John Henry Alvin was an American cinematic artist and painter who illustrated many movie posters.
16 Facts About John Alvin
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John Alvin was born on November 24,1948, in Hyannis, Massachusetts.
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John Alvin's parents were in the United States military and the family was relocated often.
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John Alvin graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles in 1971 and began work as a freelance artist.
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John Alvin lived in the Linda Mar area of Pacifica, California, from 1958 to 1961, then moved to Monterey, California, January 1,1961.
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John Alvin, who was working as an animator at an animation studio at the time, was invited to work on the Blazing Saddles poster by a friend.
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John Alvin took an unusual path when designing the movie poster.
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Mel Brooks 8.
John Alvin designed a serious movie poster, which incorporated unusual and quirky elements from the film.
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For example, in the poster, John Alvin depicts Mel Brooks, who plays a Yiddish-speaking Native American chief in the film, wearing a headdress inscribed with the phrase, Kosher for Passover.
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John Alvin went on to work on a number of Brooks' later films, including Young Frankenstein, which was released in 1974.
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John Alvin used his daughter as the human hand model for the poster.
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John Alvin created artwork for more than 135 film campaigns over the span of three decades.
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John Alvin created the anniversary posters and other artwork for the 30th-anniversary Star Wars Celebration.
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In later years, John Alvin focused more on cinematic fine art as the importance of movie posters was usurped by newer forms of digital advertising.
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John Alvin met his wife Andrea at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, where they were both students.
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On February 6,2008, John Alvin died at his home in Rhinebeck, New York from a myocardial infarction.