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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The filmmaker and producer known for comedies including ``Ghostbusters'' and ``National Lampoon's Animal House'' has died.
Ivan Reitman died peacefully in his sleep Saturday night at his Montecito home, his family told the Associated Press.
``Our family is grieving the unexpected loss of a husband, father and grandfather who taught us to always seek the magic in life,'' children Jason Reitman, Catherine Reitman and Caroline Reitman said in a joint statement. ``We take comfort that his work as a filmmaker brought laughter and happiness to countless others around the world. While we mourn privately, we hope those who knew him through his films will remember him always.''
Reitman was born in Komárno, Czechoslovakia, in 1946, where his father owned the country's biggest vinegar factory. His mother survived Auschwitz and his father was in the resistance.
But when Reitman was 4 years old, communists began imprisoning capitalists and his family escaped, joining a relative in Toronto.
Reitman's big break in Hollywood came when he produced the college fraternity sendup ``National Lampoon`s Animal House.'' He directed Bill Murray in his first starring role in ``Meatballs'' and later in ``Stripes,'' but his most significant success came with 1984's ``Ghostbusters.''
When asked late last year why the 1984 film continued to fascinate, Reitman told the AP that it was hard to define. ``I always had a sort of sincere approach to the comedy,'' he said. ``I took it seriously even though it was a horror movie and a comedy, I felt you had to sort of deal with it in a kind of realistic and honest way.''