Mr. Fred Ladd has passed away

Hi all,

I'm sad to report the passing of Mr. Fred Ladd. He died on August 3rd at the age of 94.

More can and should be said about him than I can possibly write down. He was instrumental in bringing Japanese animation to North America. With series like Astro Boy, Kimba, the White Lion and Gigantor, he helped change entertainment in the 1960s. Of course, he also created G-Force in 1986, which has brought many fans here.

In person, Fred was a very nice, generous, trusting and funny man. He was the special guest at our first GatchaCon at the 1997 San Diego Comic-Con. He had nothing to promote, or any real reason to come down from Los Angeles other than to talk with fans. He had no idea what he'd be coming into, but he didn't hesitate for a second to say "yes."

That was back when it was still possible for smaller fan groups to arrange panel discussions there! He spent an hour educating the audience about the history of G-Force, which might have been one of the first places he ever discussed the series at length. It was a great time.

I know he enjoyed himself because he came back to the Comic-Con multiple times afterward on his own or with his son. He always made time to come by to meet the Gatchaman group and see how we were doing. He never, ever seemed to forget a name either. If someone wasn't there, he'd always ask where they were, and how they were doing.

He was a fun one, and always the center of attention wherever he was (in a good way). it's largely because of him that so many of us are here to meet and talk about animation today. If you want to read Mr. Ladd's story in his own words, he released a book through McFarland Publishing about his life, entitled :
Astro Boy and Anime Come to the Americas




Mr. Fred Ladd at the 1997 San Diego Comic-Con, discussing G-Force



Mr. Ladd and his wife, Eileen, with GatchaCon '97 attendees



Mr. Ladd had a blast with two costumed GatchaCon '00 attendees


I'm grateful to have met him and to have been able to spend some time with him. My deepest thoughts go out to his son and daughter.

The Other Jason
www.battleoftheplanets.info
www.battleoftheplanets.info/cnc