Tony Singer, the poster designer who also oversaw marketing campaigns for classic films such as Jaws, evil spirit, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Total recallHe died on Monday in Atlanta, his family announced. He was 87 years old.
Sineger, known as the “Godfather of Movie Advertising,” took little-known illustrator Drew Struzan under his wing and gave him his start as a poster designer in Hollywood. Struzan would become a legend in show business.
The New Yorker was involved in more than 2,500 major film campaigns during his career, and in 1998, he became only the seventh person to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from THRMajor Art Awards.
After launching Seiniger Advertising in Los Angeles in 1970, Seiniger designed the advertising poster for One of them flew over the cuckoo’s nest (1975), and this led to the job that brought a lot of attention to his company, the famous poster for a Steven Spielberg film. Jaws (1975). I used Roger Castle’s painting of a shark and a swimmer which was also a Peter Benchley paperback Jaws a novel.
As creative director of Seiniger Advertising for the next three decades, he worked on promotional campaigns Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Laura March’s eyes (1978), evil spirit (1982), Risky business (1983) – Struzan designed the poster for it – Teachers (1984), Breakfast Club (1985), Absent-minded (1987), Paul Durham (1988), Field of dreams (1989), Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), Planes, trains and cars (1987), The last emperor (1987), Company (1988), Total recall (1990), Hook (1991) and many more.
When asked what made a great poster by NPR in 2003, he responded: “First, it has to be different. It has to be something that no one has seen before — that’s going to get attention. You have to be able to read it at about 35 or 40 miles an hour and digest it in three seconds… That’s the challenge, to try to get an hour and a half or two hours of entertainment into a simple graphic that you can read in three seconds.”
Siniger, one of three children, was born in 1939 to parents Charles and Pretoria “Tory” Siniger and grew up in Manhattan. He attended boarding school in Kent, Connecticut, then spent two years at Kenyon College in Ohio and 3½ years at the Rhode Island School of Design.
He began his advertising career at EUE/Screen Gems in New York, where he produced and directed a series of television commercials for Professionals (1966), a Western film from parent company Columbia Pictures. The campaign launched his career in film marketing, and he created posters for films such as shaft (1971) and I mean the streets (1973).
The poster was designed for One of them flew over the cuckoo’s nest (1975), and this led to the job that brought his company fame – the advertising poster for Jaws (1975).
His family noted that Siniger “will be remembered by those who knew him for his enormous personality and unforgettable laugh, his great love of food and wine, his comprehensive knowledge of Broadway musicals and the genuine dedication he brought to all of his many friendships.” He also participated in amateur Formula 1 racing in his spare time.
Survivors include his daughters, Jillian, Heather, Sarah and Tamar; His grandchildren, Dylan, Rose, Alex, Georgia and Josephine. And his old partner, Reston.
