Scott and Jean Adam, the two American missionaries killed following their kidnapping by Somali pirates, had ties to the entertaiment industry.
Before retiring and enrolling in seminary, Adam was a unit production manager and second unit director. Among his credits were “The Goonies,” “The Dukes of Hazzard” and “The Love Boat,” as well as several television movies.
“He was a very, very gentle person. It’s shocking. That’s consistent with his work related to the Bible. I hadn't talked to him in 15 years, but he was a kind person and wouldn’t hurt a fly,” Phil Kleinbart, a partner at Robert Greenwald Productions who worked with Adam on television movies in the late eighties and early nineties, told TheWrap.
The couple, devout Christians who had been living on their yacht since 2004, were shot during a standoff between the pirates and the U.S. Navy.
During their travels, they reportedly handed out Bibles.
"[Adam] was sailing around the world and serving God, two of his passions," Professor Robert K. Johnston of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena told The Associated Press.
Their friends, Seattle-based couple Phyllis Mackay and Bob Riggle, were also killed. Two pirates were killed and 13 others were captured.
The couple had been traveling off the coast of Oman when they were attacked by pirates on Friday afternoon. The navy had been trailing the boat and negotiating with the pirates since Saturday, according to the New York TImes.
The killings reportedly happened on Tuesday after a pirate shot a rocket-propelled grenade and gunshots were heard on board. Navy SEALs subsequently attempted to board the Adams' yacht and a gun battle took place.
