Robert E McGinnis, artist behind James Bond film posters, has died at 99

Robert E McGinnis, artist behind James Bond film posters, has died at the age of 99 in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, USA. His family shared the news of his passing in an online obituary which read: “In our biased opinion, Bob was the very best of the James Bond/007 artists, having created exciting images for the posters for movies such as Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, Casino Royale (parody movie), and Live and Let Die.

“In 1993, Bob was inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame. This was a tremendous honor for Bob. He said he had to have three drinks before walking up to the podium to deliver his acceptance speech; he was a shy and unpretentious person.”

In 1961, Robert E McGinnis created his first movie poster, which was of Audrey Hepburn for Breakfast at Tiffany’s, actress Audrey is dressed in a black cocktail dress, black opera style gloves, and has a cigarette holder and a cat on her shoulder as accessories. According to reports, Robert McGinnis’s wife had posed for him at home with their family cat.

Robert E McGinnis was brought up in Wyoming in Ohio and was born on February 3, 1926. He took weekend classes in drawing at the Cincinnati Art Museum and first showed his prowess when it came to his artistic ability by reproducing Popeye cartoons. During the second world war, Robert E McGinnis served with the Merchant Marine.

Before the war had started, he had worked as an apprentice animator at Walt Disney Studios, Robert E McGinnis went on to study fine art at Ohio State University and a private art school.

McGinnis then became an illustrator and worked for magazines such as True Detective when he moved to New York. He married Ferne in 1948 but she passed away in 2023, the couple had three children together.

In an interview with Tripwire magazine, Robert E McGinnis said: “I do have artists that I admire like Andrew Wyeth, Norman Rockwell and among my contemporaries people like Bernie Fuchs and Bob Peak and a faint vision in my mind of how I could improve or make it come alive. But I am still plagued by the desire to work and do something better.”

He also revealed that “I didn’t plan anything. I was just trying to make a living. I was working in a small studio in Cincinnati, Ohio, and [my wife] Ferne and I lived in an old converted country schoolhouse, 20 miles upriver near New Richmond, Ohio. We then moved to Greenwich, Connecticut, to have a try at illustration – where I’ve remained. An assignment would come along and I’d do it.”