While many casual Star Wars fans will have no idea who Alan Ladd Jr. – affectionately known as Laddie – was, many of us will recognise that without his decision to take a chance on George Lucas and his fanciful space fantasy, we would not have the galaxy far, far away as we know it. In partnership with 20th Century Fox, Lucas was given the scope and budget to make the 1977 original, with the backing of Alan Ladd Jr., and the rest is history.
Alan Ladd Jr, the veteran film producer who won a Best Picture Oscar for Braveheart, commissioned George Lucas to write Star Wars and was an influential executive for Fox and MGM/United Artists, died today, his family said. He was 84.
His daughter Amanda Ladd-Jones, who directed the 2017 feature documentary Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies wrote on social media: “With the heaviest of hearts, we announce that on March 2, 2022, Alan Ladd, Jr. died peacefully at home surrounded by his family. Words cannot express how deeply he will be missed. His impact on films and filmmaking will live on in his absence.”
Along with Star Wars and Braveheart, Ladd was responsible for such Hollywood classics as a producer and studio boss, including Alien, Blade Runner, The Omen, All That Jazz, Norma Rae, Chariots of Fire, Thelma & Louise and Young Frankenstein.
A man of few words relative to the industry’s chattering norms and with a low-key style, Ladd was in his mid-30s when he returned to Los Angeles in 1973 to serve as Head of Creative Affairs at Twentieth Century Fox. He rose through the ranks quickly and was named studio president in 1976. Soon after joining Fox, he was intrigued by a then-unreleased American Graffiti and sought a meeting with its young director, George Lucas, to see if he has any ideas for another film.
Lucas outlined a character-driven outer-space epic. Despite little precedent for such a movie, Ladd loved the idea and commissioned Lucas to write what would become Star Wars.
“Laddie was one of the few people that actually said, ‘I trust the artist,” Lucas said in the documentary.
He was 84, passing away with his family by his side. To his family, friends and colleagues we send our heartfelt condolences and to Laddie our eternal thanks.
