AS SEEN ON TV: BILL LOUD

BILL LOUD

AS SEEN IN:
"Cinema Verite"

AS PLAYED BY:
Tim Robbins

From People Magazine
(February 28, 1977)
Bill and Pat Loud and their five children gave TV viewers an intimate, sometimes embarrassing glimpse into their lives in a 12-installment NET documentary on the American family in 1972. In one episode Pat ticked off Bill's shortcomings on camera and announced she wanted him to move out. The Louds, who lived in Santa Barbara, Calif., got a divorce in 1972.

Bill, a manufacturer of mining machinery parts, has remained in Santa Barbara. "I'm still doing the same thing I was doing when the series took place except living in the same home," he says. The $120,000 residence went to Pat in the divorce settlement and, after being rented for three years, was recently sold. Bill and Carol and her two tiny Shihtzu dogs have settled into a small townhouse in the Montecito area.

Bill does not believe the TV exposure that made him and his family instant celebrities had an adverse effect on his life. "It was an enriching experience, and it's fun to be recognized in the supermarkets," says Bill.

CINEMA VERITE tells the behind-the-scenes story of the groundbreaking 12-hour PBS documentary series "An American Family," which chronicled the lives of the Louds in the early 1970s and catapulted the Santa Barbara family to notoriety while creating a new genre: the reality TV series. Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy nominee Diane Lane, Oscar and Golden Globe winner Tim Robbins and Golden Globe and Emmy winner James Gandolfini star in the HBO Films presentation. CINEMA VERITE debuts SATURDAY, APRIL 23 (9:00-10:45 p.m. ET/PT) only on HBO.

BCnU!