Louie Lawless
Encyclopedia
Louie Lawless is a Canadian
film actor, documentary
director
, and Academy Award-nominated producer
. Born in British Columbia, he traveled to California at the age of 18 and soon found work as an actor in Hollywood. He soon began to become involved in the production of films and worked for over two decades in film production before returning to Canada in 1994. Since then he has been involved with Kevin Annett
in producing films that raise public awareness of the abuses of the Canadian Indian residential school system. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1973 for his work on Manson
and he won the Best Director award for a documentary at the 2006 New York International Independent Film and Video Festival
for his film Unrepentant.
and grew up in Bridesville on a wheat farm as the second of nine brothers and sisters. His family was Irish Catholic
. At the age of 18 he traveled to California
, arriving in San Francisco before moving to Hollywood in search of a career in film and television. He gained his first exposure to acting in a class taught by Estelle Harman
when he was 20 years old.
Lawless got his first acting job in the Mercy Otis Warren
play The Group, which ran for a full year. He then found work at Hollywood Center Studios
, first in the mail room, and then doing small production-related jobs on television shows such as The Beverly Hillbillies
, The A-Team
, Petticoat Junction
, Green Acres
, and Riptide
. At this time, he also began to become involved in feature films through a program with the Directors Guild of America
. With his production team, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1973 for his work on Manson
. He worked as the cinematographer
and associate producer under the pseudonym
Leo Rivers. After his nomination, he joined the Directors Guild of America as well as the Producers Guild of America
. While in Hollywood, he eventually began teaching acting and film production. His final movie as an actor was the lead role of Captain Lee Norsythe in the cult film
Planet of Dinosaurs
and his final American production was Abducted II: The Reunion in 1994. He returned to British Columbia that year.
in his native British Columbia on topics such as the Cowichan River
. After reading a book by Kevin Annett
on the abuses of the Canadian Indian residential school system, he decided to work with Annett on bringing the story to a wider audience by producing a documentary on the subject. They began working on the documentary in 2003. The film, Unrepentant: Kevin Annett and Canada's Genocide, won Lawless the award for Best Director of a documentary when it was screened in 2006 at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival
. Despite the favourable reception, Lawless and Arnett refused to show the film in Canada, but eventually acquiesced and showed it at select locations in the country.
In 2009 Lawless began shooting another production, this time a fictionalized feature film called The Diary, to further examine the situation of the First Nations
people under the residential school system. The new film focuses on the connection between the Government of Canada
and national corporations in attacking native culture. Since returning to Canada, he has also continued his career as a film teacher at the Victoria Motion Picture School.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
film actor, documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, and Academy Award-nominated producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
. Born in British Columbia, he traveled to California at the age of 18 and soon found work as an actor in Hollywood. He soon began to become involved in the production of films and worked for over two decades in film production before returning to Canada in 1994. Since then he has been involved with Kevin Annett
Kevin Annett
Kevin D. Annett is a Canadian writer and former minister of the United Church of Canada...
in producing films that raise public awareness of the abuses of the Canadian Indian residential school system. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1973 for his work on Manson
Manson (film)
Manson is a 1973 documentary film directed by Robert Hendrickson and Laurence Merrick. It deals with the "Manson family" and has many interviews with the members of the group, including Charles Manson, "Squeaky" Fromme, and Sandra Good...
and he won the Best Director award for a documentary at the 2006 New York International Independent Film and Video Festival
New York International Independent Film and Video Festival
New York International Independent Film and Video Festival is a film screening event in various American cities. It was founded in 1993, and its website claims it has been recognized by the film and entertainment industry as one of the leading film events on the independent festival circuit...
for his film Unrepentant.
Early life and career in the United States
Lawless was born in Penticton, British ColumbiaBritish Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
and grew up in Bridesville on a wheat farm as the second of nine brothers and sisters. His family was Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...
. At the age of 18 he traveled to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, arriving in San Francisco before moving to Hollywood in search of a career in film and television. He gained his first exposure to acting in a class taught by Estelle Harman
Estelle Harman
Estelle Harman was an acting coach in Los Angeles. She began as an acting instructor at UCLA in the 1950s, then was hired by Universal Studios as Head of Talent to groom their stable of film actors, which included Rock Hudson, Bill Bixby, Tony Curtis and Audie Murphy.As the contract years ended...
when he was 20 years old.
