Louie Edward Lawless is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

film actor, documentary

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

, and

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-nominated producer. Born in British Columbia, he traveled to California at the age of 18 and found work as an actor in Hollywood. He eventually became 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 In Canada, the Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by Christian churches. The school sy ...

. He was nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

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: Kevin Annett and Canada's Genocide''.

Early life and career in the United States

Lawless was born in

Penticton Penticton ( ) is a city in the Okanagan Valley of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan and Skaha lakes. In the 2016 Canadian Census, its population was 33,761, while its census agglomeration The ce ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

and grew up in Bridesville on a wheat farm as the second of nine brothers and sisters. His family was

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the British ...

. At the age of 18 he traveled to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, arriving in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

before moving to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * 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 (September 11, 1922 – April 30, 1995) was an American acting coach in Los Angeles. Biography Harman began as an acting instructor at UCLA in the 1950s, then was hired by Universal Studios as Head of Talent to groom their st ...

when he was 20 years old. Lawless got his first acting job in the

Mercy Otis Warren Mercy Otis Warren (September 14, eptember 25, New Style1728 – October 19, 1814) was an American activist poet, playwright, and pamphleteer during the American Revolution. During the years before the Revolution, she had published poems and pla ...

play ''

The Group The Group may refer to: Film and television * ''The Group'' (Australian TV series), 1971 situation comedy produced by Cash Harmon Television for ATN7 * ''The Group'' (Canadian TV series), 1968–70 music variety on CBC Television * ''The Group ...

'', which ran for a full year. He then found work at

Hollywood Center Studios Sunset Las Palmas Studios, formerly General Service Studios and Hollywood Center Studios, is an American independent entertainment production lot located at 1040 North Las Palmas Avenue in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, providing stage facil ...

, first in the mail room, and then doing small production-related jobs on television shows such as ''

The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor, backwoods family from ...

'', ''

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court marti ...

'', ''

Petticoat Junction ''Petticoat Junction'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from September 1963 to April 1970. The series takes place at the Shady Rest Hotel, which is run by Kate Bradley; her three daughters Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo, and B ...

'', ''

Green Acres ''Green Acres'' is an American television sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm. Produced by Filmways as a sister show to ''Petticoat Junction'', the series was first broadcast on ...

'', and ''

Riptide A rip tide, or riptide, is a strong offshore current that is caused by the tide pulling water through an inlet along a barrier beach, at a lagoon or inland marina where tide water flows steadily out to sea during ebb tide. It is a strong tidal flo ...

''. At this time, he also became involved in feature films through a program with the

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...

. With his production team, he was nominated for an

in 1973 for his work on '' Manson''. He worked as the

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

and associate producer under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Leo Rivers. After his nomination, he joined the Directors Guild of America as well as the

Producers Guild of America The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing television producers, film producers and New media, New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 8,000 members of the producing esta ...

. 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 A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage ...

'' Planet of Dinosaurs'' 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 local

documentaries A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...

in his native British Columbia on topics such as the

Cowichan River The Cowichan River is a Canadian Heritage River on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. Its headwater is Cowichan Lake. The river flows east over Skutz Falls and through Marie Canyon towards its mouth at Cowichan Bay. The river's d ...

. After reading a book by Kevin Annett on the abuses of the

, 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 favorable reception, Lawless and Annett 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 or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

people under the residential school system. The new film focuses on the connection between the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

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. In 2013, Louie produced a documentary called ''Behind The Red Serge'' that exposes Canada's iconic police force the RCMP for its illegal and immoral actions in the workplace.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawless, Louie 1942 births Living people Canadian documentary film producers Canadian male film actors Film producers from British Columbia Canadian expatriate male actors in the United States People from Penticton Male actors from British Columbia Canadian documentary film directors