Hugo van Lawick

Hugo Arndt Rodolf, Baron van Lawick (10 April 1937–2 June 2002), known as Hugo van Lawick, was a Dutch wildlife filmmaker and photographer.

Through his still photographs and films, van Lawick helped popularize the study of chimpanzees during his then-wife Jane Goodall's studies at Gombe Stream National Park during the 1960s and 1970s. His films drew the attention of the viewing public to the dramatic life cycles of several wild animals of the Serengeti, such as wild dogs, elephants, and lions.

He was born in Surabaya, Indonesia, the son of Baron Hugo Anne Victor Raoul van Lawick (11 August 1909–17 June 1941) and the former Isabella Sophia van Ittersum (11 February 1913–30 December 1977). His father was a pilot with the Dutch fleet, and upon his death while in service the Baroness moved Hugo and his brother first to Australia, then to England, where they lived successively, in London, Hull, and Devon. In the latter, Hugo was enrolled in boarding school, where he remained after his mother and brother moved to The Netherlands shortly after the end of World War II. In 1947, he joined them in Amersfoort.

In November 1959, Hugo went to Africa to pursue his passion of photographing and taking footage of wild animals, finding employment as a cameraman for a filmmaking couple. After a film he produced as the background to a lecture given by Louis Leakey was seen by a staff member at National Geographic, he was given a retainer for future work for the magazine.

Upon the recommendation of Leakey, Hugo began photographing and filming chimpanzees at Gombe Stream National Park in August 1962. It was at Gombe that he met Jane Goodall, Leakey's protégé, who had since July 1960 been stationed in the park researching chimpanzees. As it happened, he teamed up with her not only to make films about the chimps, but in marriage as well. The two were wed on 28 March 1964 in Chelsea Old Church, London. They lived in Tanzania for many years, both at Gombe and elsewhere on other research projects, and were joined in 1967 by their son, Hugo Eric, affectionately known as "Grub". Hugo and Jane were divorced in 1974, although they maintained the friendship on which their relationship had originally been founded. On 23 March 1978, in Banjul, Gambia, Hugo married Theresa Rice. They were divorced 19 January 1984.

Through Hugo's film "People of the Forest" the world came to know members of Gombe's "F" family, namely Flo, Fifi, and Flint, in addition to a number of their other immediate relations. By the time he stopped filming at Gombe, he had created a visual record spanning over twenty years and documenting the lives of three generations of chimpanzees. Hugo made a number of wildlife documentaries for television, but also made several films for theatrical release on 35 mm film, such as "The Leopard Son" and "Serengeti Symphony". Besides making films himself, Hugo was an important influence and mentor to a younger generation of wildlife filmmakers. His tented camp, Ndutu, in the Serengeti, became through his guidance a breeding ground for new wildlife filmmakers.

In 1998, Hugo was forced to retire due to health issues, namely emphysema. He left Ndutu to live with his son, "Grub" in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where he died at the age of 65. On 7 June, during a ceremony attended by family, friends, staff and government officials, Hugo was buried at the place his tent had stood for over 30 years in his camp in the Serengeti.

Hugo van Lawick won eight Emmy awards for his films, and was appointed Officer in the Order of the Golden Ark in 1992 by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, the founder of the WWF.

References

* Dale Peterson, (2006) "Jane Goodall: The Woman Who Redefined Man", pgs. 299-301.

External links

* [http://www.hugovanlawick.com/ In Memory of Hugo van Lawick]