The son of 1940s and 50s film star Alan Ladd, this former talent agent and London-based independent producer ("Walking Stick" and "A Severed Head" in 1970, "Tam Lin" and "Villain" in 1971, and "X, Y & Zee" in 1972) joined 20th Century-Fox Pictures in 1973 in the creative affairs department, rising to studio head in only three years. The more notable Fox films under Ladd's directorship were "Star Wars" (1977), "An Unmarried Woman" and "Norma Rae" (both 1978) and "The Rose" (1979). In 1979, Ladd founded The Ladd Company, based at Warner Brothers, which co-produced such diverse fare as "Chariots
