Film-maker and producer Ivan Reitman, 75

Ivan Reitman, the influential film-maker and producer behind beloved comedies including Animal House and Ghostbusters, has died aged 75.

Reitman died peacefully in his sleep on Saturday night at his home in Montecito, California, his family told The Associated Press.

“Our family is grieving the unexpected loss of a husband, father, and grandfather who taught us to always seek the magic in life,” children Jason Reitman, Catherine Reitman and Caroline Reitman said in a joint statement.

Known for raunchy comedies that caught the spirit of their time, Reitman’s big break came with the raucous, college fraternity send-up National Lampoon’s Animal House, which he produced.

He directed Bill Murray in his first starring role in the summer camp flick Meatballs, and then again in 1981’s Stripes, but his most significant success came with 1984’s smash hit Ghostbusters.

Paul Feig, who directed the 2016 reboot of Ghostbusters, tweeted that he was in shock.

“I had the honour of working so closely with Ivan and it was always such a learning experience,” he wrote.

“A legend,” comedian and actor Kumail Nanjiani said.

Among other notable films he directed were Twins, Kindergarten Cop, Dave, Junior and 1998’s Six Days, Seven Nights. He also produced Beethoven, Old School and Eurotrip, and many others.

He was born in Komarno, Czechoslovakia, in 1946 where his father owned the country’s biggest vinegar factory. His mother survived Auschwitz and his father had been in the resistance.

When the communists began imprisoning capitalists after the war, the Reitmans decided to escape, when Ivan Reitman was aged just four.

They travelled in the nailed-down hold of a barge headed for Vienna.

The Reitmans joined a relative in Toronto, where Ivan displayed his showbiz inclinations: starting a puppet theatre, entertaining at summer camps and playing coffee houses with a folk music group.

He studied music and drama at Mcmaster University in Hamilton, Ontario then began making movie shorts.

PROMINENT: Ivan Reitman directed the massive hit movie Ghostbusters in 1984.