Hugh O'Connor (March 12, 1924 - September 20, 1967) was a Canadian director and producer who worked for the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

(NFB). His best- known film is the ground-breaking '' In the Labyrinth'' (1967), but his promising career ended shortly after that film's release when he was murdered while filming in Kentucky. He was a father to two daughters and one son from two different marriages. His first wife was Kathleen Taylor, they were married in December 1952. They had their first daughter, Ann Kerin O’Connor, 9 months later. Their son, Mark Taylor O’Connor, four years later. After their divorce, he was married to Claire Nöel, and together they had a daughter, Sophie O’Connor.

Career

O'Connor joined the NFB in 1956 after, it is believed, working as a journalist. He was hired, by Tom Daly to head up the Science Film section of the NFB's Unit B. He began directly immediately, and began to be recognized as one of Canada's leading filmmakers. He was known for developing cutting-edge technology in his films, including the five-camera, five-screen film '' In the Labyrinth'', one of the highlights of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

's Expo 67. The film split elements across five screens and also combined them for a mosaic of a single image. This inspired Canadian filmmaker

Norman Jewison Norman Frederick Jewison (July 21, 1926 – January 20, 2024) was a Canadian filmmaker. He was known for directing films which addressed topical Social issue, social and political issues, often making controversial or complicated subjects acces ...

to apply similar techniques to '' The Thomas Crown Affair''. ''In the Labyrinth'' was the earliest inspiration for the revolutionary

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...

film format.

Death

In the late 1960s, journalists and filmmakers descended upon

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

to document the living conditions during the War on Poverty. This offended many residents, who objected to stereotyping and criticism by outsiders, as well as the tendency to show only the poor side of Appalachia. Unaware of the hostility toward outsiders, O'Connor went to the mountains of eastern Kentucky while working on a documentary called ''US'', which had been commissioned by the United States Department of Commerce to be shown at HemisFair '68 in

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

. It would depict life in the United States from early pioneering days to the present. On the afternoon of September 20, 1967, O'Connor and his crew had completed shooting and were driving back to their hotel when they spotted a coal miner, still covered in coal dust, sitting on his front porch with his baby on his lap. They stopped and asked the man if they could film him; he agreed and they set up their cameras. This man was a renter, and his house was owned by Hobart Isom, a man who owned many houses which were in particularly bad condition. When Isom found the crew on the property, he ordered them to leave. They packed up their gear and began to walk to their car. As they neared the car, Isom, using a 1904 .38-caliber

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (S&W) is an American Firearms manufacturer, firearm manufacturer headquartered in Maryville, Tennessee, United States. Smith & Wesson was founded by Horace Smith (inventor), Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson as the ...

revolver, took aim and fired four times, first at the camera and then at O'Connor. One bullet hit O'Connor in the chest and he died immediately. Isom eventually pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years in prison; he served one year. The entire incident was documented by Elizabeth Barret in her 2000 film '' Stranger with a Camera'', which aired on the PBS series '' P.O.V.''

Aftermath

O'Connor's murder was met with shock, horror and outrage. O'Connor's boss at the NFB, Colin Low was particularly surprised as O'Connor was always the "front man" for scouting locations, all over the world, as he had an engaging way of dealing with people. Due to the sensational nature of the case, much was written about the murder and the trial; very little was written about O'Connor and no obituary appears to have been published. It is known that he left behind a 14-year-old daughter, a 10-year-old son and his wife, Claire, who died four years after the death of her husband.

Filmography

All

*''The Winds of Weather'' - documentary short, 1957 - director, producer *''The Department Manager'' - documentary short, 1958 - director *'' Birth of a Giant'' - documentary short, ''Perspective'' series 1957 - writer, director *''Islands of the Frozen Sea'' - documentary short, ''Perspective'' series 1958 - producer, co-director with Dalton Muir and Strowan Robertson *''Evidence for the Crown'' - documentary short, 1958 - director *''Tales Out of School'' - short film, 1958 - director *''The Face of the High Arctic'' - documentary short, Dalton Muir 1958 - producer *''High Arctic: Life on the Land'' - documentary short, Dalton Muir 1958 - producer *''Radiation'' - documentary short, 1959 - director, producer *''Interview with Linus Pauling'' - documentary, Joe Koenig 1960 - producer *''Life in the Woodlot'' - documentary short, Dalton Muir 1960 - producer *''Life and Radiation'' - documentary short, 1960 - producer, director *''Above the Timberline: The Alpine Tundra Zone'' - documentary short, J.V. Durden 1960 - producer *''Microscopic Fungi'' - documentary short, J.V. Durden 1960 - producer *''Trout Stream'' - documentary short, 1961 - producer, director *''Snow'' - documentary short, Barrie McLean 1961 - producer *''Above the Horizon'' - documentary short, 1964 - co-director, co-producer with Roman Kroitor *''The Edge of the Barrens'' - documentary short, Dalton Muir 1964 - producer *''The Persistent Seed'' - documentary short,

