I am sorry to have to report that Ladd McPartland passed away last week. Apparently he died unexpectedly in his sleep from causes that are still being determined.
Ladd was one of the nicest human beings that I have ever met. He ran editorial at deGraf/Wahrman and then went on to the same thing at Sony Imageworks and ILM. He lived in Darwin, a ghost town in California that he and several other people occupied.
His brother Tim McPartland wrote the following obituary for Ladd:
Ladd McPartland was born on March 29, 1951 to John and Eleanor McPartland. He died peacefully in his sleep on December 20, 2014. Ladd was highly creative as a photographer, filmmaker and in the way he crafted his own life.
After graduating from Pacific Grove High School in 1969, he attended UCLA Film School where he earned his Bachelors Degree in 1973. Many years later, Ladd completed coursework and projects to earn his Masters Degree in Film. As an undergraduate, he directed, shot and edited a student film entitled “Stillborn” that was screened worldwide, including at the Cannes Film Festival. and earned him respect and recognition among the creative community.
Ladd also worked extensively in the film industry as an editor and visual effects artist. At Industrial Light and Magic and Sony Imageworks, he contributed to films including Star Trek: First Contact, Look Who’s Talking Now, Speed 2: Cruise Control, Jetsons: The Movie and many other theatrical features. Ladd was for many years the editor of the prestigious SIGGRAPH conference on computer graphics. He later was videographer for the Institute of Noetic Science in Petaluma.
Ladd was beloved for his wry sense of humor and charmingly quirky approach to life. From early childhood, his uniquely creative sensibility astonished and amazed all who knew him and he remained true to his own vision of life until his untimely passing. Ladd is survived by his brothers Tam, Tip and Tor McPartland and his sister Jan. His ashes will be scattered in his adopted home, Sebastopol, California.
I am not sure when this picture was taken, but I would guess it might have been when he was attending UCLA.
Apparently the audio from the memorial service was recorded and can be found at:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/nyvs1b62j0kvw4r/LaddMemorial.wav?dl=0Darwin, Ca on Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin,_California
Hey there,
ReplyDeleteWe are looking at Ladd's work, and that photo of him is AMAZING! Where did it come from? Do you happen to have any contact info for his estate?
Kerry Colonna is in touch with the family, I believe. If you send me your email at michael dot wahrman at gmail dot com, I will give you the contact information for Kerry and you can take it from there. The picture came from Kerry who was Ladd's roommate at UCLA film school.
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