Lawless got his first acting job in the Mercy Otis Warren
Mercy Otis Warren
Mercy Otis Warren was a political writer and propagandist of the American Revolution. In the eighteenth century, topics such as politics and war were thought to be the province of men. Few women had the education or training to write about these subjects. Warren was the exception...
play The Group, which ran for a full year. He then found work at Hollywood Center Studios
Hollywood Center Studios
Hollywood Center Studios is a company based in Los Angeles, California that provides stage facilities to television and movie production companies. Its sound stages, located at 1040 N. Las Palmas Avenue in Hollywood, California, are steeped in Hollywood history...
, first in the mail room, and then doing small production-related jobs on television shows such as The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr....
, The A-Team
The A-Team
The A-Team is an American action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune, while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit". The A-Team was created by...
, Petticoat Junction
Petticoat Junction
Petticoat Junction is an American situation comedy produced by Filmways which originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1970. The series is one of three interrelated shows about rural characters created by Paul Henning; the others are The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres.The setting for the series...
, Green Acres
Green Acres
Green Acres is an American television series starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm...
, and Riptide
Riptide (TV series)
Riptide is a TV detective series that ran on NBC from 1983 to 1986, starring Perry King, Joe Penny, and Thom Bray. Riptide was created by Frank Lupo and Stephen J. Cannell, and produced by Stephen J. Cannell Productions. The main theme was composed by Mike Post and Pete Carpenter...
. At this time, he also began to become involved in feature films through a program with the Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America is an entertainment labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...
. With his production team, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1973 for his work on Manson
Manson (film)
Manson is a 1973 documentary film directed by Robert Hendrickson and Laurence Merrick. It deals with the "Manson family" and has many interviews with the members of the group, including Charles Manson, "Squeaky" Fromme, and Sandra Good...
. He worked as the cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
and associate producer under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Leo Rivers. After his nomination, he joined the Directors Guild of America as well as the Producers Guild of America
Producers Guild of America
Producers Guild of America is a trade organization representing television producers, film producers and New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 4,700 members of the producing establishment worldwide...
. While in Hollywood, he eventually began teaching acting and film production. His final movie as an actor was the lead role of Captain Lee Norsythe in the cult film
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
Planet of Dinosaurs
Planet of Dinosaurs
Planet of Dinosaurs is a 1978 science fiction film. Set in an unspecified future, the film follows the journey of Captain Lee and his crew after they crash land on a planet with similar life conditions as Earth, but millions of years behind in time...
and his final American production was Abducted II: The Reunion in 1994. He returned to British Columbia that year.
Career in Canada
Upon returning to Canada, Lawless began producing small, local documentariesDocumentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
in his native British Columbia on topics such as the Cowichan River
Cowichan River
The Cowichan River is a moderately sized river in British Columbia, Canada. It originates in Cowichan Lake, flowing east towards its end at Cowichan Bay. Its drainage basin is in size....
. After reading a book by Kevin Annett
Kevin Annett
Kevin D. Annett is a Canadian writer and former minister of the United Church of Canada...
on the abuses of the Canadian Indian residential school system, he decided to work with Annett on bringing the story to a wider audience by producing a documentary on the subject. They began working on the documentary in 2003. The film, Unrepentant: Kevin Annett and Canada's Genocide, won Lawless the award for Best Director of a documentary when it was screened in 2006 at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival
New York International Independent Film and Video Festival
New York International Independent Film and Video Festival is a film screening event in various American cities. It was founded in 1993, and its website claims it has been recognized by the film and entertainment industry as one of the leading film events on the independent festival circuit...
. Despite the favourable reception, Lawless and Arnett refused to show the film in Canada, but eventually acquiesced and showed it at select locations in the country.
In 2009 Lawless began shooting another production, this time a fictionalized feature film called The Diary, to further examine the situation of the First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
people under the residential school system. The new film focuses on the connection between the Government of Canada
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
and national corporations in attacking native culture. Since returning to Canada, he has also continued his career as a film teacher at the Victoria Motion Picture School.