Disney Legend Behind 'Freaky Friday' and 'Cruella' Dies Aged 58 After Two-Year Battle with ALS
Disney legend Andrew Gunn, who was behind hits including 'Freaky Friday', has passed away aged 58 after a battle with ALS.
March 4 2026, Published 10:46 a.m. ET
Legendary Disney producer Andrew Gunn has passed away aged 58 following a battle with ALS.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the filmmaker, behind hits including Freaky Friday, The Haunted Mansion and Cruella, was diagnosed with the neurological degenerative disorder in 2024.
Gunn's Death Announcement
On Monday, Gunn's family confirmed he died at home in Toronto, Canada, surrounded by loved ones.
In a touching tribute, film writer Blaise Hemingway wrote on Instagram: "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 Writers' 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.
Legendary Mentor Inspired Generations
Gunn was described as a 'godfather' to filmmakers.
"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."
He is survived by his wife Jane, and his children Isabelle and Connor.
Shawn Ryan, a producer and writer known for The Shield, The Night Agent, and S.W.A.T., also paid tribute, writing: "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."
ALS is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease and is a motor neuron disease.
It causes the nerve cells to stop working and die.
The muscles become weak, leading to paralysis.
Less than 30,000 people in the United States have ALS.
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Eric Dane died of respiratory failure following a one-year battle with ALS.
It’s the same illness that claimed the life of Grey's Anatomy star Eric Dane, who died last week aged 53.
Gunn established the Disney Writers Program, where he selected and worked with five unproduced screenwriters every year.
This helped launch the careers of David Berenbaum (Elf, Haunted Mansion), Matt Lopez (2022’s Father of the Bride), and David DiGilio, who co-created The Terminal List.
He was described as a born storyteller by Erin Westerman, Lionsgate’s current president of motion picture group.
Gunn was the "softest, gooiest man on the inside," she added.
