Search by Name

Add a Memory

Send Flowers

Make a Donation

Share Obituary

Andrew Rork Getty

About

New York University University of Southern California

Andrew Getty Obituary

July 1, 1967 - April 1, 2015 ANDREW RORK GETTY was born in San Francisco on July 1, 1967 and passed away during the morning of April 1, 2015, in Los Angeles. He was a beloved son to Ann and Gordon Getty, and brother to Peter, John, William, Nicolette, Kendalle and Sarah Getty, as well as being cherished by numerous cousins, aunts and uncles. His passing leaves a painful void in the family for which he served at times as spokesman and chronicler. Andrew was born and raised in Northern California, and exhibited exceptional graphic talents from an early age. He attended grade school at Town School for Boys in San Francisco and went on to Dunn School in Los Olivos, from which he continued to pursue film studies at USC and then NYU, where he graduated in 1990. He then followed his passion to Hollywood, where he became a familiar presence on the film scene, working as actor, producer, director and prolific writer, specializing in what he fondly called "cheesy horror movies." Apart from his creative accomplishments, Andrew was a traveler and bon vivant, who could appear at one's side as if from nowhere at a party or in the front row of the most dangerous roller coaster in the Midwest, charming everyone with his vivid powers of recollection and description, his captivating stories and his engaging personality. He was also an outdoorsman, a conscientious environmentalist, and a diligent businessman and investor, whose irreplaceable loss will be felt sharply by us all. In lieu of flowers, it is asked that Andrew's memory be honored with donations to the World Wildlife Fund.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Los Angeles Times from Apr. 10 to Apr. 12, 2015.

Memories and Condolences
for Andrew Getty

Sponsored by anonymous.

15 Entries

Taylor W

February 4, 2024

Andrew I still miss you all the time... You were my only friend.

Sally O'Malley

December 10, 2015

The World According to ROARK

Roark Andrew Getty was an exceptionally talented man with an infectious sense of joy and childlike curiosity. He was intimately knowledgeable on a vast wealth of topics from Cinema to Astro Physics, electrical engineering to automotive design, and he relished the ironic and satirical dichotomies he found in life, love and humor ranging from Monty Python to South Park. He was a lover of women and had great taste in female fashion, though not a bit gay, which nowadays seems a rare breed. But he particularly loved to explore and ponder the female pysche which he found bemusing, bewildering and nonsensical. His idiosyncratic obsession was to debate logic over that which he found ludicrous. He was a great debater and he would never back down until he had changed each and every mind in his audience. Admittedly I would throw in the towel from time to time to eschew the arduous uphill debate at hand, pretending to be convinced, which only infuriated him more. He wanted no favors or charity when it came to conviction and lip service. He spoke his mind with fervent candor and expected his subjects to hold fast to their personal truths with equal conviction. But few armed opponents ever measured up, his passion so rare, his analytical skills so sharp and his perception far keener than 99.99% of the humans I've met in this lifetime. I have no doubt he was a genius, having won the genetic lottery in that category as well as a few others, most obviously his movie star good looks. He reminded me so much of young Orson Wells, so talented, so controversial, so admired and yet hated doubted, a target of jealousy. He had impeccable manners and was eloquent and kind to each and every of the everyday folks and service industry types he came across. He wasn't however, as charitable to his close friends, but that was his way of challenging us and helping us grow to learn patience. He was darling with children and demonstrated great patience when engaging with little minds. I am also reminded of Tesla when reaching to describe the kind of ingenuity and inventiveness he possessed. When he set out to write, direct, produce and design build by hand all the special effects in his legacy project, a film called Storyteller, it was the believable element and creep factor that fascinated him most. Evil Dead was his favorite film, but he had seen and studied just about every movie Hollywood ever produced. He had stacks of scripts he wrote on his desk at all times. It would infuriate him when Hollywood coped out and plagiarized already been made films. For example, when The Island came out he pashawed it and busted those cheaters for copying scene by scene a film made decades earlier (which he had in his personal library of over 7,000 films. Originality was how he measured quality. And each and every of his surreal, supremely crafted spooky scenes were just that when done and wrapped. Totally original. He preferred low tech or animatronics to Computer Graphic generated special effects. And in his studio workshop there was always a new creature he was designing, trial and error figuring out by himself all the the gears and functions necessary to animate a skeleton riding a bike. Or just the right color of beige rose paint to make fake flesh look real, when under black light. He never settled for good enough. Of course in his career he made many short films, and wrote even more scripts, cover to cover, several drafts of each, and each more concise yet astonishing than the last. My personal favorite was his James Bond script he entitled Shockratease. And I was astonished to see Spectre employing an uncannily similar thrill in it's opening scene. With a helicopter that lands in a building...and well, you'll have to buy the rights for the privilege of enjoying this delightful and thrilling Bond tale by a true Master of the art of entertainment, Andrew Roark Getty, friend, affection aficionado and an all-round all-time one of a kind funny guy.

Lisa Holmes

July 4, 2015

His originality won hearts.

Bob Ocean

June 27, 2015

He did it his way, was a really cool person to know.

John Murray

June 17, 2015

Rest in peace buddy

Eileen Donovan

June 17, 2015

Rest in peace.

Michael Berryman

June 15, 2015

We miss you our Brother. You were always quick to listen, with compassion and willing to assist those in need. Your brilliant wit was a joy to engage. Your imagination had no limits. 'Do not pontificate!' you would say. So I won't.

John Oconnor

June 13, 2015

Got to know him back in the day a bit. He was a brillant humble down to earth guy.
Drew you were well liked down here in florida with everyone you came in contact with.
U Are missed my man.
Hope to see u on the other side
joc

Sam Powers

April 21, 2015

Good times working with you on your films and producing them for you. Enjoyed your sense of humor, friendship and your passion to make movies.

April 19, 2015

Andrew, we shared great moments together. Your warmth and creative spirit is still alive in our hearts. Thank you for sharing your spirit with us...you are in our lives always, my friend. Michael Berryman...Patty Copeland

Anastasia Stevenson

April 17, 2015

I will always remember you with Love. Smiling and telling stories in your big bear voice! RIP Andrew. You will be missed.

April 13, 2015

Great friend and Pal, will be GREATLY Missed by all his Friends in Los Angeles.

Bob The Telephoneman.

Lisa Holmes

April 10, 2015

You will be missed.

Harland Stanley

April 10, 2015

I am so sorry to learn of Mr. Gettys' untimely passing. My prayers and thought are with his family at this time.

Robin Grider

April 9, 2015

I am so sorry to hear of the passing of Andrew. He seemed like a wonderful man, full of light and life. I never had the pleasure to meet him, but he was my age, and I grew up in San Francisco. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.

Showing 1 - 15 of 15 results