Michael C. Gross, Ghostbusters logo creator, dead at 70

Michael C. Gross, an artist, illustrator, filmproducer and personal designer who created two of the most iconicpop culture images of the 20th century the enduringGhostbusterslogo and a dog with a gun to its head for the coverof National Lampoon has died of cancer at age 70.

Gross died Monday at his Oceanside, Calif., home, according to his son,Hollywood cameraman Dylan Gross.

The artist, who had survived cancer 30 years before he was givena terminal diagnosis in 2014, said he decided to forgo anylife-extending efforts.

Launched dark anti-cancer campaignafter diagnosis

Instead,hetold the AssociatedPress following thediagnosisthat he would "go down fighting" and launched a darklycomic anti-cancer campaign.

Gross solicited dozens of paintings and drawings from fellowartists and created some of his own, each featuring a hand with araised middle finger. Underneath them he put the words "FlipCancer."

He put the works, done in various media, on display at a galleryexhibition last year. At the time of his death, he was making plansto auction them and donate the money to cancer research.

It was the type of stunt that marked key points in the career ofthe artist who once described his life's goal as a quest "to havefun and do new things."

AcerbicNational Lampoon cover coveted by collectors

In 1973, he was art director for National Lampoon when he put afrightened-looking dog on the cover with a gun to its head and thewords, "If You Don't Buy This Magazine, We'll Kill This Dog."

"We were just going to do it as a subscription ad in themagazine," he said.

"Then we thought the next one would be,'OK, we killed the dog. Now we're going to kill the cat. We reallymean it."'

When he learned the magazine was planning an entire issue makingfun of death, the dog was promoted to the cover. In 2005, theAmerican Society of Magazine Editors rated it one of the 40 greatestcovers of all time.

Iconic Ghostbusters symbol

For the first Ghostbustersfilm in 1984, Gross created thedrawing of the confused-looking spirit caught in the middle of a redcircle with a slash through it. It has come to be a ubiquitoussymbol in American pop culture.

• Harold Ramis dead at 69, starred in Ghostbusters, SCTV

The logo placed first, beating out the Chrysler Building, whenthe prestigious Pratt Institute held a125thanniversary celebrationin 2012 and surveyed people for their thoughts on the 125 mostadmired icons created by its alumni and faculty.

John Lennon's personal designer

Born Oct. 4, 1945, Michael Curtiss Gross grew up in the HudsonRiver town of Newburgh, N.Y. As a child he began publishing hisown fan magazines and making home movies with friends.

Unable to decide which career to pursue, he attended Pratt, wherehe majored in fine art and eventually drifted toward illustration.

After working for National Lampoon, Esquire and other publications,he became John Lennon's personal designer. He also worked as asenior designer for the 1968 Olympics.

A prolific artist, his work ranged from animation to comic stripsto political cartoons to abstract expressionist paintings. Variousexamples of it have been displayed in New York's Museum of ModernArt, Switzerland's Olympic Museum and other institutions.

On Tuesday, his son recalled a childhood growing up in thecompany of such figures as Andy Warhol, Truman Capote and JohnBelushi.

John Belushi,Andy Warhol among friends

Belushi, Dan Aykroyd and other friends Gross had made in New Yorkencouraged him to come along when they began moving to Los Angelesto make movies in the 1980s.

His first movie credit, as associate producer, was for HeavyMetal,the 1981 cult film that merged animation with sciencefiction, sex and blaring rock music.

From there he would go on to produce nearly a dozen films,including Twins,Kindergarten Cop,Legal Eaglesand both
of the Ghostbustersmovies.

He also worked in television, earning Emmy nominations for theseries SCTV Network,the animated film Inspector Gadget SavesChristmasand the animated series The Real Ghostbusters.

Twenty years ago, he retired to a small beach house in the SanDiego suburb of Oceanside.

"That's where I paint, I photograph and I do things like this,"he said of the "Flip Cancer" campaign last year.

"I don't workvery hard."

He remained active, however, until his final days, postingregularly on Facebook until last week and attending last month'sGeekie Awards, a light-hearted annual Hollywood affair honouringgeek art. There, he received a lifetime achievement award.

Gross' wife of nearly 40 years, Glenis Gross, died in 2006.In addition to his son, he is survived by a daughter, Gina
Misiroglu, and three grandchildren.