Robert Charles Hunter, Former PepsiCo CEO and Diane Ladd’s Husband, Dies at 77

Robert Charles Hunter, former CEO of PepsiCo Food Systems, author and the third husband of three-time Oscar-nominated actress Diane Ladd, has died. He was 77.

Charles died Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas, while visiting his children, his family announced. 

Hunter worked at PepsiCo (home of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell & KFC restaurants) for 23 years, serving as CEO for 11 of those.

He and Ladd co-founded Ojai-based Exxcell Entertainment in 1999 — they were married in February of that year — to produce films. Later, he played Detective Hutchinson in David Lynch’s 2006 thriller Inland Empire, which featured Ladd and her daughter, Oscar-winning actress Laura Dern.

Born in Germany on April 2, 1948, Hunter also wrote the 2008 novel Curious Journey: Origins and a 2011 follow-up, Curious Journey: Energy, which “tapped into his intellect and curiosity about the world,” his family said. 

“Robert always loved Texas,” they added. “The wide skies, the bold spirit and the warmth of Fort Worth were part of his soul. Returning home brought him peace and joy — a feeling he often described as ‘like coming back to the rhythm of my heart.’”

Hunter and Ladd first met in Sedona, Arizona. She wrote in her 2023 memoir that he was there for self-introspection as he had been divorced two years at the time and had retired at age 50.

In addition to his wife and stepdaughter, survivors include his children, Brandon, Amy and Emily, and his 10 grandchildren. 

Ladd, 89, earned her Academy Award nominations for her turns in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974), Lynch’s Wild at Heart (1990) and Rambling Rose (1991).

She was also married to two-time Oscar-nominated actor Bruce Dern from 1960-69 and to businessman William Shea Jr. from 1973-76.