Ivan Reitman (born October 27, 1946) is a Canadian film producer and director. He is known for the comedies he has directed and produced, especially in the 1980s and 1990s.
Reitman was born in Komárno, Slovakia, the son of Klara and Leslie Reitman. Reitman's parents were Jewish; his mother survived the Auschwitz concentration camp and his father was an underground resistance fighter. His family immigrated to Canada in 1951. Reitman attended Oakwood Collegiate in Toronto and was a member of the Twintone Four singing group.
Reitman's first producing job was with the then-brand new station CITY-TV in Toronto. CITY was also 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.
Reitman worked on a number of films after graduating from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. He produced two films for director David Cronenberg, Shivers/They Came from Within/The Parasite Murders (1974) and Rabid (1976). His big break came when he produced National Lampoon's Animal House in 1978 and directed Meatballs in 1979. From there, he directed and produced a number of comedies including Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Legal Eagles (1986), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Dave (1993), Junior (1994), Six Days Seven Nights (1998), Evolution (2001) and My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006).
In the early 1990s, Reitman began to direct fewer films, but increased his role as a producer and executive producer. He helped to produce the animated film Heavy Metal (1981), Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983), Beethoven (1992), Beethoven's 2nd (1993), Space Jam (1996), Private Parts (1997), Road Trip (2000), Old School (2003) Eurotrip (2004) and Trailer Park Boys: The Big Dirty (2006)
Reitman is a founder of the McMaster Film Board at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. In 2007, Reitman was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. Reitman now works at the Montecito Picture Company, a film production company located just south of Santa Barbara.
Reitman was working on a remake of The Pink Panther in 2005 but backed out. He will next produce the comedy I Love You, Man (2009), starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel.
Reitman has a son and two daughters. His son, Jason Reitman, is an oscar nominated film director for his movie "Juno". And has also directed in the past "Thank you for Smoking". His daughter, Catherine Reitman, is a member of The Groundlings comedy troupe in Los Angeles. His other daughter, Caroline Reitman, is a freshman at The University of Arizona.
