Theo Kingma, former Hollywood Foreign Press Association president, died March 21 in his Los Angeles home. He was 58.
Kingma’s death was confirmed to Variety by Kingma’s publicist. While a cause of death was not given, the obituary wrote that “he passed away unexpectedly.”
Vera Anderson, member of the Golden Globes Foundation Board, paid tribute to Kingma on Instagram, writing: “Still in shock, can’t believe you’re gone Theo Kingma, gone way too soon. Spent the morning tearfully sorting through almost 40 years of photos.”
Kingma served as HFPA president from 2013-2015, where he led discussions around the organization’s dispute with Dick Clark Productions. He also spearheaded the association participating in Comic-Con in San Diego, along with roundtable interviews featuring Lech Walesa, Julian Assange and Niki Lauda.
During the 2015 Golden Globes broadcast, Kingma spoke out in support of freedom of speech, saying: “The freedom of artistic expression… is a beacon across the globe… We stand united everywhere from North Korea to Paris.”
Years before he became involved with the HFPA, Kingma got his start in film as a projectionist in Amsterdam. He began working on-set as a production assistant on several Dutch films and Robert Altman’s “Vincent & Theo,” starring Tim Roth and Paul Rhys.
After moving to Hollywood in 1989, he became a correspondent for the Dutch magazine “Hitkrant” and joined the HFPA in 1992. Most recently, Kingma became CEO of the Film Expo Group in 2017, continued his photography career overseas and also continued voting for the Golden Globes after his tenure as president.
Kingma is survived by his mother, sister Tessa and niece Sveva.