William Reynold Brown (October 18, 1917 – August 24, 1991) was an American realist artist who painted many Hollywood

film poster A film poster is a poster used to promote and advertise a film primarily to persuade paying customers into a theater to see it. Studios often print several posters that vary in size and content for various domestic and international markets. The ...

s. He was also briefly active as a comics artist.

Biography

He attended Alhambra High School and refined his drawing under his teacher Lester Bonar. A talented artist, Brown met cartoonist Hal Forrest around 1936-37. Forrest hired Brown to ink (uncredited) Forrest's comic strip '' Tailspin Tommy''. Extensive discussion of the comic strip. Norman Rockwell's sister was a teacher at Alhambra High, and Brown later met Rockwell who advised him to leave cartooning if he wanted to be an illustrator. Brown subsequently won a scholarship to the Otis Art Institute. During World War II he worked as a technical artist at North American Aviation. There he met his wife, fellow artist

Mary Louise Tejeda Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also cal ...

. Following the war Brown drew numerous advertisements and illustrations for magazines such as ''

Argosy Argosy or The Argosy may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Argosy'' (magazine), an American pulp magazine 1882–1978 and revived 1990–1994, 2004–2006 * ''Argosy'' (UK magazine), three British magazines * Argosy spaceship in ''Escap ...

'', '' Popular Science'', ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

'', '' Boys' Life'', '' Outdoor Life'', and '' Popular Aviation''. Brown also drew paperback book covers. Brown taught at the Art Center College of Design where he met Misha Kallis, then an art director at

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

. Through Kallis, Brown began his

work, then did the artwork for dozens of film posters, including: In 1953, Brown was one of the founders of the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles.

List of film posters

*''

Creature from the Black Lagoon ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' is a 1954 American black-and-white 3D monster horror film produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold, from a screenplay by Harry Essex and Arthur Ross and a story by Maurice Zimm. It stars ...

'' (1954) *''

Tarantula Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...

'' (1955) *'' This Island Earth'' (1955) *'' The Incredible Shrinking Man'' (1957) *'' I Was a Teenage Werewolf'' (1957) *'' Man of a Thousand Faces'' (1957) *'' The Land Unknown'' (1957) *'' Attack of the 50 Foot Woman'' (1958) *'' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' (1958) *''

Ben-Hur Ben-Hur or Ben Hur may refer to: Fiction *'' Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'', an 1880 novel by American general and author Lew Wallace ** ''Ben-Hur'' (play), a play that debuted on Broadway in 1899 ** ''Ben Hur'' (1907 film), a one-reel silent ...

'' (1959) *''

The Atomic Submarine ''The Atomic Submarine'' is a 1959 independently made, American black-and-white science-fiction film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and starring Arthur Franz, Dick Foran, Brett Halsey, Joi Lansing and Jean Moorhead, with John Hilliard ...

'' (1959) *'' House of Usher'' (1960) *''

The Time Machine ''The Time Machine'' is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895. The work is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle or device to travel purposely and selectively fo ...

'' (1960) *'' Spartacus'' (1960) *'' Black Sunday'' (1960) *''

The Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Anto ...

'' (1960) *''

The Fabulous World of Jules Verne ''Invention for Destruction'' ( cs, Vynález zkázy) is a 1958 Czechoslovak black-and-white science fiction adventure film, directed by Karel Zeman, produced by Zdeněk Novák, and starring Lubor Tokoš, Arnošt Navrátil, and Miloslav Holub ...

'' (1961) *'' King of Kings'' (1961) *'' How the West Was Won'' (1962) *''

Mutiny on the Bounty The mutiny on the Royal Navy vessel occurred in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789. Disaffected crewmen, led by acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, seized control of the ship from their captain, Lieutenant William Bligh, and se ...

'' (1962) *''

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped de ...

'' (1963) *'' Mothra vs. Godzilla'' (1964) *'' War of the Zombies'' (1964) *'' Shenandoah'' (1965) *''

Dr Zhivago ''Doctor Zhivago'' is the title of a novel by Boris Pasternak and its various adaptations. Description The story, in all of its forms, describes the life of the fictional Russian physician and poet Yuri Zhivago and deals with love and loss during ...

'' (1965) Brown's original painting for the poster of ''The Alamo'' hung for many years at the actual

Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San An ...

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. He suffered a severe stroke in 1976 that left his left side paralyzed and ended his commercial work. Brown and his family moved to

Dawes County, Nebraska Dawes County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 9,182. Its county seat is Chadron. The county was formed in 1885; it was named for James W. Dawes, the Nebraska Governor at the tim ...

; with his wife's help, Brown continued to paint landscapes until his death in 1991. In 1994, Mel Bucklin's documentary about Reynold Brown entitled ''The Man Who Drew Bug-Eyed Monsters'' was broadcast on U.S. public television. A book reproducing many of Brown's artworks, ''Reynold Brown: A Life in Pictures'', was published in 2009.

Biography

List of film posters

References

Further reading