Washington/ New Delhi, Aug 18 (UNI) Acclaimed graphic designer Joe Caroff, whose most famous work was the iconic 007 gun logo for the James Bond franchise, posters for West Side Story and A Hard Day’s Night and typography for Last Tango in Paris, Manhattan and Rollerball,died in Manhattan at the age of 103.
“He died peacefully in hospice care yesterday, his family said Caroff died one day short of birthday No. 104 in hospice care at his home in Manhattan, his sons, Peter and Michael Caroff”, told The New York Times.
Caroff’s classic 007 symbol, designed in 1962 for Dr. No, combined the digits “007” and the outline of a pistol incorporated within the ‘7’, imagery now widely known across more than 25 Bond movies.
In addition to Bond’s graphic style, Caroff designed famous posters and typography for an astonishing array of movies. His work comprises the incorrect-attribution-receiving original West Side Story poster, A Hard Day’s Night, Cabaret, Last Tango in Paris, Manhattan, Zelig, and advertising work for The Last Temptation of Christ.
Born on August 18, 1921, in New Jersey, Caroff attended the Pratt Institute and established J. Caroff Associates in 1965, eventually creating Kirschner Caroff in 1986. He formally retired in 2006, moving into fine art, which was exhibited and offered through his legacy outlet, Joe Caroff Originals.
The one quality he wanted his work to have was “effervescence,” he said in the 2022 Turner Classic Movies(TCM) documentary By Design, The Joe Caroff Story. “I want it to have a life, it doesn’t want to lie there flat.”
Caroff’s legacy continues through his long-lasting design language inseparable in international pop culture and film history.
Joe Caroff, creator of iconic James Bond ‘007’ gun logo, dies at 103
