Joe Caroff, Designer Behind WEST SIDE STORY and CABARET Movie Posters, Passes Away at 103

Joe Caroff, perhaps best known for designing the James Bond gun logo in 1962, passed away Sunday, August 17, at the age of 103. Throughout his career, Caroff designed hundreds of film posters, including several adaptations of Broadway shows. 

In 1961, Caroff created the poster design for the big-screen adaptation of West Side Story directed by Robert Wise. He would go on to design other Broadway-related poster titles, including Bob Fosse's Cabaret featuring Liza Minnelli, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Death of a Salesman, and more. 

He also frequently worked on designs for Woody Allen films, including Manhattan, Stardust, and Zelig. Other notable projects include The Last Temptation of Christ, A Hard Day's Night, Rollerball, Last Tango in Paris, An Unmarried Woman, and Gandhi. In addition to movies, he also designed book jackets and, since 2006, focused on painting. Caroff was the subject of a 2022 documentary from filmmaker Mark Cerulli titled By Design: The Joe Caroff Story.