HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Alan Walbridge Ladd Jr. (October 22, 1937 – March 2, 2022) was an American film industry executive and producer. He served as president of
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
from 1976 to 1979, during which he approved the production of '' Star Wars''. He later established The Ladd Company and headed MGM/UA. Ladd won an Academy Award for Best Picture in 1996 for producing '' Braveheart''.


Early life

Ladd was born in Los Angeles,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, on October 22, 1937. He was the only child of Alan Ladd and Marjorie Jane (née Harrold), who divorced when he was two years old. He initially stayed with his mother, but lived with his father at his estate in
Holmby Hills Holmby Hills is a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. The neighborhood was developed in the early twentieth century by the Janss Investment Company, which developed the rest of Westwood as well as other Los Ang ...
due to her poor health. He later recounted how the time he spent with the elder Ladd was sparse, and described their relationship as "basically nonexistent". Ladd served in the
U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
and was called up as a reservist during the Berlin Crisis of 1961, before being employed by his stepfather's business for a brief period. He subsequently joined
Creative Management Associates ICM Partners is a talent and literary agency with offices in Los Angeles, New York City, Washington D.C. and London. ICM (International Creative Management) Partners represents clients in the fields of motion pictures, television, music, publi ...
as an agent in 1963 and worked under
Freddie Fields Freddie Fields (July 12, 1923 – December 11, 2007),
December 12, 2007
born Fred ...
. Among Ladd's clients were Robert Redford and
Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...
. His paternal half-brother is actor and producer
David Ladd David Alan Ladd (born February 5, 1947)is an American film and television producer and former actor. Early life Ladd was born in Los Angeles, California. His father was Alan Ladd, an actor. His mother was Sue Carol, Alan Ladd's second wife, ...
.


Career

Ladd relocated to London at the end of the 1960s to work as an independent producer. There, he established a film venture with
Jay Kanter Jay Ira Kanter (born December 12, 1926) is an American film producer. He is best known for his long association with Alan Ladd Jr. He was a talent agent at MCA for a number of years. He is known for his biographical works such as ''Grace Kelly: ...
and Jerry Gershwin. Ladd made nine films during his sojourn there, including '' The Walking Stick'', '' A Severed Head'', ''
Villain A villain (also known as a " black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character ...
'', '' The Nightcomers'', and ''
Zee and Co. ''Zee and Co'' (also known as ''X Y and Zee'' and ''Zee and Company'') is a 1972 British drama film directed by Brian G. Hutton and starring Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Caine, and Susannah York. Released by Columbia Pictures, it was based upon ...
''. He eventually returned to the United States in 1973 to become vice president of creative affairs at
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
. Three years later, he was promoted from worldwide production head to president of Fox's film division. Ladd came to Fox President
Gordon Stulberg Gordon T. Stulberg (17 December 1923 – 12 October 2000) was a Canadian-American film executive and lawyer, best known for a long stint as president and chief operating officer of 20th Century Fox and Cinema Center Films and PolyGram Pictures.
to request consideration for making George Lucas's '' Star Wars''. Stulberg approved the production, and the two men remained as Lucas's support at times when the board of directors of 20th Century Fox wished to shut down production. The production was plagued by location difficulties, story problems, and budgetary disagreements for a project that was mainly considered a risk to the studio. However, when Ladd saw the audience's rapturous appreciation of the film at its first public screening at the Northpoint Theatre in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
in early May 1977, he was moved to joyful tears at seeing the unlikely production he and Stulberg had supported against all odds. ''Star Wars'' was a massive and critically hailed hit upon release, becoming, up to that point, the highest-grossing film of all time, and spawned an extensive media franchise that includes many other films as well as television, radio, video game and print media. ''Star Wars'' and '' Alien'' were a few of the films produced during Ladd's tenure. However, he stepped down and left Fox in 1979 after falling out with Fox chairman Dennis Stanfill. Ladd founded his own production company, The Ladd Company, with Kanter and Gareth Wigan. The company produced ''
Chariots of Fire ''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 British historical sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell ...
'', which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1982. Other productions included '' Outland'' (1981), '' Night Shift'', ''
Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick' ...
'' (both 1982), '' The Right Stuff'' (1983), ''
Police Academy A police academy, also known as a law enforcement training center, police college, or police university, is a training school for police cadets, designed to prepare them for the law enforcement agency they will be joining upon graduation, or othe ...
'' (1984), and ''
Gone Baby Gone ''Gone Baby Gone'' is a 2007 American crime thriller film directed by Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a ...
'' (2007). Ladd joined MGM/UA in 1985, eventually becoming Chairman and CEO of MGM-Pathé Communications. During his tenure, MGM/UA produced ''
Moonstruck ''Moonstruck'' is a 1987 American romantic comedy-drama film directed and co-produced by Norman Jewison, written by John Patrick Shanley, and starring Cher, Nicolas Cage, Danny Aiello, Olympia Dukakis, and Vincent Gardenia. The film follows L ...
'' (1987), '' A Fish Called Wanda'' (1988), and ''
Thelma & Louise ''Thelma & Louise'' is a 1991 American road crime comedy-drama film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Callie Khouri. It stars Susan Sarandon as Louise and Geena Davis as Thelma, two friends who embark on a road trip that ends up in unfores ...
'' (1991). After being unceremoniously dismissed by Credit Lyonnais (who administered MGM after a loan default), he proceeded to reform the Ladd Company with Paramount Pictures in 1993. He produced ''
The Brady Bunch Movie ''The Brady Bunch Movie'' is a 1995 American comedy film that parodies the 1969–1974 television series ''The Brady Bunch''. The film was directed by Betty Thomas, with a screenplay by Laurice Elehwany, Rick Copp, and Bonnie and Terry Turner, an ...
'' and '' Braveheart'', one of the two projects he was permitted to take with him after leaving MGM. The latter film won the Academy Award for Best Picture in
1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
, with Ladd receiving the award as one of the film's three producers. He later received the 2,348th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on September 28, 2007.


Personal life and death

Ladd married his first wife Patricia Ann Beazley in September 1959. They met while studying at the
University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...
together. They had three children, Kelliann, Tracy and Amanda, but divorced in 1983. Ladd married his second wife Cindra Pincock in 1985. They had one child, Chelsea, who predeceased him in March 2021. Ladd and Pincock separated in March 2015 and later divorced. Ladd died of
kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...
at his home in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
on March 2, 2022, at the age of 84.


Filmography

: ''Ladd was a producer of all films unless otherwise noted.''


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ladd, Alan Jr. 1937 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople 20th Century Studios people American film studio executives Deaths from kidney failure Film directors from Los Angeles Film producers from California Ladd family (show business) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer executives Military personnel from California Producers who won the Best Picture Academy Award United States Air Force airmen