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Movieguide® Award-Winning Producer Alan Ladd Jr. Dies at 84

Alan Ladd Jr., Laddie, far left. Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies/Facebook

Movieguide® Award-Winning Producer Alan Ladd Jr. Dies at 84

By Movieguide® Staff

Alan Ladd Jr., who produced the Movieguide® Award-Winning BRAVEHEART, died at age 84. 

“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,” said his daughter, Amanda Ladd-Jones. 

Ladd also produced the Movieguide® Award-nominated movie THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK. 

According to the Associated Press:

Ladd Jr., the son of “Shane” star Alan Ladd, started in the film business as his father’s stuntman but rose to become one of its leading — and most widely liked — executives. As studio head at Fox and MGM (twice), Ladd — affectionately known as “Laddie” — was involved in some 14 best-picture nominees, including “Young Frankenstein” (1974),…“Chariots of Fire” (1981) and “Blade Runner” (1982). As an independent producer, Ladd Jr. helped steer films including “Once Upon a Time in America” (1984), “The Right Stuff” (1983) “Gone, Baby Gone” (2007) and Mel Gibson’s “Braveheart” (1995), for which he won best picture.

All told, films Ladd produced or greenlit movies that won more than 50 Oscars and 150 nominations. And, he did so with an easy-going, tight-lipped manner that made him widely admired by stars and filmmakers. Esquire magazine put him on the cover in 1978 with the headline: “Triumph of the Laid-Back Style.”

Ladd is perhaps best known for green lighting STAR WARS, which later became a mega franchise. 

“I am not very prone to emotions, but when the picture opened up and all of a sudden they just started applauding, the tears started rolling out of my eyes. That has never happened to me,” Ladd said of watching STAR WARS. “Then at the end of the picture, it kept going on, it wasn’t stopping — and I just never had experienced that kind of a reaction to any movie ever. Finally, when it was over, I had to get up and walk outside because of the tears.”

According to Variety: 

Affectionately known in the industry as Laddie, Alan Ladd Jr. was noted for his good taste, his warmth and general low-key (some said inaudible) manner, which made him a singular personality among top studio executives. He had the scruples to quit his $2 million-a-year job as head of 20th Century Fox because his staff was not being compensated well enough for its efforts on such blockbusters as “Star Wars” and “Alien.” He represented an older era in Hollywood when executives and even agents (he started his career as an agent for the likes of Robert Redford and Judy Garland at CMA under Freddie Fields) still possessed a modicum of gentility. While that made him popular with filmmakers like George Lucas, Norman Jewison and Ridley Scott, it also brought criticism from a new generation of executives and agents who were more bold, brash and cutthroat.

Ladd’s life is chronicled in the documentary, LADDIE: THE MAN BEHIND THE MOVIES, that debuted in 2017. 

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.