Title Designer of 'Superman' and 'The Matrix', Richard Greenberg, dies at 71
Known for making the opening titles of some of the famous sci-fi movies iconic with his artistry, Richard Alan Greenberg, has passed away at the age of 71. The news of the sad loss was confirmed by Greenberg's family.
According to reports, after a struggle with appendicitis, the famous visual effects artist died at his New York City home on Saturday, June 16.
In his decades-long career, Greenberg has received multiple nominations across different awards shows for his creative work. Amongst them all, though, the most memorable one has to be the 1988 nomination during the Academy Awards for his work as a visual effects artist in the John McTiernan's movie, 'Predator'. At the occasion, he shared the honor with his brother Robert Greenberg, Stan Winston, and Joel Hynek.
Prior to his Oscar nomination, Greenberg bagged a spot amongst the BAFTA nominees for 'Zelig' (1983). Asides these two, there's a plethora of blockbusters to this talented title designer's credit (especially in the sci-fi genre), including the iconic 'Superman' movie, 'Alien', 'The Matrix', 'The World According to Garp', 'Altered States', 'Dirty Dancing', 'The Untouchables', 'Independence Day', 'Seven', and the 'Lethal Weapon' series.
In the early days of his career, Greenberg along with his brother Robert set up the R/Greenberg Associates, and together the duo would experiment with movie titles. According to reports, the Chicago native was responsible for handling the creative works while his brother took care of the business aspect.
"R/Greenberg Associates began as just the two of us — I was the producer and Richard was the creative. We saw an opening in the market for a company who could take great print design and put it into motion. That’s how simple it was, our core mission," his brother told Art of the Title in an old interview.
"I think we started in 1977 and like any design-based production team just starting out, we took any project available," added Greenberg. "We started it out of... this tiny, tiny place in the top two floors of a brownstone on 38th Street. It was so small that no one knew we actually lived there!"
After moving to Hollywood in early 1990s, Greenberg launched a second design studio, called Greenberg/Schluter. This time he partnered with Bruce Schluter, and their work as a duo is evident in films like 'Dracula' and 'The Matrix'. Many of his Greenberg’s works can be seen in the permanent collections of museums including The Art Institute of Chicago, MOMA and The Louvre. He also directed the 1989 film 'Little Monsters', starring Fred Savage and Howie Mandel, along with the 2003 documentary 'The Process' and a 1990 episode of HBO’s 'Tales from the Crypt'.
Greenberg is survived by three children, Jessica, Luke, and Morgan.