Painter and illustrator Robert E. McGinnis, who created sexy posters for the James Bond franchise as well as numerous other films, magazine illustrations and book covers, died March 10 in Old Greenwich, Conn. He was 99.
McGinnis, whose death was posted on Legacy.com, was known for his swinging sixties pin-up girl-style images of bikini-clad women consorting with manly men. Models including Shere Hite, author of “The Hite Report,” modeled for the idealized figure that became known as “The McGinnis Woman.”
His first movie poster was for “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” featuring the illustration of Audrey Hepburn smoking a cigarette in a long holder with her cat wrapped around her neck. He used his wife and family cat as models. “You didn’t have to do much with her. She’s so perfect,” he reportedly said about Hepburn.
The posters McGinnis designed for James Bond movies included “Thunderball,” “You Only Live Twice,” “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” “Casino Royale,” “Diamonds Are Forever” and “Live and Let Die” helped cement the franchise’s reputation for featuring beautiful women consorting with the urbane spy against action-packed backgrounds.
Courtesy Everett Collection
Among his other notable posters were “The Odd Couple,” “The Wrecking Crew,” “The Pink Panther,” “Barbarella,” “Sleeper,” and more recently, “The Incredibles.” McGinnis also designed titles for 1965 Western “The Hallelujah Trail.”
Known as Bob, McGinnis was raised in Wyoming, Ohio. Despite having limited vision in one eye, he became an apprentice at Walt Disney Studios while still a teenager. After serving in the military and attending art school, he worked in advertising and began drawing book covers for Dell. He worked on pulp-style covers for numerous famous authors including Donald Westlake and Erle Stanley Gardner.
McGinnis went on to illustrate magazine spreads for dozens of publications including The Saturday Evening Post, National Geographic and Reader’s Digest.
He is survived by children Melinda, Laurie and Kyle, three grandchildren and a brother, David McGinnis.
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