Christopher Chapman Christopher Chapman (January 24, 1927October 24, 2015) was a Canadian film writer, director, editor and cinematographer. Best known for his award-winning 1967 short film ''A Place to Stand (film), A Place to Stand'', he also pioneered the multi- ...

1964 - producer *''Magic Molecule'' - documentary short, 1964 - co-director with

*''Paul-Émile Borduas'' - documentary short, Jacques Godbout 1964 - co-producer with Fernand Dansereau *''Ethiopian Mosaic'' - documentary short, 1967 - co-producer, co-director with Desmond Dew *'' In the Labyrinth'' - short film, 1967 - co-director with Roman Kroitor and Colin Low

Awards

''Islands of the Frozen Sea'' (1958) * ''Scholastic Teacher Magazine'' Annual Film Awards: Award of Merit, 1958 ''Radiation'' (1959) * 12th Canadian Film Awards,

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

: Certificate of Merit, Training and Instruction, 1960Maria Topalovich, ''And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards''. Stoddart Publishing, 2000. . ''Microscopic Fungi'' (1960) * International Exhibition of Scientific Film,

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

: Diploma of Honor, 1964 ''Life in the Woodlot'' (1960) * Salerno Film Festival, Salerno, Italy: Silver Cup of the Province of Salerno, 1961 * 13th Canadian Film Awards, Toronto: Best Film, Films for Children, 1961 ''Above the Horizon'' (1964) * Electronic, Nuclear and Teleradio Cinematographic Review,

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

: Best Film in the Scientific Category, 1970 * International Survey of Scientific and Didactic Films,

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

, Italy: First Prize, Didactic Films * Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS),

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

: Orbit Award, 1966 * 18th Canadian Film Awards,

: Best Film for Children, 1966 * International Scientific Film Festival,

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, France: Honorable Mention for Popularization of a Scientific Subject, 1969 * International Exhibition of Scientific Film,

: Diploma of Honor, 1966 ''Magic Molecule'' (1964) * Columbus International Film & Animation Festival,

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

: Chris Award, Business and Industry 1964 *

Yorkton Film Festival Yorkton Film Festival (YFF) is an annual film festival held in late May in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada. In 1947, the Yorkton Film Council (YFC) was founded and in 1950 the first international documentary film festival officially opened in we ...

Yorkton Yorkton is a city located in south-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is about north-west of Winnipeg and south-east of Saskatoon and is the sixth largest city in the province. Yorkton was founded in 1882 and incorporated as a city in 1928. ...

, Saskatchewan: Special Award, Industry, 1964 * Victoria Film Festival,

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

: Best Industrial Film, 1964 * Festival of Technical and Scientific Films,

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

: Second Prize, Documentary, 1964 * La Plata International Children's Film Festival,

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. According to the 2022 Argentina census, census, the La Plata Partido, Partido has a population of 772,618 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 938,287 inhabit ...

, Argentina: Silver Medal, 1966 * BFI London Film Festival, London: Third Prize, Industry, 1964 * International Labour and Industrial Film Festival, Antwerp: Diploma of Merit, Industrial or Technical Information Films, 1964 ''The Edge of the Barrens'' (1964) *

, Saskatchewan: Golden Sheaf Award for Best Film of the Festival, 1964 *

, Saskatchewan: First Prize, Natural History, 1964 *

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

: Second Prize, Children's Films, 1964 * Weyburn Film Festival, Weyburn, Saskatchewan: First Prize, 1965 * International Exhibition of Scientific Film,

: Special Mention, 1966

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:O'Connor, Hugh 1924 births 1967 deaths People murdered in 1967 Canadian documentary film directors Canadian people murdered abroad Deaths by firearm in Kentucky Murdered Canadian journalists National Film Board of Canada people People murdered in Kentucky Scottish emigrants to Canada