Louis Theroux
| Louis Theroux | |
|---|---|
 Louis Theroux, 2009 |
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| Born | Louis Sebastian Theroux 20 May 1970 Singapore |
| Residence | Harlesden, London, United Kingdom |
| Education | Modern history (1st) |
| Alma mater | Magdalen College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Broadcaster |
| Known for | Documentaries Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends When Louis Met… |
| Religion | None (atheist) |
| Partner | Nancy Strang[1] |
| Children | 2[1] |
| Parents | Paul Theroux, Anne Castle |
| Relatives | Marcel Theroux (brother) Alexander Theroux (uncle) Justin Theroux (cousin) |
| Website | |
| www.louistheroux.com | |
Louis Sebastian Theroux (pronounced /θəˈruː/ loo-ee thə-roo;[2] born 20 May 1970) is an English broadcaster best known for his Gonzo style journalism[3] on the television series Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends and When Louis Met.... His career started off in journalism and bears influences of notable writers in his family such as his father, Paul Theroux and brother Marcel Theroux. He currently works with BBC producing his documentaries and popular TV series.
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[edit] Early life and career
Theroux is the youngest son of the American travel writer and novelist Paul Theroux.[4] His mother, Anne Castle, was Paul's first British wife. His elder brother is the writer and television presenter Marcel Theroux.[1] He is the cousin of American actor Justin Theroux. He moved to the UK when he was four, and was brought up in London.
Theroux was educated for a couple of years at Allfarthing school then moved to Westminster School (where he was a friend and contemporary of the comedians Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish). Another of his contemporaries was Liberal Democrat politician, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg with whom he travelled to America.[5] He then went to Magdalen College, Oxford where he gained a first class degree in modern history and was noted for his film reviews for the Grapevine magazine.
His first journalism job was at Metro Silicon Valley, an alternative free weekly newspaper in San Jose, California. In 1992 he was hired as a writer for Spy magazine. He was also working as a correspondent on Michael Moore's TV Nation series, for which he provided segments on off-beat cultural subjects, including Avon ladies in the Amazon, the Jerusalem syndrome, and the attempts by the Ku Klux Klan to rebrand itself as a civil rights group for white people. When TV Nation ended he was signed to a development deal by the BBC, out of which came Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends. He has guest-written for a number of publications including Hip-Hop Connection and he continues to write for The Idler.
[edit] Documentaries
[edit] Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends
In Weird Weekends (1998–2000), Theroux followed marginal, mostly American subcultures like survivalists, Black nationalists, White supremacists and porn stars, often by living among or close to the people involved. Often, his documentary method subtly exposed the contradictions or farcical elements of some seriously held beliefs. Theroux himself describes the aim of the series as
| “ | Setting out to discover the genuinely odd in the most ordinary setting. To me, it's almost a privilege to be welcomed into these communities and to shine a light on them and, maybe, through my enthusiasm, to get people to reveal more of themselves than they may have intended. The show is laughing at me, adrift in their world, as much as at them. I don't have to play up that stuff. I'm not a matinee idol disguised as a nerd. | ” |
Despite much call for a complete DVD set of Weird Weekends only selected episodes have ever been available for purchase.
[edit] When Louis Met...
In When Louis Met... (2000–02), Theroux accompanied a different British celebrity in each programme as they went about their day-to-day business, interviewing them about their lives and experiences as he did so. His episode about the DJ and charity fundraiser Sir Jimmy Savile When Louis Met Jimmy was voted one of the top fifty documentaries of all time in a survey by Britain's Channel 4. In When Louis Met the Hamiltons, the disgraced Tory MP Neil Hamilton and his wife Christine were arrested following false allegations of indecent assault during the course of filming. In When Louis Met Max Clifford, Max Clifford tried to set Louis up. However, it backfired when Max Clifford was caught lying, as the crew was still recording his live microphone during a conversation. After this celebrity series concluded, a retrospective was aired, called Life with Louis. He was meant to do a similar programme with Michael Jackson before Martin Bashir completed his documentary for ITV, but it was cancelled.[citation needed]
Selected episodes of When Louis Met... were included as bonus content on a Best-Of collection of Weird Weekends. The entire series has never been released on DVD.
[edit] BBC Two specials
In these special programmes, beginning in 2003, Theroux returned to American themes, working at feature-length, this time with a more natural tone. In March 2006, he signed a new deal with the BBC to make 10 films over the course of three years.[6] Subjects for the specials include criminal gangs in Lagos, Neo-Nazis in America, ultra-Zionists in Israel and child psychiatry. A 2007 special, The Most Hated Family in America, received strong critical praise from the international media.
[edit] Books
His first book, The Call of the Weird: Travels in American Subcultures, was published in Britain in 2005. In this book, Theroux returns to America to find out what has happened in the lives of some of the people he featured in his television programmes since he last saw them.[1]
[edit] Personal life
He lives in the London district of Harlesden with his partner, Nancy Strang, a TV director, and his two sons.[7][1]
[edit] Awards and nominations
- Nominated: Outstanding Informational Series for TV Nation
British Academy Television Awards 2001:
- Won: Richard Dimbleby Award for the Best Presenter (Factual, Features and News) for Weird Weekends
2002 Royal Television Society:
- Nominated: Best Presenter for When Louis Met…
British Academy Television Awards 2002:
- Won: Richard Dimbleby Award for the Best Presenter (Factual, Features and News) for When Louis Met…
- Nominated: Flaherty Documentary Award for When Louis Met the Hamiltons
Journalists John Safran and Harmon Leon cite him[citation needed] as an "important influence".
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Aitkinhead, Decca (January 30, 2011). "Louis Theroux: 'I'm not that comfortable doing polemic'". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/jan/30/louis-theroux-ultra-zionists-documentary. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
- ^ "Say How? A Pronunciation Guide to Names of Public Figures". Loc.gov. http://www.loc.gov/nls/other/sayhow.html#t. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
- ^ Bennett, Oliver (8 December 2001). "Louis Theroux: First among gonzos". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/louis-theroux-first-among-gonzos-619442.html. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
- ^ "You ask the questions: Louis Theroux". The Independent. 7 November 2001. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/you-ask-the-questions-louis-theroux-616093.html. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ "The Nick Clegg story". BBC. 19 December 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7046587.stm. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
- ^ Theroux promises to raise stakes By Kevin Young, 20 April 2006, BBC
- ^ Trust me, I'm an investigative journalist By Hugo Rifkind, January 20, 2007, The Times
[edit] External links
- Theroux's website
- Louis Theroux at BBC Programmes
- Louis Theroux at the Internet Movie Database
- In Conversation with Louis Theroux at BAFTA - 19 February 2010
- Something weird about Louis Interview by Gyles Brandreth and published by the Telegraph (11 December 2001)
- When Amazon Met Louis Interview with Amazon.com
- Weird & wonderful Interview by Jeremy Taylor for bmi Voyager Magazine (November 2007)
- Louis Theroux
- 1970 births
- Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
- English documentary filmmakers
- British people of French-Canadian descent
- English television personalities
- English people of American descent
- English people of Italian descent
- Living people
- Old Westminsters
- People from Harlesden
- British documentary filmmakers
- English atheists
