Robert Grossman (March 1, 1940 - March 15, 2018) was an American author, illustrator, filmmaker, comics artist, sculptor and painter, whose work appeared on the cover of magazines over 500 times. Among these included Rolling Stone, Esquire, The Nation, TIME, Newsweek, National Lampoon, and the New York Times. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Grossman's father, a display artist, provided his earliest art instruction, and then sent him to the Museum of Modern Art for Saturday morning art classes as he got older. Grossman graduated from Midwood High School in 1957 and graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts in 1961. While at Yale, Grossmen served as an illustrator, cartoonist, and editor of The Yale Record. A parody of The New Yorker entitled The Yew Norker produced by The Yale Record earned Grossman an introduction to New Yorker art director Jim Geraghty, who hired Grossman as an art editor. Grossman began his freelance illustration career in 1963. His most recognizable work is, perhaps, the knotted jet from the 'AIRPLANE!' movie poster. Grossman also had a short career as a fold singer and released an album entitled Cosmo Alley Presents Bob Grossman.