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Harmony Gold Founder Frank Agrama Passes Away

The official Twitter accounts for the Macross/Robotech franchise revealed on Wednesday that Harmony Gold founder Frank Agrama passed away peacefully at his home with family by his side on Wednesday. He was 93 years old.

There will be a small service for family.

Agrama was born on January 1, 1930 in Egypt. He studied medicine and surgery at the University of Cairo, and he became a medical doctor at 23 years old. 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 U.S. 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 (Macross) anime and almost all its sequel attempts. Through Harmony Gold, he also served as an executive producer for the company's English dubs for Dragon Ball, Space Pirate Captain Harlock, and Once Upon a Time anime. Harmony Gold USA also credits Agrama as one of two screenplay writers of the Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles sequel.

Beginning in 2006, he was involved in a case, which revolved around numerous non-Robotech-related Paramount properties that Agrama resold to 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 former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, he did not serve his three years in an Italian prison due to an amnesty law.

Big West, Studio Nue, and Harmony Gold USA announced in April 2021 that the companies agreed to allow the immediate distribution of most Macross television sequels and films. The companies agreed to cooperate on the distribution of future Macross and Robotech projects. The agreement also confirmed that Big West "will not oppose the Japanese release of an anticipated upcoming live-action Robotech film." Big West now handles the worldwide release of all works that are part of the Macross franchise made after 1987.

Sources: Macross franchise's Twitter account, Robotech franchise's Twitter account