Ringan Ledwidge, one of the UK's greatest exponents of commercial direction, has tragically lost his life at the age of 50.

Ledwidge died at his home in Los Angeles on Wednesday (November 10th). Rattling Stick, the company that he co-founded, have released an announcement, commenting: “It is with a very heavy heart we have to announce that our beloved Ringan passed away in his sleep. Cancer has taken him from us, and we already miss him dearly. No one will ever come close to the legend that he is.

"We could sit here and write up all the accolades he has won, or go into the magic he added to everything he touched, but that doesn’t feel right just now. Anyone that knew Ringan knew what a special, wonderful man he was. He will never be forgotten, and the industry has just lost one of its best.”

Prolific as well as versatile, Ledwidge's superbly-crafted work and, above all, his storytelling abilities, ensured that he won numerous awards and accolades through his career - as did Rattling Stick, the company he co-founded with director Danny Kleinman and producer Johnnie Frankel in London in 2006. His reel includes iconic commercials such as The Guardian’s Three Little Pigs, the epic 2014 WWI-inspired Sainsbury’s Christmas campaign, the harrowing Barnardo’s campaign Life Story, comedic Nike football ad Winner Stays On, and recently, the absurdist Clowns for Audi.

A highly respected and popular figure, news of his passing on Wednesday has sent a wave of grief throughout the UK and US production and advertising communities, many in attendance at the Ciclope Festival in Berlin.

Graduating from Ravensbourne in graphic design in the Nineties, Ledwidge was a photojournalist working in the Middle East before he returned to London and started working in advertising, firstly as a photographer and then as a director.   

In the early part of his directing career he was also a prolific director of music videos, including several promos for Travis and the acclaimed 'golf sale' sign video for Elbow's One Day Like This. He returned to music videos in 2016 to make his final promo, for Massive Attack ft Young Fathers' Voodoo In My Blood, starring Rosamund Pike. Among its numerous accolades, the video won Best Music Video at the 2016 Camerimage Festival.