Wednesday, Sep 19, 2007    Text size: 

Details of Roddick’s death have not been disclosed, but he reportedly passed away at his home in San Francisco.

Considered an up-and-coming new talent, Roddick was a Buckshot exclusive and had appeared in four movies for the COLT Studio Group line, as well as in one for COLT’s other imprint Olympus. Those titles include “Hard Studies,” “Boot Black Blues,” “Big Rig: Extended Cab Edition,” Olympus’ “Hostile” and, most recently, “Brotherhood.”

COLT Studio Group will donate a portion of sales of titles that feature Roddick to GLBT resource organization New Leaf.

The San Francisco-based nonprofit provides resources and services for the GLBT community including assistance with victims of substance abuse and HIV/AIDs, as well as for those in need of mental health services, children and youth resources and elder outreach.

Roddick starred also in AMG Brasil’s recent double-disc release “Amazônia: Capture” and “Amazônia: Release.”

The movie was shot over a two-week period in August in the Amazonian rainforest, where AMG Brasil owner Dennis Bell had a chance to form a friendship with Roddick, on-set.

Last week, AMG Brasil announced that it would be donating a portion of sales from the “Amazônia” set to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), earmarked for their Amazon Region Protected Area program (ARPA).

Today, Bell announced that those donations would now be made in memory of Roddick.

“Over those two weeks I learned that Danny Roddick and I shared the same love for Brazil, for all the same reasons — the natural beauty of the land and its people,” Bell said.

“He was as concerned about the protection of this environment as I am. For this reason, the donation to the WWF Amazon Region Protected Area which we are preparing from the sales of “Amazônia: Capture” and “Amazônia: Release,” will be made in Danny Roddick’s name. I know that he found peace in those days, and I am honored to have shared that experience with him,” Bell said.

“With his Portuguese heritage, he was ecstatic to have the opportunity to go to Brazil,” Bell said. “Danny spoke some Portuguese, and fell in love with the calm, sensual demeanor of the Brazilian people. During a day's work, he was like a little kid intrigued by each new discovery. He found beauty in everything there. I remember him carrying a banana leaf with a large butterfly chrysalis attached, so he could take pictures of it at the end of the day. His love of nature was obvious.”

For more information about New Leaf, visit their website.

Information about the WWF Amazon Region Protected Area program can be found at their website.