Harry Lawton
Encyclopedia
Harry Wilson Lawton was an American writer
, journalist
, editor
and historian
who wrote several books about Native Americans
in California
. One of them, Willie Boy: a Desert Manhunt, was made into a movie in 1969, by the title Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here
, starring Robert Redford
.
. Following his love for reading and writing since childhood, he enrolled at University of California, Berkeley
after high school. There he wrote for the college newspapers and magazines. Always a visionary, Lawton opened the famous Haunted Bookstore in Berkeley
, which specialized in rare Western Americana.
He was also a reporter, and while working at The Press-Enterprise, he heard about the Last Great Manhunt of the Old West.
Desert
. In the end, Carlota is shot to death and Willie Boy commits suicide.
Harry Lawton's Willie Boy: a Desert Manhunt won several awards for best non-fiction novel
, and was later made into a movie, Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here
in 1969. It was precisely based on interviews and research the author did on the Morongo Indian Reservation during three years before the publishing of the book.
community. He helped found the California Museum of Photography; The Malki Museum, which was the first American Indian Museum
established at a California
reservation; and the Malki Press, a non-profit organization
responsible for publishing books about the Native Americans
in California
.
At University of California
he created the Creative Writing
Program, and the Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology
.
He was also an advocate for the preservation and archeological exploration of Riverside's Chinatown
.
Harry Lawton died on November 20, 2005 in Dana Point, California
. A month later a celebration of his life was held in Riverside, California
, honoring his great contribution to the California
History
.
. Besides contributing to the preservation of California
history
, he was very passionate about issues related to dyslexia
and ADHD. Lawton was a supporter of the Democratic Party and human rights
, and he was opposed to war, prejudice, and intolerance. He was a contributor to the American Cancer Society
, AMFAR
, Entertainment Industry Foundation
, Greenpeace
, and the ASPCA, although he always preferred anonymity.
Harry Lawton is the father of Hollywood film director
, writer
and producer
J. F. Lawton
.
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
and historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
who wrote several books about Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. One of them, Willie Boy: a Desert Manhunt, was made into a movie in 1969, by the title Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here
Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here
Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here is a Technicolor movie released in 1969, based on the true story of a Paiute Indian named Willie Boy and his run-in with the law in 1909 in Banning, California, United States....
, starring Robert Redford
Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...
.
Early life
Harry Lawton was born on December 11, 1927 in Long Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
. Following his love for reading and writing since childhood, he enrolled at University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
after high school. There he wrote for the college newspapers and magazines. Always a visionary, Lawton opened the famous Haunted Bookstore in Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, which specialized in rare Western Americana.
He was also a reporter, and while working at The Press-Enterprise, he heard about the Last Great Manhunt of the Old West.
Willie Boy
The Last Great Manhunt was a 1909 story about Willie Boy, a Pauite-Chemehuevi Indian who falls in love with his distant cousin, Carlota Boniface. Although the couple were madly in love, the marriage is forbidden by Carlota's father, Old Mike, the tribe's shaman. Desperate, Willie Boy kills Old Mike and runs away with Carlota into the CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
Desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
. In the end, Carlota is shot to death and Willie Boy commits suicide.
Harry Lawton's Willie Boy: a Desert Manhunt won several awards for best non-fiction novel
Non-fiction novel
The non-fiction novel is a literary genre which, broadly speaking, depicts real historical figures and actual events narrated woven together with fictitious allegations and using the storytelling techniques of fiction. The non-fiction novel is an otherwise loosely-defined and flexible genre...
, and was later made into a movie, Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here
Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here
Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here is a Technicolor movie released in 1969, based on the true story of a Paiute Indian named Willie Boy and his run-in with the law in 1909 in Banning, California, United States....
in 1969. It was precisely based on interviews and research the author did on the Morongo Indian Reservation during three years before the publishing of the book.
Work
Immensely respected by his fellow writers, Harry Lawton always believed in the preservation of the American IndianNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
community. He helped found the California Museum of Photography; The Malki Museum, which was the first American Indian Museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
established at a California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
reservation; and the Malki Press, a non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
responsible for publishing books about the Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
At University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
he created the Creative Writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
Program, and the Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology
Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology
The Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology is a leading regional source of scholarly information on the ethnography, archaeology, linguistics, and Native American history of the Western United States created by Harry Lawton....
.
He was also an advocate for the preservation and archeological exploration of Riverside's Chinatown
Chinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
.
Harry Lawton died on November 20, 2005 in Dana Point, California
Dana Point, California
-Climate:Dana Point enjoys a mild climate where temperatures tend to average around the 60's. The warmest month of the year is August with an average temperature of 79 degrees Fahrenheit. The coldest month is December with an average minimum temperature of 44 degrees Fahrenheit.-2010:The 2010...
. A month later a celebration of his life was held in Riverside, California
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
, honoring his great contribution to the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
.
Personal life
Behind the scenes, Harry Lawton was also a philanthropistPhilanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
. Besides contributing to the preservation of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, he was very passionate about issues related to dyslexia
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
and ADHD. Lawton was a supporter of the Democratic Party and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, and he was opposed to war, prejudice, and intolerance. He was a contributor to the American Cancer Society
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...
, AMFAR
AmfAR
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of sound AIDS-related public policy.-History:...
, Entertainment Industry Foundation
Entertainment Industry Foundation
The Entertainment Industry Foundation , based in Los Angeles, is a 501 non-profit and the leading charitable organization of the entertainment industry...
, Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
, and the ASPCA, although he always preferred anonymity.
Harry Lawton is the father of Hollywood film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
J. F. Lawton
J. F. Lawton
Jonathan Frederick Lawton , born on August 11, 1960 in Riverside, California, is an American screenwriter, film producer and film director...
.
External links
- Author Harry Lawton, Life in Legacy
- Harry Lawton Library
- Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here at the TCM Movie Database
- Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here at the NY Times
- California Museum of Photography
- Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology