Alan Ladd Jr death: Oscar-winning producer who greenlit Star Wars dies at 84

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The Oscar-winning producer Alan Ladd Jr has died at the age of 84.

The news of his death was confirmed by his daughter Amanda Ladd-Jones in a Facebook post. She revealed that her father died at his Los Angeles home.

“With the heaviest of hearts, we announce that on 2 March 2022, Alan Ladd Jr died peacefully at home surrounded by his family,” Amanda wrote. “Words cannot express how deeply he will be missed. His impact on films and filmmaking will live on in his absence.”

The cause of how Ladd Jr died hasn’t been revealed.

The film industry executive started his career as an agent in 1963. In 1969, Ladd moved to London to produce, making nine films, including The Walking Stick, A Severed Head, Villain, and The Nightcomers.

He returned to the US in 1973 to become Head of Creative Affairs at 20th Century Fox. In August 1976, he was promoted from worldwide production head to president of Fox’s film division.

There, he greenlit George Lucas’s original script of Star Wars.

The film was a huge hit and was critically hailed upon release, becoming, up to that point, the highest-grossing film of all time, and spawned an extensive media franchise that includes many other films as well as television, radio, video game and print media.

Lucas once recalled his meeting with Ladd, whose faith in the filmmaker began with an early screening of his film series American Graffiti before it was released.

“The only reason it got off the ground was that Alan liked American Graffiti and said, ‘I don’t understand this movie, I don’t get it at all, but I think you’re a talented guy and I want you to make it,'" Lucas said in Tom Shone's 2004 book Blockbuster.

Star Wars wasn't the only classic sci-fi film Ladd greenlit at Fox. Ladd also backed Alien. But the same year that 1979 film opened, after clashing with Fox chairman Dennis Stanfill, Ladd left to form the independent production company Ladd Co.

On his own, Ladd produced, besides The Right Stuff and Blade Runner, films like Body Heat and Police Academy.

Additional reporting by AP