Neil LaBute

LaBute in 2015, photo by kathclick/Bigstock.com

Birth Name: Neil L. LaBute

Place of Birth: Detroit, Michigan, U.S.

Date of Birth: March 19, 1963

Ethnicity: French-Canadian, English, Irish

Neil LaBute is an American film director, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. He has directed the films In the Company of Men, Your Friends & Neighbors, Nurse Betty, Possession (2002), The Shape of Things, The Wicker Man (2006), Lakeview Terrace, Death at a Funeral (2010), Some Velvet Morning, Dirty Weekend, House of Darkness, and Out of the Blue, most of which he also co-wrote.

He is the son of Marion/Marian and Richard Neil LaBute. When asked about his surname in an interview published in the book Neil LaBute: Stage and Cinema, 2007, Neil stated:

It [my surname] is French Canadian. My ancestors went from France into French Canada and were there for a few years and then migrated down into Michigan, although just recently I have learned that LaBute translates into swan in Czech!… My mother’s father was born in London and moved to the States when he was eight or ten. My mother’s side were Irish, I believe.

Neil’s paternal grandfather was Norman William LaBute (the son of Thomas Edgar Langlais LaBute and Caroline Elizabeth Shane). Norman was born in Michigan. Thomas was the son of Lambert Chêne dit LaButte and Adelaide Truckey.

Neil’s paternal grandmother was Jeannette “Nettie” Adams (the daughter of Robert Adams and Rosa/Rose Adell/Adele/Dellie Gould). Jeannette was born in Michigan. Robert was born in Canada, to Irish parents. Rosa was born in Michigan.

Neil’s maternal grandfather was Harold Alexander Barber (the son of Ernest Barber and Sarah Ann Davis). Harold was born in England, and moved to Idaho, U.S., in 1910.

Neil’s maternal grandmother was Vera M. Ives (the daughter of Edward Ives and Ida E. Green). Vera was born in North Dakota.

Sources: Genealogy of Neil LaBute (focusing on his father’s side) – https://www.geni.com

Neil’s paternal grandmother, Jeannette “Nettie” Adams, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Neil’s mother on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Neil’s maternal grandfather, Harold Alexander Barber, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Obituary of Neil’s maternal grandfather, Harold Alexander Barber – http://www.spokesman.com