Alan Ladd Jr. Cause of Death Mysterious: ‘Star Wars’ Executive Producer Was 84

By Ashley Malone

Alan Ladd Jr., a renowned producer, and studio executive in Hollywood known to save "Star Wars" when Fox attempted to stop production, has passed away at the age of 84.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Fox, Pathe Entertainment, and MGM executive has died on Wednesday, as confirmed by his daughter Amanda Ladd-Jones.

Taking to social media, a Facebook page called Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies shared the family's statement, writing, "With the heaviest of hearts, we announce that on March 2, 2022, Alan Ladd, Jr. died peacefully at home surrounded by his family."

The statement concludes, "Words cannot express how deeply he will be missed. His impact on films and filmmaking will live on in his absence."

At the time of this writing, his cause of death remains a mystery.

The producer spent his early days in Los Angeles, California, surrounded by some of the biggest studios in Hollywood. His father was an actor, so he knew what was going on behind the scenes of movies and television shows.

When he was off school, he would visit his father's shooting days in the evening.

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At the time when his parents got divorced, he stayed with his mother, but she suffered from poor health, leading him to go back to his father.

However, his father later passed away from an accidental overdose after using sedatives and alcohol.

Ladd Jr. started in the industry as a movie usher so he could have the chance to see Errol Flynn's movies.

After graduating high school, he studied abroad for more than a year when his father was based in Europe. He went back to Los Angeles and studied at USC.

In the 1960s, Ladd was employed as a talent agent at Creative Management Associates, a company known for representing iconic stars including Warren Beatty and Judy Garland.

He later independently built his company called The Ladd Co., but it wasn't long until he suffered big financial trouble.

However, it produced some of the iconic films in Hollywood like "Moonstruck," Willow," "Rain Man," "The Russia House."

Later on, he teamed up with Paramount Pictures, which produced "Braveheart," which led the movie to earn an Academy Award nod for him and director Mel Gibson.

According to IMBd, some of his film credits include "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back," "The Rose," "All That Jazz," and many more.