LAWRENCE CHAU

Bowing to public demand, the station replaced the new anchor with Lawrence — all within a span of a month. Lawrence was also promoted to senior producer thanks to his international style of reporting and sound journalism skills.

Disarming, and armed with an encyclopedic knowledge of entertainment, Lawrence’s trademark probing but non-threatening interview style prompted him to become THE most sought after showbiz news host by the major movie studios and record labels.

Tom Hanks, George Clooney, John Travolta, Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman, Johnny Depp, Kevin Costner, Denzel Washington, Julianne Moore, Celine Dion, Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, Vin Diesel, Lucy Liu, Ralph Fiennes, Uma Thurman, Matt Damon, Téa Leoni, Boy George and the late Whitney Houston were but a few of the many A-listers Lawrence held court with.

Exclusive one-on-ones, satellite interviews, airports, five star hotels, limousines, movie premieres, concerts and backstage access became a part of life for Lawrence as he jetted around the globe tracking down the world’s biggest and brightest stars.

Ratings soared as did ad revenue for Showbuzz as the program picked up its first ever nominations at the 1998 Asian Television Awards (one for Best Entertainment Program and one for Lawrence as Best Entertainment Presenter).

Eclipsing MTV Asia as Singapore’s go-to-source for entertainment news, Showbuzz was also awarded a weekend spin-off entitled, Showbuzz Weekend, co-executive produced, scripted and anchored by Lawrence.

Other accolades and endorsement deals came Lawrence’s way, as did a prestigious appointment to emcee the regional press conference, red carpet ceremony and gala premiere of Vanilla Sky attended by none other than Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz and Cameron Crowe.

The hosting of top rated game shows (Hollywood Squares Singapore aka Celebrity Squares), live specials (like Miss Singapore Universe), current affairs programs (Capital E: The Business of Show Business) and travel programs (China: World of Travel and China: World of Entertainment) quickly filled up Lawrence’s résumé as did a number of prominent acting roles in Singapore’s top rated programs like Money, Phua Chu Kang Pte, Ltd and Don’t Worry, Be Happy!

Leaving no stone un-turned, Lawrence bid farewell to his decade-long stint in Asia with the release of a self-produced and co-penned CD, entitled Soulo from which the lead track The Real Thang! was adopted as the theme song for the Singapore TV series, Making Love.

Returning home to Toronto to embark on a new millennium, Lawrence landed roles in a number of shows, most notably as the host of the Gemini award-winning paranormal series, Ghostly Encounters.  Syndicated internationally, Ghostly has, over the years, been broadcast on a number of networks in the US (Destination America, BIO.); in Canada (OWN, W Network, VIVA); and most recently in Asia (Crime & Investigation Channel).

With its delivery of real life stories combined with chilling paranormal re-enactments, Ghostly has garnered a cult-like following and has served as the catalyst for other programs like Celebrity Ghost Encounters and My Haunted House.

Flexing his acting chops, Lawrence landed plumb acting roles in The Border and a starring lead role as The Elusive Mr. Wee for Discovery Channel’s glossy crime re-enactment series, On The Run (which like Ghostly Encounters was also broadcast internationally).

Throughout his near two-decade showbiz career, Lawrence has also helmed entertainment columns and penned articles for various newspapers and magazines in North America and Asia.

From Toronto, Lawrence did what most entertainers do:  headed for the bright lights of Hollywood where he continues to work in front of and behind the scenes.

“People tell me I’m taking a big risk by moving to Los Angeles,” admits Lawrence.  “But I’ve taken risks all my life.  After graduating from journalism school in Toronto, I trekked off to Hong Kong with two suitcases and $2000 and managed to make a name for myself in a foreign land.  Then I trotted off to Singapore and made an even bigger splash.  Starting fresh in America doesn’t faze me at all; if anything it feels like I’m finally where I always aspired to be.”

Lawrence has been a popular face on the private circuit serving as an emcee for a variety of prestigious corporate and government events frequently attended by heads of state, including the Prime Ministers of Singapore.

Throughout his career, Lawrence has supported numerous charitable causes helping to raise funds to combat AIDS, Alzheimer’s, cancer, under privileged children, physically challenged adults, endangered wildlife, and abandoned and abused pets.