Robert Shaw (actor)
Robert Archibald Shaw (9 August 1927 – 28 August 1978) was an English actor, novelist, playwright and screenwriter. Beginning his career in theatre, Shaw joined the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre after the Second World War and appeared in productions of Macbeth, Henry VIII, Cymbeline, and other Shakespeare plays. With the Old Vic company (1951–52), he continued primarily in Shakespearean roles. In 1959 he starred in a West End production of The Long and the Short and the Tall.
For the American actor, see Robert Gottschall.
Robert Shaw
28 August 1978 (aged 51)
- Actor
- novelist
- playwright
- screenwriter
1947–1978
10; including Ian Shaw
Tanya Landman (niece)
Rob Kolar (grandson)
Shaw was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for his role as Henry VIII in the drama film A Man for All Seasons (1966). His other film roles included the mobster Doyle Lonnegan in The Sting (1973) and the shark hunter Quint in Jaws (1975). He also played roles in From Russia with Love (1963), Battle of Britain (1969), Young Winston (1972), The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), Robin and Marian (1976), and Black Sunday and The Deep, both of which were released in 1977.
Early life[edit]
Robert Archibald Shaw was born on 9 August 1927 at 51 King Street in Westhoughton, Lancashire,[1] the son of Thomas Archibald Shaw and Doreen Nora, née Avery. His father, a doctor and former Royal Field Artillery Lieutenant, was of Scottish descent; his mother, a former nurse, was born at Piggs Peak, Swaziland.[2][3] He had three sisters named Elisabeth, Joanna, and Wendy, and one brother named Alexander. When he was seven years old, the family moved to Scotland, settling in Stromness, Orkney. His father killed himself when Shaw was 12, and the family then relocated to Cornwall, where Shaw attended the independent Truro School.[4] For a brief period, he was a teacher at Glenhow Preparatory School in Saltburn-by-the-Sea in the North Riding of Yorkshire, before attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, graduating in 1948.[5]
Personal life[edit]
Shaw was married three times and had 10 children, two of whom were adopted. His first wife was Jennifer Bourke from 1952 to 1963, with whom he had four daughters. His second wife was actress Mary Ure from 1963 to 1975, with whom he had four children, including daughters Elizabeth (born 1963) and Hannah (born 1965). He adopted son Colin (born 1961) from his wife's previous marriage to playwright John Osborne; according to an interview with Colin, he was Shaw's son born during an affair while Ure was still married to Osborne. Shaw's son Ian (born 1969) also became an actor. This marriage ended with Ure's death from an overdose. His third and final wife was Virginia Jansen from 1976 until his death in 1978, with whom he had one son, Thomas; he also adopted her son, Charles, from a previous relationship. Shaw's grandson (via his daughter Deborah and film producer Evzen Kolar) [29] is American musician and composer Rob Kolar.[30][31] Another grandson of his, Ferdia Shaw, made his debut in the film Artemis Fowl.
For the last seven years of his life, Shaw lived at Drimbawn House in Tourmakeady, County Mayo, Ireland.[32] Like his father, Shaw was an alcoholic for most of his life.[33]
Robert Shaw memorial in Tourmakeady, County Mayo, Ireland, near the location where he died
Closeup of the text
View of the pier at the site
Shaw died in Ireland at the age of 51 from a heart attack on 28 August 1978, while driving from Castlebar, County Mayo, to his home in Tourmakeady.[34] He was accompanied by his wife Virginia and his son Thomas.[35]
He suddenly became ill, stopped the car, stepped out, then collapsed and lost consciousness on the roadside. He was taken to Castlebar General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.[36][37] He had just completed acting in the film Avalanche Express.[38] His body was cremated and his ashes scattered near his home in Tourmakeady. A stone memorial to him was unveiled there in his honour in August 2008, nearly 30 years after his death.[32]
Tributes[edit]
Shaw has a Wetherspoons pub named after him in his birthplace of Westhoughton.[39]
Villain Sebastian Shaw from the X-Men comics is named and modelled after Shaw.[40]
Film director Ridley Scott, in the DVD commentary for Gladiator (2000) when discussing the casting of Próximo and Marcus Aurelius, said "We have very few Robert Shaws now",[41] implying he had wanted to cast a certain type of rugged actor that Shaw typified, in this case Oliver Reed and Richard Harris.
Awards[edit]
At the 39th Academy Awards in 1967, Shaw became the second actor – after Charles Laughton – to receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Henry VIII of England, in the film A Man for All Seasons (1966).[42] He was also nominated to the 24th Golden Globe Awards for the same role.[43]