Ash Christian, a Daytime Emmy-winning indie producer, is dead at 35. News broke over the weekend that the Fat Girls director, star and producer died on Thursday, August 13. He died in his sleep while vacationing in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. His representatives broke the news and no other details have emerged at the time of this writing.
Ash Christian broke on to the scene at 21 with Fat Girls and stuck around as an indie filmmaker and one who promoted LGBTQ films. Dallas Voice wrote a tribute to the actor, noting he had faced challenges as a gay filmmaker throughout his career. The writer, Arnold Wayne Jones, recalled how Christian had scouted for Fat Girls and planned locations for shooting in Waxahachie, Texas, only to have to start from scratch when local officials found out the subject matter of the film.
For years, Ash Christian was a voice on the indie filmmaking scene, often making movies on low budgets, some of which were award winners. He owned his own production company, Cranium Entertainment, to advance emerging voices and produce films like 1985 and others.
At the time of his death, Ash Christian was working on a slew of projects, which fit in with the prolific nature of his career. One of those was Big Bang Theory actress Mayim Bialik’s directorial debut As Sick As They Made Us, which was set to also feature her former co-star Simon Helberg. Dustin Hoffman and Candice Bergman were also attached.
Also in the works were other projects like Nightfall with Matt Bomer and Sam Worthington and Chick Fight with Alec Baldwin and Malin Akerman. Emma Fuhrmann, known in the MCU as Cassie Lang, and others who worked with Ash Christian over the years shared remembrances as news of his death broke.
The two had appeared together in the 2012 film The Magic of Belle Isle, in which Ash Christian acted. Morgan Freeman and Kenan Thompson also starred. This is a good example of how Christian was not only known as a producer and a director, but he also appeared in movies and films in an acting capacity. He notably had a stint on The Good Wife, appeared in Law & Order, and had a small role in Domino. He also had the lead role in his own film Fat Girls.
In another tribute, actress Thora Birch called her friend "hilarious," also sending her love and expressing how words can't even clarify how losing Ash Christian at such a young age feels.
Suffice to say, the Hollywood figure and Texas native did a lot in his short 35 years on Earth. Still, he’s gone far too soon. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends, as well as others whose lives he touched during this time.
