Tony Seiniger, Pioneering Movie Poster Designer, Dies at 87

Tony Seiniger, widely referred to as “The Godfather of Movie Advertising,” died on May 11, 2026 in Atlanta at the age of 87. He is survived by his longtime partner Wriston, four daughters—Jillian, Heather, Sara, and Tamar—and five grandchildren: Dylan, Rose, Alex, Georgia, and Josephine.

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Born in New York City, Seiniger earned a degree from the Rhode Island School of Design. He entered the entertainment industry through EUE/Screen Gems in New York, where he worked in commercial production before moving to key-art design. Early assignments included poster work for the films *Shaft* and *Mean Streets*.

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After gaining experience at EUE/Screen Gems, Seiniger founded Seiniger Advertising in Los Angeles. The agency’s first high-profile assignment was the poster for *One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest*, a project that led to his most iconic commission: the theatrical poster for *Jaws*. For *Jaws*, Seiniger adapted Roger Kastel’s painting from the novel’s cover, creating an image that remains a benchmark in film marketing.

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Seiniger subsequently oversaw and designed advertising campaigns for at least twenty major films, including *Eyes of Laura Mars*, *The Rocky Horror Picture Show*, *Field of Dreams*, *Bull Durham*, *Poltergeist*, *Moonstruck*, *Risky Business*, *Teachers*, *The Breakfast Club*, *Ferris Bueller’s Day Off*, *Total Recall*, *The Firm*, *Planes, Trains and Automobiles*, *Hook*, and *The Last Emperor*.

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A frequent collaborator was illustrator Drew Struzan. An Instagram post by Struzan recounts that Seiniger first noticed Struzan’s artwork on the Alice Cooper “Welcome to My Nightmare” billboard, then introduced him to Hollywood’s advertising network—a connection Struzan described as pivotal to his career. In recognition of his contributions, Seiniger received the Key Art Awards Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998.

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• 1998 – Receives Key Art Awards Lifetime Achievement Award.

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• May 11, 2026 – Passes away in Atlanta at age 87.

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Seiniger’s work reshaped visual promotion for mainstream cinema, establishing a template that blends striking illustration with narrative suggestion. His adaptation of *Jaws* set a precedent for leveraging existing artwork to create instantly recognizable branding. By directing campaigns for a diverse slate of genres—from horror (*Poltergeist*) to comedy (*Ferris Bueller’s Day Off*)—he demonstrated the commercial power of cohesive visual identity across disparate audiences. Industry peers credit him with elevating poster design from ancillary marketing material to a central component of a film’s cultural footprint.

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• “Tony’s insight put Drew on the road to greatness, for which Drew was forever grateful,” — Drew Struzan, Instagram post

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• “The Godfather of Movie Advertising” — Industry nickname applied to Tony Seiniger

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*The article synthesizes all available facts from the cited Variety report and associated social-media commentary.*

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