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