Louis Theroux

Infobox Person
name = Louis Theroux

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birth_name = Louis Sebastian Theroux
birth_date = Birth date and age|1970|5|20|mf=y
birth_place = Singapore
death_date =
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residence = Harlesden, United Kingdom
nationality = Anglo-American
ethnicity = White
citizenship = British & American
other_names =
known_for = Documentaries
"Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends"
"When Louis Met…"
education = Modern history (1st)
alma_mater = Magdalen College, Oxford
employer = The Idler
occupation = Broadcaster
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height = 6' 2" (1.88 m)
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partner = Nancy
children = 1
parents = Paul Theroux & Anne Castle
relations = Marcel Theroux (brother), Justin Theroux (cousin)
callsign =


website = http://www.louistheroux.co.uk/
footnotes =

Louis Sebastian Theroux (born 20 May 1970) is a British broadcaster holding both British and US citizenship, best known for his television series "Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends" and "When Louis Met…"

Biography

Family

Theroux was born in Singapore the younger son of the American travel writer and novelist Paul Theroux and his British first wife Anne Castle. His elder brother is the writer and television presenter Marcel Theroux. He is the cousin of American actor Justin Theroux. Brought up in the UK, he holds dual US-British nationality. His surname is of French-Canadian provenance and originates from the region around Sarthe and Yonne in France.

Early Life

Theroux was educated at Westminster School (where he was a friend and contemporary of the comedians Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish). He then went to Magdalen College, Oxford where he gained a first class degree in modern history.

Early Career

His first journalism job was at "Metro Silicon Valley", an alternative weekly newspaper in San Jose, California. In 1992 he was hired as a writer for "Spy" magazine. He got his break in television working as a correspondent on Michael Moore's "TV Nation" series, [cite web
url = http://www.thecustard.tv/shows/louistheroux.html
title = Louis Theroux guide
accessdate = 2006-10-12
year = 2004
publisher = [http://www.thecustard.tv thecustard.tv] ] 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".

Personal Life

He lives in the London district of Harlesden with his girlfriend, Nancy, with whom he has a son, Albert. [ [http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article1293410.ece Interview] timesonline.co.uk]

Documentaries

Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends

In "Weird Weekends" (1998–2000), Louis 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, Theroux's documentary method subtly exposes the contradictions or farcical elements of some seriously-held beliefs. Theroux himself describes the aim of the series as

When Louis Met...

In "When Louis Met…" (2000–2002), 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".

pecial Episodes

In this special programmes (2003-2006), Theroux returned to American themes, working at feature-length, this time with a more natural tone. One, "Louis and the Brothel", takes a sympathetic look at the prostitutes working at a legal brothel in Nevada. Other programmes include "Louis and the Nazis", and "Louis and Michael", which was notable for Louis offending Michael Jackson's father Joe with a question that implied that Michael Jackson may be a homosexual. In March 2006, he had signed a new deal with the BBC to make ten films over the course of three years. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4927726.stm Theroux promises to raise stakes] BBC News]

eries Three (untitled)

The first programme in his new series was titled "Louis Theroux: Gambling in Las Vegas" and followed Louis investigating the high rollers and those who manage casinos in Vegas. Dr Martha Ogman was one of the main characters of the show and as the interviews with her took place it became evident that she was clearly addicted to gambling. Near the end of the programme it was revealed that in just seven years, she had lost in excess of $4 million. All in all Louis was $4,590 up from $3000 at the end of what he called his "blowout night" playing Baccarat in addition to turning $500 into $700 on his first foray into gambling at the Blackjack tables. As an interesting aside, the money gambled was his own, not part of the production budget.

In the second show, "The Most Hated Family in America", which aired on April 1, 2007, he followed members of the highly controversial Westboro Baptist Church, a small family community infamous for strong anti-homosexual beliefs and the picketing of funerals of US soldiers.

The third programme (aired on October 7 2007), "", saw Theroux follow patients having cosmetic surgery in California before receiving liposuction himself.

The fourth programme, "Louis Theroux: Behind Bars" (aired on January 13 2008), saw Louis immerse himself in San Quentin Prison by exploring the relationships between prisoners and their guards. [ [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2179988,00.html Rachel Cooke interviews broadcaster and documentary maker Louis Theroux] The Observer]

The fifth in the series called "Louis Theroux's African Hunting Holiday", aired on April 6. In this episode, Louis visits South African game, where near-extinct and other African species are bred to be hunted by western tourists.

The sixth in the series will air in the UK on BBC 2 in Autumn 2008 and will be entitled "Philly PD". In this episode Louis spends some time with the Philadelphia Police Department as they patrol one of the most dangerous areas of the city.

Books

His first book, "", 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.

Awards and nominations

1996 Emmy Awards:
* 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 as an important influence.

References

External links

*imdb|0857621
* [http://internettrash.com/users/louis_theroux/ Fansite] internettrash.com
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2001/12/11/tlouis11.xml Something weird about Louis] Interview by Gyles Brandreth and published by the "Telegraph" (December 11, 2001)
* [http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/tg/feature/-/309293 When Amazon Met Louis] Interview with "Amazon.com"
* [http://www.bmivoyager.com/2007/10/27/weird-wonderful/ Weird & wonderful] Interview by Jeremy Taylor for "bmi Voyager Magazine" (November, 2007)