Director and producer Ivan Reitman passed away at his California home, Saturday night. He was 75. Popular for several directorial ventures especially Ghostbusters, he managed to create comedies that were enjoyed by millions. His children released a statement to AP that said that he died peacefully in his sleep.

The joint statement from children Jason Reitman, Catherine Reitman and Caroline Reitman said that the entire family was grieving the loss of a husband, father and grandfather who taught them “to seek the magic in life.” It also said that they were comforted to know that he brought “laughter and happiness to countless others around the world” and more.

Reitman came to Toronto, Canada at the age of 4 with his parents who fled Czechoslovakia. He studied at McMaster’s University in Hamilton, Ontario, specializing in music and drama. One of his first movies, Cannibal Girls was picked by American International and this began his onward journey. He collaborated with Dan Aykroyd for a tv series Greed and this became a longstanding partnerships as they delivered several super hits.

His association with the Lampoon group including John Belushi, Gilda Radner and Bill Murray soon led to the production of Animal House in 1978 which was a hit, followed by Stripes, Ghost Busters and more.

Some of his other directed or produced films include

Meatballs
Twins
Kindergarten Cop
Dave
Junior
Six Days, Seven Nights
Beethoven
Old School
Euro Trip
Up in the Air.

Although his bawdy comedies entertained many, the sci-fi comedy-drama Ghostbusters will always be remembered as the pinnacle of his success. Ghostbusters was his biggest hit grossing close to $300 million and was followed by spinoffs.

His son, Josh Reitman recently directed Ghostbusters: Afterlife, where he credited his father Ivan Reitman as an executive producer. It had cameos from the original cast. Ivan Reitman also has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and received a Lifetime Achievement Award.

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