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Disney producer Andrew Gunn has passed away at the age of 58 after a battle with ALS.
The producer, who worked on the likes of Freaky Friday and Cruella, passed away in his home in Toronto, his family announced on Monday.
Andrew was diagnosed with the neurological disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Motor Neuron Disease (MND), in 2024.
He is survived by his children, his wife Jane Bellamy Gunn, mother Anne Gunn, and siblings Hilary Knight, Graeme Gunn and Cameron Gunn.
Film writer Blaise Hemingway shared a touching tribute to Andrew as posted a picture of him on Instagram on Tuesday.
He wrote: ‘Andrew Gunn took a chance on a very green 29 year old from nowhere and gave him a screenwriting career and more than that…a family in my adopted city.
‘In 2007, Andrew (along with Ann Marie Sanderlin and Amy Stenftenagel) read a script of mine and championed it (and me) to get me into the Disney Writer’s Program. It changed my life in every conceivable way. It shaped me into a complete writer.
‘And—most importantly—on that third floor hallway of offices I shared with Andrew for 3+ years, I made the best friends in the goddamned world, who all became my family.
‘Andrew fostered a fraternity of writers who did EVERYTHING together. Lunches, Friday movies, happy hours at Mo’s, kid’s birthday parties. Alongside Andrew, we rewrote, roundtabled, did triage on productions in crisis…you name it. It was crazy, unhinged, and so f***ing fun.
‘And despite the leather jackets and tattoos, Andrew was a softy who got a kick out of his writers’ knuckle-headed antics. He was a great mentor.’
Blaise added: ‘Andrew Gunn’s legacy will go far beyond the movies he made; he’s the “godfather” to more writers, producers, directors, and executives than I can count. So many of us owe our careers to Andrew Gunn.
‘My heart goes out to Andrew’s kids, Isabelle and Connor and his wife Jane, as well as the hundreds of people who loved him and who got work alongside him.
‘Rest in peace, buddy. Thank you for everything.’
Kristin Burr, who also worked at Disney as a producer, commented on Blaise’s post, writing: ‘Love this tribute Blaise.
‘It was so great that you all came to visit the FREAKIER set. ❤️’
Meanwhile The Shield producer Shawn Ryan shared on X, formerly Twitter: ‘Grieving the loss of our longtime family friend Andrew Gunn.
‘This is the second friend (after Shield producer Scott Brazil) who I’ve lost to ALS, a truly horrific disease.
‘My kids grew up very close to Andrew’s kids and I feel deeply for them all today.’
Elsewhere Tendo Nagenda, another Disney producer, who worked on The Haunted Mansion and Mulan, said: ‘A legend. a legendary loss. May he rest in peace.’
Motor Neurone Disease (ALS): No known cure and half of sufferers live just three years after diagnosis
History
The NHS describes motor neurone disease (MND) as: ‘An uncommon condition that affects the brain and nerves. It causes weakness that gets worse over time.’
The weakness is caused by the deterioration of motor neurons, upper motor neurons that travel from the brain down the spinal cord, and lower motor neurons that spread out to the face, throat and limbs.
It was first discovered in 1865 by a French neurologist, Jean-Martin Charcot, hence why MND is sometimes known as Charcot’s disease.
In the UK, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is referred to as Motor Neurone Disease, while in the US, ALS is referred to as a specific subset of MND, which is defined as a group of neurological disorders.
However, according to Oxford University Hospitals: ‘Nearly 90 per cent of patients with MND have the mixed ALS form of the disease, so that the terms MND and ALS are commonly used to mean the same thing.’
Symptoms
Weakness in the ankle or leg, which may manifest itself with trips or difficulty ascending stairs, and a weakness in the ability to grip things.
Slurred speech is an early symptom and may later worsen to include difficulty swallowing food.
Muscle cramps or twitches are also a symptom, as is weight loss due to leg and arm muscles growing thinner over time.
Diagnosis
MND is difficult to diagnose in its early stages because several conditions may cause similar symptoms. There is also no one test used to ascertain its presence.
However, the disease is usually diagnosed through a process of exclusion, whereby diseases that manifest similar symptoms to ALS are excluded.
Treatment
There is no cure for MND and the disease is fatal, however the disease progresses at different speeds in patients.
People with MND are expected to live two to five years after the symptoms first manifest, although 10 per cent of sufferers live at least 10 years.
Causes
The NHS says that MND is an ‘uncommon condition’ that predominantly affects older people. However, it caveats that it can affect adults of any age.
The NHS says that, as of yet, ‘it is not yet known why’ the disease happens. The ALS Association says that MND occurs throughout the world ‘with no racial, ethnic or socioeconomic boundaries and can affect anyone’.
It says that war veterans are twice as likely to develop ALS and that men are 20 per cent more likely to get it.
Lou Gehrig’s Disease
As well as being known as ALS and Charcot’s disease, MND is frequently referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Lou Gehrig was a hugely popular baseball player, who played for the New York Yankees between 1923 and 1939.
He was famous for his strength and was nicknamed ‘The Iron Horse’.
His strength, popularity and fame transcended the sport of baseball and the condition adopted the name of the sportsman.
He died two years after his diagnosis.
