Tony Seiniger, known as “The Godfather of Movie Advertising” for his work on campaigns for films including “Jaws,” died May 11 in Atlanta. He was 87.
Born in New York City, he studied at the Rhode Island School of Design. He got his start at EUE/Screen Gems in New York, working in commercial production and then in key art design, creating posters for films including “Shaft” and “Mean Streets.”
He broke out on his own and formed Seiniger Advertising in Los Angeles, where he designed the poster for “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” That assignment led to designing the iconic “Jaws” poster, for which Seiniger adapted Roger Kastel’s painting from the “Jaws” book cover.
He went on to oversee and design campaigns for films including “Eyes of Laura Mars,” “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” “Field of Dreams,” “Bull Durham,” “Poltergeist,” “Moonstruck,” “Risky Business,” “Teachers,” “The Breakfast Club,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Total Recall,” “The Firm,” “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” “Hook” and “The Last Emperor.”
In 1998, Seiniger was honored with the Key Art Awards Lifetime Achievement Award. He is also known for his collaborations with his friend, illustrator Drew Struzan. A post from the late Struzan’s Instagram recounted how Seiniger noticed Struzan’s art on the Alice Cooper “Welcome to My Nightmare” billboard, and contacted him, introducing him to the world of Hollywood movie advertising. “Tony’s insight put Drew on the road to greatness, for which Drew was forever grateful,” the post said.
Seiniger is survived by four daughters Jillian, Heather, Sara and Tamar; grandchildren Dylan, Rose, Alex, Georgia and Josephine; and his longtime partner Wriston.
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