Joe Caroff dead: James Bond legend dies aged 103 in hospice care

James Bond star Joe Caroff has died aged 103, his sons have confirmed. The graphic designer was known for creating the iconic 007 gun logo and worked on the film posters for West Side Story and The Beatles' hit movie, A Hard Day's Night. Joe's sons, Michael and Peter, told The New York Times that the star died in hospice care in his Manhattan home on Sunday, a day before his 104th birthday. In 1962, Caroff created the letterhead for a publicity release for Dr. No - the first Bond film. He also worked on Last Tango in Paris, Manhattan, Cabaret and many more iconic projects. Caroff was also the designer behind the opening title sequences for such films as Richard Attenborough's A Bridge Too Far (1977), Volker Schlöndorff's Death of a Salesman (1985), Gene Saks' Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986) and Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), which pulled back to reveal a crown of thorns.

When tasked with creating the letterhead for Dr. No (1962), he didn't find the 007 agent's Walther PPK pistol to be visually appealing. He sketched the numbers 007 and added pencilled lines above and below as a guide but soon noticed that the upper guideline looked like an elongated barrel of a gun extending from the number seven. But he was not long before he was able to perfect the 007 logo that is widely recognised today.

"I knew that 007 meant license to kill; that, I think, at an unconscious level, was the reason I knew the gun had to be in the logo," he said in By Design: The Joe Caroff Story in 2022.

Despite creating the iconic logo, the family were "never paid any royalties".

It was said the rate for a letterhead logo was $300 (£200) at the time without film credits or profit-sharing.

"My only regrets are that they never paid any royalties for any of these things that were done in those days," Joe's wife, Phyllis Caroff said in the documentary. "We would have been rich."

He also revealed he never saved the original sketches and renders over the years. "Probably not a smart thing to do, but I never attached what I was doing to any greatness," he admitted.

"I was just working, period. I was just being an artist."

Even though the logo, though altered in subtle ways, has been featured on every Bond film and on millions of pieces of merchandise, he received no credit, no residuals, no royalties.

Former franchise bosses Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson gifted him an Omega watch with a 007 engraving for his 100th birthday.

Caroff was also the designer behind the iconic West Side Story poster.

He is survived by his sons, daughter-in-laws Ruth and Cynthia, and granddaughter Jennifer. His wife of 81 years, Phyllis, a longtime professor, whom he met at a New Year's Eve party, died in February, four days shy of 101.