Who was Greg Hildebrandt? Star Wars famed illustrator and poster artist dies at 85
Greg Hildebrandt, the artist credited with illustrating the poster for the original Star Wars film, has died at 85. The artist's wife, Jean Scrocco, announced the unfortunate news in a post shared on his official X account, adding he passed away on Thursday, October 31, 2024.
According to a report by the Hollywood Reporter, his son Greg Jr. added he died in Denville, New Jersey. The X post continued:
"Greg has been fighting for 5 months to regain his ability to breathe after a serious side effect of a heart medication. He fought very hard to win this battle but in the end he was just too weak. He passed away peacefully in my arms."
Greg Hildebrandt was a visual artist from New Jersey. He was best known for making posters for Star Wars, Clash of the Titans, and illustrations for the Lord of the Rings calendars.
Greg Hildebrandt frequently collaborated with twin brother Tim
Tim and Greg Hildebrandt were born in Detroit, Michigan, on January 23, 1939. Their father, George, was the division chief at Chevrolet, and their mother, Germaine, was a homemaker. According to Greg's 2017 interview with the HuffPost, the brothers began drawing at the age of 6.
He credited his mother for encouraging their passion to write "(their) own stories," telling HuffPost:
"Thankfully our mother from an early age used to hammer into our heads that your imagination is the most valuable thing you have. She totally supported us using it. Which is kind of unusual in the 1940s, in a blue collar world. As I got older I realized how fortunate we were to have these parents that totally supported what we did."
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the brothers took a six-month class at the Meinzinger Art School in their hometown. They soon began painting careers in 1959, working for the Jam Handy Organization, an industrial film organization. In 1963, they moved to New York to work for Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, making art for documentary films and Sheen's TV show Life Is Worth Living.
Talking to HuffPost, Greg elaborated on how the brothers collaborated. He explained they marked off scenes that needed to be illustrated separately, and later, depending on the situation, they worked on the layout together or separately. After coming up with the final compositions, they would do a photo shoot with models and costumes. He continued:
"Then we did the final sketching. Tim would probably start one and I would start another final sketch. Then when it came to the painting phase we literally both sat together on two sides, he would sit on one side and I would sit on the other and we would paint at the same time on the same painting."
According to their website, Tim and Greg Hildebrandt have also worked on illustrating covers for DC Comics, the 1994 Marvel Masterpieces trading set, Dungeons & Dragons calendars, covers for Black Sabbath album Mob Rules, and covers for Trans-Siberian Orchestra LPs.
According to a 2010 interview by Hero Complex, Tim passed away in 2006 due to diabetes-related complications.
Throughout his career, the 85-year-old illustrated his book, Greg Hildebrandt’s Favorite Fairy Tales, including various books like Wizard of Oz, Aladdin, Robin Hood, Edgar Allan Poe, Alice in Wonderland, and Phantom of the Opera. In 1999, he worked on the 1940s-1950s style pinup painting called American Beauties.
Greg Hildebrandt married Jean Scrocco, who started as his agent in 1979. They were together for 33 years and married for 15. They share two children, Greg Jr. and Mary.
Hildebrandt is survived by his wife, children (and their respective partners), his sister Jane, and cats Bonnie, Clyde, Katie, and Charlie.