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Ivan Reitman: Dan Aykroyd
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Reitman began his career as a stage and TV producer and turned out his first feature film in 1971. Among his initial low-budget Canadian productions were two striking early horror films directed by David Cronenberg, "They Came from Within" (1975) and "Rabid" (1977). As a producer and/or director, Reitman played a significant role in the film careers of several Second City (Chicago and Toronto-based) performers who first gained fame on "Saturday Night Live"--Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and John Belushi. Aykroyd was featured in "Greed", a Reitman-produced variety show for Canadian TV. Murray made a big splash on screen in the Reitman-directed "Meatballs" (1979) and "Stripes" (1981). Both actors ... appeared in his blockbuster comedy "Ghostbusters" (1984), Reitman's biggest commercial success to date.
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Reitman was born in Czechoslovakia and fled with his family to Canada at age four. He attended Canada's McMaster University, where he produced and directed several television shorts. He followed these with a live television show, "Greed," with Dan Aykroyd as its announcer. "Spellbound," which Reitman produced for the live stage, evolved into the Broadway hit "The Magic Show," starring Doug Henning. He continued producing for the stage with the off- Broadway hit "The National Lampoon Show," and returned to Broadway to produce and direct the musical "Merlin," earning a Tony nomination for directing.
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Reitman's first producing job was with the then-brand new station CITY-TV in Toronto. CITY was ... the home of the first announcing job of his later friend and collaborator Dan Aykroyd. However, Reitman's tenure at CITY was short and he was fired during his first year by station owner Moses Znaimer.
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Soon after it was completed, Reitman and his business partner, Dan Goldberg, were arrested and, despite loud protests from the arts community, became the first Canadians convicted under this country's decency laws. They were fined $300 and given a year's probation. Unabashed, Reitman has continued to push the boundaries of film comedy ever since.
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Reitman rose to wunderkind status after producing the uproariously ribald National Lampoon's Animal House in 1978 and helming the comedy smash Meatballs – which in 1979 became the biggest-grossing Canadian film of the year. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Reitman was celebrated for directing and producing a nearly endless string of successful comedies – most notably Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters 2. Reitman is largely credited for launching the film careers of John Belushi, Bill Murray and fellow Canadians Dan Aykroyd and Tom Green.
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Reitman launched his career while attending Hamilton's McMaster University, directing several short films for television. His first full-length project was a live TV series called Greed, emceed by a newcomer named Dan Aykroyd.
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