Ivan Reitman: who was the Ghostbusters director who gave Bill Murray his big break - and who is son Jason?

Ivan Reitman, the influential filmmaker and producer behind beloved comedies from Animal House to Ghostbusters, has died aged 75.

In a statement, his family said: “We take comfort that his work as a film-maker brought laughter and happiness to countless others around the world.”

But just who was the famed director, what are some of his most fondly remembered films, and how is his son continuing his legacy?

Here is everything you need to know about him.

Who was Ivan Reitman?

Reitman was born in the town of Komárno in Czechoslovakia in 1946 to Hungarian Jews, Klara and Ladislav Reitman.

His mother survived the Auschwitz concentration camp and his father was an underground resistance fighter, before the family emigrated to Canada as refugees when Reitman was four years old.

He attended McMaster University in Hamilton in the late 60s, producing and directing many short films during his time there.

Reitman's first commercial film ventures came in the mid-70s, when he served as producer of two films for director David Cronenberg, 1975’s Shivers and 1977’s Rabid.

He began to make a name for himself when he produced classic comedy film National Lampoon's Animal House in 1978 and directed Meatballs the following year, noted for Bill Murray's first film appearance in a starring role.

From there, Reitman’s career took off, and he directed and produced a number of iconic 80s comedies including Stripes, Ghostbusters, Twins, Ghostbusters II, and Kindergarten Cop.

In the early 1990s, Reitman began to direct fewer films, but increased his role as a producer and executive producer through his company, Northern Lights Entertainment.

Who is his son?

Reitman married Geneviève Robert in 197, and the couple had two daughters and a son, Jason.

Jason is also a film director, best known for his films Juno, Thank You for Smoking, and the Academy Award-nominated Up in the Air, which his father produced.

Jason also directed 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, with his father remaining as producer and also standing in for the late Harold Ramis on set, who reprised his role as Egon Spengler using digital effects.

That film - the last of his father’s lifetime - was quite the change for Jason, whose filmography hasn’t been as comedic as his predecessor and thus far has focused largely on intimate relationships and families.

“I think I said, ‘There would be no busting’,” Jason told The Scotsman last year, having often been asked if he’d follow suit.

“I don’t think my father ever expected me to come to him with a Ghostbusters story. We had clearly gone on our own storytelling paths – I thought of myself as an independent filmmaker.”

His father was so touched by Jason’s screenplay, there were tears on reading the script; “It really made me cry the first time I read it,” the film veteran admitted in the same interview

“It captured the spirit and joyfulness of the first movie. He [Jason] had a real sense of where he wanted to go with it – his idea to bring his vision to a scale movie like Ghostbusters, to funnel a family story through the large, world-saving concept of Ghostbusters, seemed like a good thing.”

Reitman’s daughter Catherine is the creator, executive producer, writer, and star of the CBC comedy series, Workin’ Moms.

How did he die?

Reitman died in his sleep at his home in California on 12 February 2022, at the age of 75.

“Our family is grieving the unexpected loss of a husband, father and grandfather who taught us to always seek the magic in life,” his children said in a statement.

“We take comfort that his work as a film-maker brought laughter and happiness to countless others around the world.”

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