Category Archives: 1970s posters

Bugsy & Hooch!

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No, this is not a sequel to the Tom Hanks dog buddy comedy. I’m talking movies about Prohibition! I finally got around to seeing Public Enemies with Johnny Depp and started getting a little nostalgic about some other gangster/moonshiney movie posters of yore…

But if you literally want to get into the Prohibitive spirits, check out the Speakeasy Ales brewery in San Francisco. And The Atlantic also recently published an article about Hipster Moonshine.

Wow, after all this liquor talk, I need a drink!

Noblety

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If life were fair, you would have already heard of Larry Noble a long time ago (in fact, maybe some of you Star Wars fans have)…

IMHO, Larry Noble is probably one of the more underrated movie poster artists of the 70’s and 80’s. (Actually, I guess he goes by Lawrence nowadays!) And if you agree, he’s still out there working today — although he has since moved onto sculpture as his preferred medium and you can check out some of his highly collectible Yoda figures here.

The Seiniger Rules

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Tony Seiniger once led a team called “The New York Yankees of the movie advertising world” and dominated the 80’s with posters for Field of Dreams, Born on the Fourth of July, and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles — and employed some of the best posters artists around, including Drew Struzan and Dan Gouzee. But their most famous design was undoubtedly that for Jaws, which featured the shark-art of Roger Kastel.

Also, here’s an interesting website by an ex-Seiniger employee who recounts the 80’s glory days and also some movie poster designs that never saw the light of day…until now.

Robert Culp (1930-2010)

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Robert Culp died today at the age of 79. I mostly remember him from that campy 80’s TV show, The Greatest American Hero and later when he was relegated to playing cranky lawyers and executives — but he had a pretty distinguished career as a heartthrob back in the day. And some pretty colorful posters, too! May he rest in peace.

Diener’s Wieners

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While looking up info on Jim Pearsall’s Chinatown, I came across a goldmine of movie posters created at the Diener Hauser Bates Advertising company from the 50’s through the 80’s (see the obit of one of the founders here), which reads like a list of past Academy Award winners. If the movie business is like a sausage factory, these guys really home the bacon!

One Hit Wonderful!

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Like Rico Suave, Who Let The Dogs Out, and The Macarena Song, I guess you could say Jim Pearsall was a one-hit wonder — but what a hit it was! While working at the now-defunct movie marketing behemoth, Diener Hauser Bates Advertising, Pearsall created the artwork for Chinatown, which is arguably the greatest movie poster of all-time. And other than the 70’s b-movie Breakout starring Charles Bronson, I haven’t really come across any more of his work. So if anybody out there knows more, please let us know!

NOTE: This Jim Pearsall is not to be confused with ex-Major League baseball player, Jimmy Piersall, who was portrayed by the athletically-abominable Anthony Perkins in the 1957 sports drama, Fear Strikes Out.

Peelling Back The Years…

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Once dubbed “The Michelangelo of Pop Art”, Guy Peellaert (1934-2008), was probably most famous for his 70’s rock album covers and psychedelic art/music/fantasy book, Rock Dreams. But he also happened to create the haunting poster for Taxi Driver, and quite a few others. And although he passed away a few years ago at the age of 74, you can still check out his official website here.

Coconis Has Major Cojónes!

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Often mistaken for the elegant, elaborate movie posters of design legend, Bob Peak – Ted Coconis has proven that his work is just as masterful. Having covered everything from books and magazines as well as one sheets, Mr. Coconis now lives in Paris and The Greek Islands doing illustrations of exotic Parisian women. Not bad work if you can get it!