IVAN REITMAN, the influential filmmaker and producer behind beloved comedies from “Animal House” to “Ghostbusters,” has died. He was 75.

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

Known for big, bawdy comedies that caught the spirit of their time, Reitman’s big break came with the raucous, college fraternity sendup “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” which he produced. He directed Bill Murray in his first starring role in “Meatballs” and then again in “Stripes,” but his most significant success came with 1984’s “Ghostbusters.”

Not only did the irreverent supernatural comedy starring Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis gross nearly US$300 million worldwide, it earned two Oscar nominations, spawned a veritable franchise, including spinoffs, television shows and a new movie, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” that opened this last year which his son, filmmaker Jason Reitman, directed.

Among other notable films Reitman directed are “Kindergarten Cop,” “Dave,” “Junior” and “Six Days Seven Nights.” He also produced “Beethoven,” “Old School” and “EuroTrip,” and many others, including several for Jason.

He was nominated for a best picture Oscar alongside Jason and Daniel Dubiecki for “Up in the Air,” which Jason directed, in 2010. Reitman also was nominated for an Emmy for best made for TV movie in 1996, as part of the producing team for “The Late Shift,” which dramatized the late-night rivalry between David Letterman and Jay Leno. (SD-Agencies)