Robert Shaw Biography
Summary
"Robert Shaw" (August 9, 1927 – August 28, 1978) was an English stage and film actor and writer.
Life
Robert Shaw was born in Westhoughton, Lancashire, England, in 1927, to Thomas (a doctor) and Doreen Shaw. He had three sisters and one brother. At the age of seven, the family moved to Stromness, Orkney, Scotland. When Robert was 12, his father committed suicide by swallowing a lethal dose of opium. He apparently had been struggling with alcohol for a number of years. The family then moved to Cornwall, where he went to school in Truro. Shaw was a teacher in Saltburn, Yorkshire for a brief period, then attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London.
Acting career
Shaw's best-known film performances include a turn as the dangerous enemy secret agent Red Grant in the James Bond film "From Russia with Love" (1963); the relentless panzer officer Colonel Hessler in "Battle of the Bulge" (1965); a young Henry VIII in "A Man for All Seasons" (1966); Lord Randolph Churchill, in "Young Winston" (1972); the ruthless mobster Doyle Lonnegan in "The Sting" (1973); the tightly wound, but coolly efficient heist mastermind/former mercenary soldier Bernard Ryder aka 'Mr. Blue' in "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" (1974), and the bombastic, shark-obsessed fisherman Quint in "Jaws" (1975).
Shaw was nominated for the Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in "A Man for All Seasons".
He performed on stage as well, both in England and on Broadway.
Writing career
In addition to his acting career, Shaw was also an accomplished writer of novels, plays and screenplays. His first novel, "The Hiding Place", published in 1960, met with positive reviews. His next, "The Sun Doctor", published the following year, was awarded the Hawthornden Prize in 1962.
Shaw then embarked on a trilogy of novels - "The Flag" (1965), "The Man in the Glass Booth" (1967) and "A Card from Morocco" (1969); it was his adaptation for the stage of "The Man in the Glass Booth" which gained for Shaw's writing the most attention. The book and play present a complex and morally ambiguous tale of a man who, at various times in the story, is either a Jewish businessman pretending to be a Nazi war criminal, or a Nazi war criminal pretending to be a Jewish businessman. The play was quite controversial when performed in the US and the UK, some critics praising Shaw's sly, deft, and complex examination of the moral issues of nationality and identity, others sharply criticizing Shaw's treatment of such a sensitive subject. "The Man in the Glass Booth" was further developed for the screen, but Shaw disapproved of the resulting film and had his name removed from the credits.
Shaw also adapted "The Hiding Place" into a screenplay for the film "Situation Hopeless ... but not Serious" starring Alec Guinness. His play "Cato Street", about the 1820 Cato Street Conspiracy, was produced for the first time in 1971 in London.
Marriage and Children
Shaw was married three times and had nine children--
Jennifer Bourke (1952-1963) -- four daughters;
Mary Ure (1963-1975) -- four children;
Virginia Jansen (1976-1978) -- two children.
One of his sons, Ian Shaw, is also an actor.
Death
On August 27, 1978 Shaw was driving with his wife Virginia when he felt chest pains. He told her he would get out and walk them off and after 4 or 5 steps, he collapsed and was pronounced dead 15 minutes later of a heart attack at the age of 51. A Wetherspoon's Pub has been named after him in his home town.
Films
"The Lavender Hill Mob" (1951) (uncredited) .... Chemist at Police Exhibition.
"Operation Secret" (1952) (uncredited) .... Jacques
"The Dam Busters" (1954) .... Flight Sgt. J. Pulford
"A Hill in Korea" (a.k.a. "Hell in Korea") (1956) .... Lance Corporal. Hodge
"Double Cross" (1956)
"Man from Tangier" (a.k.a. "Thunder Over Tangier") (1957) .... Johnny
"The Buccaneers" (1957) .... Captain Dan Tempest
"Sea Fury" (1958) .... Gorman
"Libel" (1959) .... Newspaper Photographer
"The Winter's Tale" (TV movie) (1961) .... Leontes
"The Valiant" (1962) .... Lieutenant Field
"The Caretaker" (in USA) a.k.a. The Guest (1963) .... Aston
"From Russia with Love" (1963) .... Donald 'Red' Grant
"The Cracksman" (1963) .... Moke
"The Luck of Ginger Coffey" (1964) .... Ginger Coffey
"Carol for Another Christmas" (TV movie) (1964) .... Ghost of Christmas Future
"Tomorrow at Ten" (1964) .... Marlowe
"Hamlet" (1964) (TV movie) .... Claudius, King of Denmark
"Battle of the Bulge" (1965) .... Col. Martin Hessler
"A Man for All Seasons" (1966) .... King Henry VIII
"Custer of the West" (1967) .... Gen. George Armstrong Custer
"The Birthday Party" (1968) .... Stanley Webber
"Battle of Britain" (1969) .... Squadron Leader Skipper
"The Royal Hunt of the Sun" (1969) .... Francisco Pizarro
"Figures in a Landscape" (1970) .... MacConnachie (also adapted for the screen)
"A Town Called Bastard" (a.k.a. "A Town Called Hell") (1971) .... The Priest
"Young Winston" (1972) .... Lord Randolph Churchill
"A Reflection of Fear" (a.k.a. "Labyrinth") (1973) .... Michael
"The Hireling" (1973) .... Steven Ledbetter
"The Sting" (1973) .... Doyle Lonnegan
"The Golden Voyage of Sinbad" (1974) (uncredited) .... The Oracle of All Knowledge
"The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" (1974) .... Mr. Blue - Bernard Ryder
"Jaws" (1975) .... Quint
"Der Richter und sein Henker" (a.k.a. "End of the Game", "Murder on the Bridge", "Deception", and "Getting Away with Murder") (1975) .... Richard Gastmann
"Diamonds" (a.k.a. "Diamond Shaft") (1975) .... Charles/Earl Hodgson
"Robin and Marian" (1976) .... Sheriff of Nottingham
"Swashbuckler" (a.k.a. "Scarlet Buccaneer") (1976) .... Ned Lynch
"Black Sunday" (1977) .... Major David Kabokov
"The Deep" (1977) .... Romer Treece
"Force 10 from Navarone" (1978) .... Major Keith Mallory
"Avalanche Express" (1979) .... General Marenkov
Broadway performances
"The Caretaker" (1962)
"The Physicists" (1964)
"The Man in the Glass Booth" (1969)
"Gantry" (1970)
"Old Times" (1972)
"Dance of Death" (1974)
Books, plays and screenplays
"The Hiding Place" (1960) (book)
"The Sun Doctor" (1961) (book)
"The Flag" (1965) (book)
"Situation Hopeless... But Not Serious" (1965) (screenplay adaptation of "The Hiding Place")
"The Man in the Glass Booth" (1967) (book)
"The Man in the Glass Booth" (1968) (play adaptation)
"A Card from Morocco" (1969) (book)
"Cato Street" (1971) (play)
External links
(Ian Shaw)
(... more)
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Robert Shaw.
