Hollywood director Ivan Reitman, who has signed on to cinematic successes like "Demon Mowers," "Twins" and "Kindergarten Cop," has died at the age of 75.
"Our family mourns the unexpected loss of a husband, father and grandfather who has always taught us to seek the magic in life," said a statement from his daughters Catherine and Caroline and son director Jason Reitman ("Juno").
Jason directed the sequel "Demon Mowers: The World After", which was released last fall and is considered a box office success.
The family statement added: "We take solace in the fact that his work as a filmmaker has brought happiness and laughter to countless others around the world. We hope that those who knew him through his films will remember him forever."
Reitman died in his sleep at his home in Santa Barbara County, near Los Angeles.
Further details about the circumstances of his death have not yet been released.
He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Genbiv, who converted to Judaism for him,
He was born in Hungary to a mother who survived the Auschwitz extermination camp and a father who was a partisan fighter.
When he was 4 the family immigrated to Toronto, Canada, where he grew up.
After completing a bachelor's degree in music in Ontario, he began producing and directing short films.
During the 1970s he began to enter the cinema.
He hit the airwaves with films like "Meatballs" and "Put a Stripe on a Stripe," starring a rising actor named Bill Murray, who became his co-creator.
Together with Marie and another longtime friend, the comedian Dan Ackroyd, he created "The Demon Mowers" in 1984, which was a box office hit with revenues of close to $ 300 million.
It was the second most profitable film of that year.
Five years later the band reunited for a sequel, and Wrightman has already established himself as a sought-after Hollywood comedy director.
With his son, director Jason Reitman, Photo: AFP
In 1988, he directed Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito in the successful comedy "Twins," in which the two played twins born from a secret lab experiment.
The three reunited in a 1994 movie called "Junior," in which Schwarzenegger played a man who became pregnant.
Reitman's other films include the action comedy "6 Days, 7 Nights" with Harrison Ford and the romantic comedy "Non-binding" with Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman.
He also produced the film "Hanging in the Air" with George Clooney, directed by his son Jason.
The two were nominated together for an Oscar in the Best Picture category for this film.
Although in recent years he has slowed down and focused more on production and professional collaboration with his son, Reitman was to make a comeback and direct a sequel to "Twins" called "Trio" with Schwarzenegger, DeVito and Tracy Morgan ("Rock 30").
The project has been in the planning for many years, and it has officially gone into production in recent months.
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