John Henry Alvin (November 24, 1948 – February 6, 2008) was an American cinematic artist and painter who illustrated many movie posters. Alvin created posters and key art for more than 135 films, beginning with the poster for Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles (1974). His style of art became known as Alvinesque by friends and colleagues in the entertainment industry. Alvin's work includes the movie posters for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Blade Runner, Gremlins, The Goonies, The Color Purple, The Little Mermaid, Batman Returns, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Space Jam, The Emperor's New Groove, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and Looney Tunes: Back in Action. He also created the anniversary posters for Star Wars. Early life and education John Alvin was born on November 24, 1948, in Hyannis, Massachusetts. His parents were in the United States military and the family was relocated often. The Alvins settled permanently in the area of Monterey, California, where Alvin graduated from Pacific Grove High School in 1966. His early interest in movie posters reportedly began with movie advertisements in the Sunday newspaper. Alvin graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles in 1971 and began work as a freelance artist. He lived in the Linda Mar area of Pacifica, California, from 1958 to 1961, then moved to Monterey, California, January 1, 1961. Career Alvin's first official movie art campaign was the poster for Blazing Saddles, directed by Mel Brooks, in 1974. Alvin, who was working as an animator at an animation studio at the time, was invited to work on the Blazing Saddles poster by a friend. Alvin took an unusual path when designing the movie poster. He designed a serious movie poster, which incorporated unusual and quirky elements from the film. For example, in the poster, Alvin depicts Mel Brooks, who plays a Yiddish-speaking Native American chief in the film, wearing a headdress inscribed with the phrase, Kosher for Passover. The joke had been suggested by Alvin's wife, Andrea. Alvin's work on Blazing Saddles was liked by Mel Brooks, as well as by others in the industry. He went on to work on a number of Brooks' later films, including Young Frankenstein, which was also released in 1974. Alvine also did the poster for Steven Spielberg's 1982 film, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. It shows E.T.'s finger touching the finger of his human friend, Elliott, finger tip to finger