and father-in-law, 
Roberta and Dr. Sanford 
Kaner; aunts and uncles, 
Howard N. Schwartz, Lauren 
Platt-Tackel, Jeffrey Tackel, 
Dr. Albert and Pauline 
Kaner. He is also survived 
by a sister and many dear 
cousins, other relatives and 
friends.
Mr. Schwartz was the 
loving son of the late Allen 
Schwartz.
Contributions may be 
made to Hillel Day School, 
32200 Middlebelt Road, 
Farmington Hills, MI 48334; 
or Crohn’s and Colitis 
Foundation, 25882 Orchard 
Lake Road, #102, Farmington 
Hills, MI 48336. A funeral 
service was held at Hebrew 
Memorial Chapel. Interment 
took place at Clover Hill 
Park in Birmingham. 
Arrangements by Hebrew 
Memorial Chapel.

Ivan Reitman attends the Ghostbusters: Afterlife 
world premiere, Nov. 15, 2021, in New York City. 

THEO WARGO/GETTY IMAGES FOR SONY PICTURES

JTA

