American graphic designer Joe Caroff has died, aged 103.
Caroff’s death was confirmed by his sons, Peter and Michael, to The New York Times on Sunday. Caroff died while in hospice care just a day before his 104th birthday on Monday, August 18.
Joe Caroff was best known for designing the iconic 007 logo for the James Bond franchise, which features a pistol barrel extending out of the number seven to form a gun. That logo has since been used in other mediums, including various iterations of James Bond novels and video games.
He was also responsible for some of the most iconic posters to come out of Hollywood, ever. Caroff’s most-celebrated posters come in the form of West Side Story, Last Tango In Paris, Manhattan, Cabaret, Rollerball and A Hard Day’s Night. His work on the West Side Story poster is often wrongly credited to Saul Bass, who designed the film’s animated opening sequence.
Caroff also designed the opening title sequences for several beloved films between the 1970s and 1980s. These include Richard Attenborough’s A Bridge Too Far (1977), Volker Schlöndorff’s Death Of A Salesman (1985), Gene Saks’ Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986) and Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation Of Christ (1988).
Joe Caroff was infamously paid only $300 for the James Bond logo without royalties in 1963, as was common for the time. He was also not included in the films’ credits, and was never given residuals for the millions of James Bond merchandise sold in the 60 years since.
However, Caroff shared in an interview that he didn’t mind the lack of residuals as the logo brought more attention to his work and landed him other commissions.
Joe Caroff’s poster porfolio also includes work on numerous Woody Allen films and movies like A Fistful Of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon and Too Late The Hero.
After over 50 years of not being acknowledged by Bond producers, Caroff was gifted an Omega watch with the 007 engraving from Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson for his 100th birthday.
Caroff retired in 2006 to focus on his personal paintings. His wife of over 80 years died earlier this year at 101 years old.
