Award-Winning Gay Producer, Actor, Director Ash Christian Dead at 35

Christian was a beloved fixture of the independent film industry and the recipient of Emmy and Outfest awards.

Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.

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Neal Broverman

August 16 2020 2:56 PM EST

May 31 2023 5:47 PM EST

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Lauded producer, actor, director, and writer Ash Christian recently died in his sleep while vacationing in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

A native of Paris, Texas, Christian operated his own successful New York-based film production company, Cranium Entertainment. Cranium and Christian recently released the acclaimed AIDS drama 1985, directed by Yen Tan and starring Cory Michael Smith and Virginia Madsen. Christian also produced Hurricane Bianca, a 2016 film starring RuPaul's Drag Race winner Bianca Del Rio. At the time of his death, Christian had several other films in various stages of production starring high-profile actors like Lili Taylor, Dustin Hoffman, Fortune Feimster, Marissa Tomei, Gina Gershon, and Josh Hutcherson.

American Beauty actress Thora Birch, who starred in the 2019 film Kindred Spirits, which Christian co-produced, tweeted he was, "One of my very few truly wonderful friends. He was genuinely hilarious and to lose him is just... I can't even say."

Christian caught Hollywood's attention in 2006 with his independent film, Fat Girls, which he also wrote and co-starred in. The movie, co-starring Ashley Fink and Boys in the Band's Robin De Jesus, was a hit at Outfest, Los Angeles's LGBTQ+ film festival; Christian won the Outfest award for emerging talent.