The official Twitter accounts for the Macross/Robotech franchise have announced that Harmony Gold founder Frank Agrama passed away peacefully at his home with family by his side on April 25, 2023. He was 93 years old at the time of his passing.

Agrama was born on January 1, 1930 in Egypt. He studied medicine and surgery at the University of Cairo, and became a medical doctor at 23. He later received a Bachelor of Theater Arts degree at the University of California in Los Angeles. He moved back to the Middle East in 1964 to start up Lebanon’s movie industry. With his family, Agrama later relocated to Italy where he founded the Film Association of Rome. He returned to the United States after nine years in Italy.

Agrama founded Harmony Gold in 1983, and he served as chairman and CEO. His company handled production, acquisition, and distribution of international television programming. He was an executive producer of the 1985 Robotech anime and almost all its sequel attempts. Through Harmony Gold, he also served as an executive producer for the company’s English dubs for the Dragon Ball, Space Pirate Captain Harlock, and Once Upon a Time anime. Harmony Gold USA also credits Agrama as one of two screenplay writers for the Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles sequel.

Beginning in 2006, Agrama was involved in a case, which revolved around numerous non-Robotech-related Paramount properties that Agrama resold to former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s media company Fininvest. Agrama acted as a middleman, reselling Paramount properties to Berlusconi’s companies for broadcast in Italy. Although Agrama was found guilty of tax fraud in 2012 alongside Berlusconi, he did not serve his three years in an Italian prison due to an amnesty law.

Source: ANN

Advertisement