Acclaimed artist and illustrator Greg Hildebrandt, who created the posters for the original film Star Wars And Clash of the Titansdrew astonishment They designed the characters and iconic calendars that celebrated the 1970s. Lord of the Rings The trilogy is dead. He was 85 years old.

Hildebrandt died in Denville, New Jersey, his son Greg Jr. said Hollywood Reporter. He had been dealing with a serious side effect of his heart medication for the past five months.

The artist, who frequently dated his late twin brother Tim Hildebrandt, also drew covers for DC Comics and trading cards for an epic 1994 Marvel Masterpieces set; painted artworks for Dungeons and Dragons calendars; He designed the cover designs for the 1981 Black Sabbath album Mafia Rules and several LPs from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Without access to film stills and promotional photos, and given a tight deadline by 20th Century Fox, the brothers painted the “Style B” poster for a UK release. Star Wars (1977), with Greg’s first wife Diana Stankowski modeling for Princess Leia.

“Amazingly, the first version of this without droids was created in just 36 hours of feverish and relentless effort!” Greg said the Los Angeles Times In 2010. “George Lucas wanted droids to be added and our signatures to be larger. We made these changes in the ad agency and it’s done!

A promotional poster for the US release had already been created by Tom Jung, but executives thought it was too dark and asked the Hildebrandts for a revision.

Greg and Tim Hildebrandt were born on January 23, 1939, in Detroit. Their father, George, was a Chevrolet division chief and their mother, Germaine, was a housewife. They started drawing comics at the age of 6.

“We had our own stories to write,” Greg said. 2017 interview. “Thank God, our mother instilled in us from a young age that the most valuable thing you have is your imagination.”

They took a six-month course at the Meinzinger School of Art in their hometown, began painting professionally in 1959, and worked for the Jam Handy Organization, an industrial film company in Detroit. There he combined live action and animation to tell the story of a medical aid ship in the award-winning film. Life Technique.

In 1963, the brothers moved to New York to work for Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, producing documentary films about world hunger and creating artwork for Sheen’s weekly TV series. Life is Worth Living.

for Tolkien Lord of the Rings “Tim would do some thumbnails and I would do some thumbnails, or we would do them together and talk on each other’s shoulders,” he explained in the trilogy calendars published by Ballantine Books from 1976-78. “Then we will have a final drawing layout and composition. Then we would do a photo shoot with the models and costumes. Then we made the final drawing.

“Tim would probably start one and I would start another final draft. Then when it came time to paint, we literally both sat on either side; “We would sit on one side and I on the other, and we would paint on the same painting at the same time.”

After their success in the calendars Star Wars and with posters of Ray Harryhausen Clash of the Titans (1981), the siblings preferred to work separately.

Greg illustrated his own 1984 book, Greg Hildebrandt’s Favorite Fairy Tales; Worked on cover artwork for Heavy Metal magazine; He illustrated the books The Wizard of Oz, Aladdin, Robin Hood, Edgar Allan Poe, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Dracula and The Phantom of the Opera.

In 1999, she began working on a series of 1940s and ’50s-style pin-up paintings she called “American Beauties” (think women in retro clothing and decor).

After working independently for over a decade, the brothers reunited to create the Marvel Masterpieces set, a 158-card set depicting the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe. They continued together until Tim’s death in June 2006 at the age of 67.

Greg has also painted Deadpool, Captain America vs. Hitler, Black Panther, Thor and other characters for Marvel.

One of his biggest fans was Michael Jackson; he once spent two weeks with the singer at Neverland Ranch.

Hildebrandt’s last commercial painting will be published in the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s upcoming winter tour program. Since 2003, he has served as TSO’s exclusive artist for album covers, tour programs and merchandise.

In addition to her son, survivors include her husband of 15 years and partner of 33 years, Jean Scrocco (who started as her manager in 1979); daughter Mary; daughter-in-law Jane and son-in-law David; sister Jane; and their kittens, Bonnie, Clyde, Katie and Charlie.

Hildebrandt “led a creatively disciplined life and was a consummate professional,” his family said in a statement. “Every job was approached with the same level of professionalism. Greg spent his life on a quest to ‘do right’.

Rhett Bartlett contributed to this report.