Lata Ryan

RYAN, Lata Film producer, died July 19th of complications of Pancreatic Cancer after a hard fought 20-month battle. A native of Los Angeles, and daughter of legendary still photographer, Phil Stern, Lata began her career as an assistant producer in commercials. She segued into films as a production coordinator in 1979. Moving straight up, her film credits as coordinator included The Star Wars epics, Indiana Jones & the last Crusade, Back To the Futures 2 and 3, and The Color Purple. She had a natural curiosity for emerging technologies and studied them faithfully as they related to movies. Consequently, she was sought after for effects laden projects and enjoyed them immensely. In the mid 90's, with her career now elevated to associate then, executive producer, her credits included "Jurassic Park", "Grosse Point Blank", and the motion picture "X files". In 2005, one of her favorite producer assignments was the film adaptation of the Broadway musical "Rent", which gave her the opportunity to blend her love of dance, musical theater, and movies. Lata is survived by her husband, cinematographer Bob LaBonge, son, Sean Ryan, as well as her father, Phil, mother and stepfather, Rosemae and Din Luboviski, two brothers, Tom and Peter Stern, their wives, Bonnie and Lisa, and very special nieces and nephews: Courtney, Ashley, Dustin, Katie, Samantha, Tommy Jr. and Olivia. A memorial service will be held at 3:00 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 7, at the Wadsworth Theater, 11301 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. Donations can be made in Lata's name to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, 2141 Rosecrans Avenue, Suite 700, El Segundo, CA 90240. (877) 272-6226.