John Labow

{{Short description|Canadian film and television producer}}

{{Infobox person

| name = John Labow

| image = John_Labow_headshot.webp

| birth_date = {{birth date|1942|11|28}}

| birth_place = Timmins, Ontario, Canada

| birth_name = John Avery Leon Labow

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2017|12|11|1942|11|28}}

| death_place = Calgary, Alberta, Canada

| death_cause =

| occupation = documentary filmmaker and producer

|

}}

John Avery Leon Labow (November 28, 1942 - December 11, 2017) was a Canadian film and television producer,David Parker, "Producer John Labow sets up in Calgary". Calgary Herald, June 10, 2014. most noted as a producer of documentaries for TVOntario.[https://playbackonline.ca/2005/01/17/docs-20050117/ "Drinking up at the Agora round table"]. Playback, January 17, 2005.

Born in Timmins, Ontario, Labow was educated at the University of Toronto.Ralph Hicklin, "Friendship and $750 main ingredients of campus film". The Globe and Mail, November 21, 1964. His artistic endeavours during this era included performing as a folk music duo with Bram Morrison, and acting in local and regional theatre productionsHerbert Whittaker, "Shawbusiness: Slick Comedy Feature as Orillia Curtain Rises Again". The Globe and Mail, July 18, 1962. and the 1965 student-produced film Winter Kept Us Warm. He was then one of the producers of The Offering, the second feature film by Winter Kept Us Warm director David Secter.

Following his graduation he worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, before joining the nascent TVOntario in the early 1970s as one of its founding producers. For TVOntario he produced a significant number of documentary films and series, most notably the Planet Africa series about contemporary African culture."Africa: Tarzan doesn't live there anymore". The Globe and Mail, September 26, 1975. He later left TVOntario to launch his own independent production company, Videolink,Antonia Zerbisias, "Rocky Mountain high for TV's dealmakers". Toronto Star, June 9, 1997. and in the early 2000s he moved to Calgary, Alberta, where he launched another new company, Agora Productions. As an independent producer, he primarily concentrated on television specials for musical performers such as Anne Murray, Perry Como and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra; he also worked as a casting director through his independent firm Canadian Casting Centre.Alexandra Burroughs, "Oliverio gives something back: Back filming in Alberta". Calgary Herald, December 3, 2004.

He died on December 11, 2017, in Calgary, at age 75.