Iconic movie posters by designer Bill Gold

bill-gold-poster-thelonious-monk-straight-no-chaser.jpg — Warner Brothers

Bill Gold's poster for the jazz documentary "Thelonious Monk: Straight No Chaser."

During a career that spanned more than six decades, the innovative designer continuously revolutionized the art of movie posters, creating more than 2,000 of them, beginning with his very first assignment: "Casablanca" in 1942.

Bill Gold

Born in Brooklyn in 1921, Bill Gold was captivated by the big screen at an early age, and after graduating from Pratt Institute, he landed a job, at age 21, with Warner Brothers.

"Casablanca"

Gold laid out the poster for "Casablanca" and did all the lettering by hand. As for Humphrey Bogart's gun: "We put it in the last minute," he told CBS News. "The theater people who projected the original trailer that we had and we had nothing in his hand. Somebody suggested, 'This is Bogart. Let's put a gun in his hand. That's the way he acts, the way he exaggerates his action. We don't want just a head of him. It's too boring! So let's put the gun in his hand.'

"And we put the gun in his hand and we photographed it with this whole image."

"Yankee Doodle Dandy"

Bill Gold's poster for "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (1942).

"Dial M for Murder"

The poster for Alfred Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder" (1954) retains the terrifying 3-D moment of Grace Kelly reaching out of the screen.

"East of Eden"

Bill Gold's poster for the James Dean classic "East of Eden" (1955).

"8 1/2"

Bill Gold's poster for Federico Fellini's "8 1/2."

"My Fair Lady"

Charcoal sketches of the cast of the musical "My Fair Lady" (1964) were blended into a collage, with color added, and embellished with Gold's title treatment.

"Cool Hand Luke"

Throughout his long career Gold did not hesitate to try new styles in design and typography.

Sam Sarowitz, who owns a movie poster gallery in New York called Posteritati, told CBS News, "If you look at Bill Gold's work over the eras, it captures the times. And he was changing with the times with his designs."

"Bullitt"

Bill Gold's post for the Steve McQueen cop thriller "Bullitt" (1968).

"The Wild Bunch"

The poster for Sam Peckinpah's violent western, "The Wild Bunch" (1969).

Gold's work is particularly powerful at setting a mood. "We try not to tell the whole story," he said of an effective poster design. "We try to tell a minimum amount of a story, because anything more than that is confusing."

"There's a Girl in My Soup"

Bill Gold's humorous poster for the Peter Sellers-Goldie Hawn comedy, "There's a Girl in My Soup" (1970).

"Woodstock"

The documentary "Woodstock" (1970).

"A Clockwork Orange"

Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" (1971).

"McCabe & Mrs. Miller"

Bill Gold had worked with Warren Beatty on "Bonnie & Clyde," and returned to create this Old West-style sign for "McCabe & Mrs. Miller."

"Dirty Harry"

Gold had a long relationship with director Clint Eastwood, which began with "Dirty Harry" in 1971, and lasted until 2003's "Mystic River," prior to Gold's retirement.

"Klute"

The thriller "Klute."

"Deliverance"

Left: The domestic release poster for the thriller "Deliverance" (1972). On right, the international release poster.

"The Exorcist"

Gold was working with some limitations when creating the poster for the horror film "The Exorcist" (1973), as in, no religious connotations could be made. Gold chose the haunting image of Max Von Sydow's Father Merrin arriving at the home of the possessed girl, a shaft of light piercing the darkness - an image that would become inseparable from the film.

"The Sting"

An old-fashioned poster for an old-fashioned crime caper: "The STing" (1973).

"Blazing Saddles"

Bill Gold then took old-fashioned posters and put his tongue firmly in cheek, for the Mel Brooks parody "Blazing Saddles" (1974).

"Magnum Force"

The Dirty Harry sequel "Magnum Force" (1973).

"Dog Day Afternoon"

Photographs that Bill Gold took of Al Pacino, which made their way into his poster for the Sidney Lumet bank robbery thriller, "Dog Day Afternoon" (1975).