Hitmaking Film Manager Alan Ladd Jr. dies at 84


As a producer and studio executive, Alan Ladd Jr. has been a guiding hand behind many successful films, none of which was greater than the “Star Wars” his young director, George Lucas, championed when he was struggling to make it. Wednesday at her home in Los Angeles. He was 84 years old.

Kathie Berlin, who worked with him for years at the production company and MGM, said the cause was kidney failure.

Mr. Ladd was vice president of creative affairs at 20th Century Fox in 1973 when Mr. Lucas’ manager, Jeff Berg, began talking to him about his still-evolving concept for what had evolved into “Star Wars.” Mr. Lucas had just made “American Graffiti”, but it had not yet been released – once released it would become one of the greatest films of 1973 – and so Mr. Lucas’ idea of ​​a space movie did not receive much respect; United Artists and Universal were not interested.

But Mr. Ladd was. He knew movies and audiences – his father was an actor who had appeared in over 100 movies and TV shows – and understood the appeal of Mr. Lucas’ vision.

“It took me back to the old Saturday matinees,” he told The New York Times in 1977, when the “Star Wars” blockbuster released a few months earlier. “I used to be crazy about Superman and Flash Gordon. When I heard Universal gave up, I was like, ‘They’re crazy!’ I thought. That’s why I chose an option. ”

It wasn’t the first time that Mr. Ladd saw potential that others did not. A few years ago, Mel Brooks was buying the idea for “Young Frankenstein,” but gave up when Columbia insisted on shooting the film in black and white. Mr. Brooks later sat down with Mr. Ladd.

“We were all very impressed at our first meeting because the first thing Laddie said”—Mr. Ladd’s nickname—”You’re absolutely right. It should be done in black and white,'” wrote Mr. Brooks, “It’s All About Me! My Extraordinary Life in Show Business” (2021) .

“I knew then and there,” added Mr Brooks, “that I had finally met a studio chief I could really trust.”

Mr. Brooks went on to make several other films with Mr. Ladd, including “Spaceballs”, a 1987 parody of “Star Wars” in which Mr. Ladd was president of MGM. By then, Mr. Brooks was box office gold thanks in part to “Young Frankenstein,” which made more than $100 million, and he could pretty much have bought “Spaceballs,” as he told The Los Angeles Times in 1987. any large studio

“But I’ve known Laddie for years,” he said. “And I’m not so wise, so old, or so strong that I can resist a lot of heartfelt help along the way – and especially the emotional support that Laddie always provides.”

Mr. Ladd, who has held senior positions at various times at 20th Century Fox and MGM/UA, and also ran the Ladd Company he founded in 1979, was known for his relatively relaxed style in a job filled with intrusive executives. In a 1999 interview with The New York Times, director Norman Jewison recalled his experience working with Mr. Ladd on the 1987 hit movie “Moonstruck,” which won three Oscars.

“I gave him a price that I thought I could make the movie for,” said Mr. Jewison. “I told him I was going after Cher to play the lead. There are no other major stars. And she called me and said ‘ok’ she said. I never saw him again until I said the movie was over and I wanted him to see it. That doesn’t happen anymore.”

Ms. Berlin said that Mr. Ladd’s defense of “Star Wars” might be her calling card, but she deserves credit for supporting films like “Moonstruck”, “Julia” (1977) and “Thelma and Louise” (1991). strong female characters. He is generally credited with proposing to replace the title character in Ridley Scott’s “Alien” (1979), originally written as a man, and give Sigourney Weaver the chance to create an unforgettable sci-fi hero.

In 1988 he told the Los Angeles Times, “Could it be more interesting if this role was played by a woman rather than a man?” I always ask.

Alan Walbridge Ladd Jr. was born on October 22, 1937, in Los Angeles, the child of Alan Ladd, best known as the star of the 1953 western movie “Shane,” and his first wife, Marjorie Jane Harrold.

Alan Jr. studied at the University of Southern California, was called up as an Air Force reserve during the Berlin crisis of the early 1960s, and after his release, went to work in the mailroom of the talent agency Creative Management Associates. He soon became an agent representing Judy Garland, among others.

In the early 1970s he formed a producer partnership with several other companies in London and produced his first films, including “The Nightcomers” (1971), starring Marlon Brando.

Returning to the United States, he became vice president at Fox in 1973. He became president of the company in 1976. Three years later, he announced that he was leaving to start his own company.

Mr. Ladd was a senior executive at MGM twice. In 1985 he was brought in to direct one of the movie segments; shortly after it was named president and chief operating officer, and then the president. He left the company in 1988, which was undergoing ownership and organizational changes. He was running the film division of Pathé Communications when that company bought MGM and became CEO in 1991. he is forced in 1993 on another change of ownership.

Among the films in which Ladd Company was involved was “Chariots of Fire” (1981), which won the Oscar for best picture. “Braveheart” (1995), another Ladd Company project, won the same award.

But “Star Wars” was almost certainly Mr. Ladd’s greatest triumph. When she attended the premiere in San Francisco, she was still unsure whether the film would work—until she finally heard the tidal wave of applause.

“Continued; It wasn’t stopping,” he later recalled. “And I’ve never had such a reaction to any movie. non-stop. In the end, when it was over, I had to get up and walk out because of my tears.”

Mr. Ladd’s marriage to Patricia Beazley, as well as his second marriage to Cindra Pincock, ended in divorce. He has three children from his first marriage, Kelliann Ladd, Tracy Ladd, and Amanda Ladd Jones; a brother, David; one sister, Carol Lee Veitch; and six grandchildren. A daughter from his second marriage, Chelsea Ladd, died in 2021.



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