Ghostbuster director Ivan Reitman dies aged 75 'unexpectedly' in his sleep

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Ivan Reitman, the influential filmmaker and producer behind beloved comedies from Animal House to Ghostbusters, has died aged 75.

Reitman died peacefully in his sleep on Saturday night at his home in Montecito, California, his family told The Associated Press. "Our family is grieving the unexpected loss of a husband, father, and grandfather who taught us to always seek the magic in life," children Jason Reitman, Catherine Reitman and Caroline Reitman said in a joint statement. "We take comfort that his work as a filmmaker brought laughter and happiness to countless others around the world.

While we mourn privately, we hope those who knew him through his films will remember him always."Known for bawdy comedies that caught the spirit of their time, Reitman's big break came with the raucous, college fraternity sendup National Lampoon's Animal House, which he produced.He directed Bill Murray in his first starring role in the summer camp flick Meatballs, and then again in 1981's Stripes, but his most significant success came with 1984's Ghostbusters.Paul Feig, who directed the 2016 reboot of Ghostbusters, tweeted that he was in shock."I had the honour of working so closely with Ivan and it was always such a learning experience," he wrote. "He directed some of my favourite comedies of all time.

All of us in comedy owe him so very much.""A legend," comedian and actor Kumail Nanjiani said on Twitter. "The number of great movies he made is absurd."Among other notable films he directed are Twins, Kindergarten Cop, Dave, Junior and 1998's Six Days, Seven Nights.