Bob Peak was a commercial artist best known for his movie posters and magazine covers. He died in 1992. His son Thomas was kind enough to answer questions.
Who was Bob Peak to the public, and to you?
To those of an older generation who are still with us, my father Bob Peak is looked upon as the most innovative illustrator of his time. He brought a new and fresh approach to illustration art starting in the late 1950s into the 1960s/1970s.
His use of vibrant saturated colors, line, and design as seen in his fashion and movie art was something never seen before. Good examples are his illustrations for Puritan Sportswear and movie art for West Side Story, My Fair Lady, Camelot, and Our Man Flint/In Like Flint.
To today’s generation, Bob Peak is known for his work for such films as Star Trek l-V, Superman: The Movie, Apocalypse Now, and Excalibur. He is known as “The Father of the Movie Poster.” Most are too young to understand the enormity of other illustration art he did including 45 TIME magazine covers, 40 TV Guide magazine covers, Olympics art, and editorial.
To me he is foremost Dad, but also the one who changed the course of illustration advertising art.
What piece do you think is his signature work? If not a movie poster, which of his movie posters do you think is his best?
I’ve got to go with his mesmerizing work for Apocalypse Now. He did an enormous amount of art for the film with key art for both the U.S. and German markets.
Which of his works was his favorite?
My father once told me “Of all my work, I am most proud of the art I did for Apocalypse Now.” There you have it.
Was he unhappy with the finished product of any of his most notable works?
Yes, there was one. It was the key art finished illustration for the 1982 Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver movie The Year of Living Dangerously. I won’t say which movie ad agency did it, but they removed the head [from] my father’s illustration of Mel Gibson and replaced it with someone else’s head illustration without my father’s knowledge. They should have contacted him to rework his head art. An easy fix.
Do you know if he was a Superman fan when he was hired to design the poster?
Dad knew of Superman from the 1952-1958 Adventures of Superman TV series, but was not necessarily a huge fan.
Did he have full creative freedom for the concept, or was he given any direction by the filmmakers?
Interesting question. My father told me many times that he got paid to both think and execute his illustration artwork. No matter what assignment, movie or otherwise, dad was never told exactly what to do. Over the many years, several people in the movie advertising world have told me that my father was a good listener and, in their meetings, he paid close attention in their discussions about what audience they were looking to capture and what type of feeling they were looking for in the print advertising art. He took all this information into consideration when designing the campaign art.
Superman: The Movie was somewhat a unique situation. After working on concept designs to finished illustrations, the movie studio and the film’s director Richard Donner thought it might be best to change direction and keep the general moviegoing audience somewhat in the dark as to what they were about to experience. “All we want to convey in the artwork is flight and romance. We do not want to give away anything.” Almost like a teaser ad campaign. Tagline “You’ll believe a man can fly.” Bob Peak took it from there.
What do you know about his process in designing movie posters in general and Superman in particular?
I know everything, and yes, it is a process. First, you get contacted by the movie studio or movie advertising agency, then you come in to discuss the film, direction they are looking to go, audience they look to capture, feel of the artwork, etc. Sometimes my father would go onto the movie set while they were filming—Rollerball, Pennies from Heaven, The Missouri Breaks, Grand Prix, My Fair Lady, to name a few. Other times, he would see the finished film before its release date, or he would get approved stills from the movie to work from. Next, he would return to his art studio and start working up loose black and white idea sketches (these could be numerous). Showed these to the film’s advertising agency and movie studio, took some of them and tightened up the black and white sketches, and presented them again. Next came loose color sketches, went through the same process and tightened some of them up and showed them again. Finally, after discussion, some were chosen to bring to complete color finished art and once again presented. One was finally chosen to be the film’s key art.
Do you have any unpublished sketches/concepts for the Superman movie poster?
Unfortunately, not much exists from my father’s work on Superman: The Movie. There are two other finished illustrations that were done before the direction changed to show only flight and romance.
Did he ever attend premieres of movies whose posters he designed, Superman in particular? If so, any stories from any of them?
My father spent many days on movie sets in the United States and throughout Europe, but he never attended an actual movie premiere. I have a few interesting stories from his time on set in Munich, Germany for Rollerball, throughout Europe for Grand Prix, Hollywood for My Fair Lady, and Montana for The Missouri Breaks, to name a few.
Was he asked to design posters for any subsequent Superman movies, and if so, what happened with that?
No, he never designed posters for subsequent Superman movies.
Are there any other good stories related to his involvement with Superman that we didn’t already cover?
Only one, which I am somewhat reluctant to share but here I go. Our mother, his wife Lucille Peak, was quite ill with cancer and was not going to make it per her physicians. It was an extremely tough time for my father and the entire family. He had made the commitment to complete his work on the film and pushed his way through. Not long after Superman: The Movie was released, our mother unfortunately passed away.
Have you been interviewed before about your dad, and if so, with any focus on Superman?
I have been interviewed many times about my dad. I have done Bob Peak talks at several art schools, including the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena where my father attended in the early 1950s when the campus was located in Los Angeles, San Jose State University, and the Society of Illustrators in NYC, where my father is a Hall of Fame member. I have also put on Bob Peak original art exhibitions at the Society of Illustrators Museum in NYC, the Frederick R. Weisman Museum at Pepperdine Museum in Malibu, CA, Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, CA, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Museum in Beverly Hills, CA, and the Forest Lawn Museum in Glendale, CA. Forest Lawn was a joint exhibition with movie poster artist Drew Struzan.
Which of his movie posters do you or does your family own the originals of?
We do have several of his original movie poster works but prefer to keep that information private.
What do you do for a living?
I am somewhat retired but still am involved with my own company Peak Books/Prints. I have produced two books on my father’s life and career (The Art of Bob Peak and The Drawing of Bob Peak). I also produced giclée prints of my father’s art that are available for purchase.
