OBITUARIES

Beastie Boys' MCA & Film Distributor Adam Yauch Has Passed Away

by Ethan Anderton
May 4, 2012
Source: TMZ

It's pretty hard to have gone the past few decades without hearing the Beastie Boys. From tunes like Fight for Your Right to Intergalactic and more, their music has been all over the radio and various film soundtracks (including a somewhat controversial inclusion of the track Sabotage in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek reboot). That's why we're sad to hear from TMZ that the group's founding member Adam Yauch (better known as MCA) has passed away at 47-years old. You may not know it, but his contribution to the film world is quite substantial as he directs music videos and short films under the name Nathanial Hörnblowér.

Here's Adam Yauch's star-studded music video and short film Fight for Your Right (Revisited):

Notice the Oscilloscope Laboratories logo? That film distribution company was founded by Yauch, and while his contributions to feature films was fairly recent, he leaves behind a legacy of delivering great films to audiences who would have otherwise never seen them. Films released by Oscilloscope include the Academy Award-nominated documentaries The Garden and Exit Through the Gift Shop along with bold indies like The Messenger starring Woody Harrelson, We Need to Talk About Kevin with Tilda Swinton and the heartbreaking documentary Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son about his Father.

Yauch recently announced that he was being treated for a cancerous parotid gland and a lymph node, but it's not clear if his death is a result of his illness. Yauch had a spectacular musical career, and his recent work as a film distributor was great for indie films looking for a wider audience. Plus, if you can't tell from above, Yauch's work as Nathanial Hörnblowér showed his passion for filmmaking, especially on the music video front. The Beastie Boys were just recently inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and it's good that this kind of recognition came through before his tragic passing. He will be missed. Rest in peace.

Filed under Feat, Obituaries

From around the web: