Curtis Hanson Suffered From Rare Illness, His Partner Reveals

Curtis Hanson, the “L.A. Confidential” filmmaker who died Tuesday at age 71, suffered from a rare illness that “ultimately precipitated his death of natural causes,” Hanson’s partner, producer Rebecca Yeldham, said Wednesday.

In a statement, Yeldham said that Hanson had been battling “a rare terminal condition known as Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD)” for some time.

“It is a distinctly different diagnosis than Alzheimer’s, with its own set of symptoms and challenges,” Yeldham added.

“We will be forever thankful that Curtis never suffered in the knowledge of his illness or prognosis,” Yeldham, whose credits include 2012’s Jack Kerouac adaptation “On the Road,” added.

According to the Association for Frontotemporal Deterioration, the condition “results in progressive damage to the temporal and/or frontal lobes of the brain” and “causes a group of brain disorders.”

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department told TheWrap that officers responded to Hanson’s home in the Hollywood Hills slightly before 5 p.m. on Tuesday, and determined that he died of natural causes.