an introduction to lawrence j. z. dane

i talked a lot about lawrence dane in 2022 without actually taking the time to explain why him of all actors. granted, the posts in my rituals tag get into most of it, but the snowflake challenge made me realize it'd be a good idea to have it all in one place instead of spread out across reviews&c. that way i have a nice little introduction to link at the top of the review masterpost!

(photo by keith beaty for the toronto star, 1973)
 

lawrence joseph zahab was born april 3, 1937 to two lebanese immigrants in a town in quebec, canada, and raised in ottawa. he grew up very involved in his community - playing high school football, emceeing local events, trying out impersonations at talent shows, and eventually acting in community theater. he was the youngest of six children and his father died suddenly when he was just finishing high school. since he wasn't the oldest son and therefore didn't face the same expectations to care for his mother and sister, he had enough freedom to travel and pursue his interest in acting. he started out credited as larry or lawrence zahab but switched to using lawrence dane as a stage name during the mid-to-late 1960s, when he began focusing on television and film productions outside of canada. in his private life he seems to have always gone by larry. he had several friends, most notably canadian icon gordon pinsent, but stayed a bachelor most of his life; he appears to have been largely single or only had short-lived relationships until 1995, when he wedded a woman named mary laurel macintosh in las vegas. they stayed together until his death of pancreatic cancer on march 21, 2022 and they don't seem to have had any children, but by all accounts he was a lovely uncle to his extended family of nieces and nephews.

his most well-known roles are as braedon keller in scanners (1981) and as lt. preston in bride of chucky (1998). he was a not-infrequent guest on american television in the '60s and '70s, and he was in a handful of early john candy films. if you're a canadian over the age of 30 or 40, you've likely encountered him on television at some point, whether in a drama, sitcom, or advertisement.

( what's so interesting about this guy anyway? )

so that's lawrence dane! as always i'm happy to answer any questions you might have, or to just fawn over him together lol. thanks for reading ^^