- Born
- Died
- Birth nameAlan Walbridge Ladd Jr.
- Nickname
- Laddie
- Alan Ladd Jr. was one of the film industry's most respected executives. He started in the movies as an agent in 1963. In 1969, Ladd moved to London to produce, making nine films. He returned to the States in '73 to become Head of Creative Affairs at Fox. Within three very successful years Mr. Ladd was President of Twentieth Century Fox. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), Alien (1979) and Young Frankenstein (1974), were a few of the classics during his tenure. But, in 1979, Ladd left his position as President at Fox to found his own production company, The Ladd Company. He enjoyed great successes with comedies like Night Shift (1982) and Police Academy (1984) and Oscar winners' The Right Stuff (1983) and Best Picture, Chariots of Fire (1981). In 1985, Ladd joined MGM/UA, eventually becoming Chairman and CEO of Pathe Entertainment. During his tenure, MGM/UA enjoyed hits like A Fish Called Wanda (1988), Moonstruck (1987) and Thelma & Louise (1991). Ladd reformed the Ladd Company with Paramount Pictures in 1993 where he produced the hits The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) and Best Picture winner: Braveheart (1995). He later produced independently with The Ladd Company.- IMDb Mini Biography By: sdylank@yahoo.com
- Throughout his career, Alan Ladd, Jr. distinguished himself as one of the motion picture industry's most groundbreaking, resolute, respected, well-liked executives and producers. His reputation as a professional and humanitarian preceded him. His films grossed billions of dollars, garnered over 150 Academy Award nominations, 50 Academy Award wins, countless Golden Globes and Palme d'Or honors, and a seemingly endless array of other accolades.
Ladd began his career in the industry in 1963 as a motion picture talent agent at Creative Management Associates. His client list included Judy Garland, Warren Beatty and Robert Redford. Five years later, he shifted gears and turned to independent production. He moved to London, where he produced his first nine films in just four years, working with such acclaimed actors as Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, Sir Ian Holm, Lord Richard Attenborough, Sir Ben Kingsley, Michael Caine, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Marlon Brando. In 1973, Twentieth Century Fox called and persuaded Ladd to return to Los Angeles to become their Head of Creative Affairs. Ladd quickly rose through the executive ranks and, by 1976, was named President of Twentieth Century Fox. During Ladd's tenure, Fox enjoyed tremendous financial and critical success. Soon after he began work as President, Ladd went to a screening of a new movie, which had yet to be released. Impressed by what he saw, Ladd set a meeting with American Graffiti (1973)'s young director, George Lucas. Ladd asked Lucas if he had any ideas for future projects he hoped to make, and Lucas proceeded to describe an ambitious, character-driven science fiction story set in outer space. Though nothing like it had ever been done before and the costs were high on all fronts, Ladd loved the idea and decided to take a chance on Lucas and his vision. He commissioned Lucas to write this screenplay for Fox, and the resulting "Star Wars" franchise went on to gross billions of dollars, became a worldwide phenomenon, and, in introducing the blockbuster to the Hollywood industry, forever changed the face of moviemaking.
In addition to the wild success of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) and Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Ladd greenlit and/or saw to completion some of the most profitable and iconographic films in Fox's history (and, arguably, Hollywood's history). Ridley Scott's box office smash Alien (1979) (one AA win, another AA nom) spawned Oscar-winning sequels, becoming a highly successful franchise for Fox. Julia (1977), starring Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave and Jason Robards earned a total of 11 Oscar nominations and three wins. The Towering Inferno (1974), with its all-star cast of Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, William Holden, Fred Astaire, Faye Dunaway and Richard Chamberlain, was a commercial hit, garnering 8 total Oscar nominations, and three wins. Academy Award-winning hit The Omen (1976), directed by Richard Donner and starring Gregory Peck, would prove lucrative to Fox for many years. Not only did successful sequels follow, Fox released a remake of the same name in 2006, which was an instant box-office sensation. Other noteworthy Fox releases Ladd guided through include: Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior (1980) (2 AA noms), Young Frankenstein (1974) (2 AA noms), Breaking Away (1979) (one AA win, another 4 AA noms), Norma Rae (1979) (2 AA wins, another 2 AA noms), The Boys from Brazil (1978) (3 AA noms), The Turning Point (1977) (11 AA noms), An Unmarried Woman (1978) (3 AA noms), All That Jazz (1979) (4 AA wins, another 5 AA noms), Silver Streak (1976) (AA nom), The Rose (1979) (4 AA noms), 9 to 5 (1980) (AA nom) and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), to name just a few. Under Ladd's reign, both Fox and its shareholders reaped great benefits: the studio's profits soared, and its stock went up a staggering 1600%.
Ladd made human rights history in the mid-1970s when he named Ashley Boone Fox's President of Marketing and Distribution.
Boone was the first African-American to achieve President status in Hollywood. (Ladd's and Boone's partnership would become a lasting one - Ladd later took Boone with him when he left Fox to form "The Ladd Company" and then run MGM.) Ladd's pioneering ways also extended to women in Hollywood's workforce. At the time Ladd held Fox's chair, plenty of studios employed female secretaries and assistants, but no other studio hired as many female executives as Fox under Ladd. Ladd believed in equality among the sexes and across racial lines. He always hired the best person for the job, blind to sex or race. His views and actions set the stage for other studio heads to follow suit, firmly establishing the human rights movement in Hollywood.
In 1979, Ladd decided to return to producing, and left Fox to form "The Ladd Company". Under this banner, Ladd won his first Best Picture Academy Award with Chariots of Fire (1981), which earned another 3 Oscar wins and 3 nominations. In this, Ladd's second incarnation as producer, The Ladd Company created such critical and box office successes as The Right Stuff (1983) (4 AA wins, another 4 AA noms), 'Ridley Scott (I)''s Blade Runner (1982) (2 AA noms), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), and the top-grossing "Police Academy" comedies. With the success of Night Shift (1980), Ladd again proved his ability to recognize and support young talent, in hiring directing newcomer Ron Howard and his producing partner Brian Grazer, who would go on to become one of the most powerful teams in Hollywood. Night Shift (1980) also launched the career of then-unknown Michael Keaton, who became a breakout star after the movie's release. Six years and many films later, Ladd was again tapped to run a studio-MGM/UA. He dissolved "The Ladd Company" and took over MGM/UA in 1985. As Chairman and CEO of the studio, Ladd continued the traditions of the hugely popular "Rocky" and "Poltergeist" franchises, releasing the box office smash Rocky IV (1985) and Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) (AA nom). Ladd was responsible for still more hits at MGM/UA: A Fish Called Wanda (1988) (one AA win, another 2 AA noms), Benny & Joon (1993), Moonstruck (1987) (3 AA wins, another 3 AA noms), Mel Brooks' Spaceballs (1987), Ron Howard's _Willow (1980)_ (2 AA noms) and _Thelma and Louise (1980)_ (one AA win, another 5 AA noms)-a film which put a young Brad Pitt on the map.
In 1993, Ladd left the executive suite for good, reestablishing "The Ladd Company" at Paramount Pictures. This alliance yielded even more successes for Ladd. He again took a chance on a promising filmmaker. Again, it paid off. Actor Mel Gibson's second directing effort, Braveheart (1995), became a critical and box-office success, earning 10 Academy Award nominations and 5 Oscar wins-including Best Director for Gibson and another Best Picture for Ladd.
The Ladd Company followed this smash with the high-grossing "Brady Bunch" movie franchise, and landed Leonardo DiCaprio in first post-Titanic (1997) film, The Man in the Iron Mask (1998). Ladd chose to move The Ladd Company off the Paramount lot six years later to continue producing his projects independently.
Even without the aid of a studio, Ladd continues to find success. In 2005, with Miramax, Ladd put together a star-studded cast for Oscar-nominated director Lasse Hallström's An Unfinished Life (2005), which starred Jennifer Lopez, Oscar-winner Morgan Freeman, and re-teamed Ladd with his one-time client, actor and Academy Award-winning director, Robert Redford.
Ladd just wrapped production on Gone Baby Gone (2007), the highly anticipated directorial debut of Academy Award-winner Ben Affleck. This Ladd Company film, starring Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris, is slated for a fall 2007 release.
Ladd's upcoming production slate includes the English drama The Story of 'The Tortoise & the Hare' (2002), and the historical Chinese epic A Dream of Red Mansions (2011), to star Ken Watanabe and Kate Hudson.
He found success as an agent, an independent producer and studio head. In addition to his extensive list of credits, Ladd stayed busy as a member of the Producer's Guild of America, the American Film Institute Second Decade Council, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He served on the Academy Board of Governors and received an honorary degree from the University of Southern California's School of Cinema Television, where he was instrumental in shaping the curriculum of the Critical Studies program.- IMDb Mini Biography By: The Ladd Company
- SpousesCindra Pincock(July 13, 1985 - March 2, 2022) (his death, 1 child)Patricia Ann Beazley(August 30, 1959 - November 10, 1982) (divorced, 3 children)
- Children
- Parents
- RelativesShane Ladd(Niece or Nephew)Jordan Ladd(Niece or Nephew)David Ladd(Half Sibling)Alana Ladd(Half Sibling)Alana Ladd Jackson(Half Sibling)
- Executive responsible for bringing George Lucas and Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) to Fox.
- His departure from Twentieth Century Fox cost the studio the opportunity to distribute the Indiana Jones films. The name "Indiana Jones" was inspired by a character named "Nevada Smith", played by Steve McQueen in the movie of the same name. The character first appeared, however, in The Carpetbaggers (1964), in which the role was played by Ladd's father, Alan Ladd.
- Ladd resigned as Chairman and CEO of Metro Goldwyn Mayer in 1993, when the studio's main lender, Credit Lyonnais, was displeased with the mounting debt problems that stemmed from Giancarlo Parretti's acquisition of the studio in 1990. Ladd was replaced by Frank Mancuso.
- Son of Marjorie Jane "Midge" Harrold and legendary actor Alan Ladd.
- I tried to get Braveheart (1995) off the ground when I was president of MGM and I had given it to Mel but he turned it down because of scheduling conflicts. When I departed MGM/UA, my separation agreement allowed me to take two projects with me. So I took Braveheart because I knew it was a good story and I admired Randall Wallace's scribe work so much.
The project went to the back-burner for awhile. Two-years later Mel gave me a call out-of-the-blue and said: 'That project Braveheart, what did you end up doing with it'? I told him 'nothing' and he replied: 'Well, I can't get it out of my mind, I keep thinking about it. Can we meet on it'? - I'm going to continue making films that interest me and are relevant. In the end, I just want to be remembered as a good guy who didn't screw anybody while I was in the business. I think it's better to be remembered as a decent person than just another moviemaker in the history of Hollywood.
- It's better to be remembered as a decent person than just another movie-maker in the history of Hollywood.
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