A great actor died 30 years ago today. Robert Shaw dropped dead of heart attack at age 51 in Ireland. Shaw's acting career spanned 27 years. From a bit role in the classic British comedy, The Lavender Hill Mob, to the positively awful Avalanche Express. Shaw died while the later was still being filmed. Another actor's voice had to be dubbed for Shaw's role in the movie.
I'm betting a great many Wizbang readers remember Shaw. What was your favorite movie of his? Was it
Jaws
The Sting
Black Sunday
A Man for All Seasons
or a movie not listed above. Shaw was great in all those I listed. Two movies of Shaw's that I'm particularly fond of were The Luck of Ginger Coffey and Swashbuckler. Swashbuckler was a campy pirate movie, but its lots of fun. Ginger Coffey may have been Shaw's most unappreciated work. An Irish dreamer living in Canada who can't seem to take his responsibilities seriously. I loved this movie when I first saw it about 25 years ago. Even taped it on VHS, but the cassette is now gone and Ginger Coffey is rarely shown on television.
Few people know Shaw was a talented author and playwright. He acted to provide for his family, he fathered ten children. Four of them with actress Mary Ure, who played his wife in The Luck of Ginger Coffey. I posted a video tribute to Shaw that I found at You Tube. Thank you for all the great movies Robert and RIP.
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Comments (29)
"Here's to swimmin' with bo... (Below threshold)1. Posted by Peter F. | October 28, 2008 4:29 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
"Here's to swimmin' with bowlegged women...."
1. Posted by Peter F. | October 28, 2008 4:29 PM |
Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Posted on October 28, 2008 16:29
2. Posted by Francis W. Porretto
| October 28, 2008 4:31 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Shaw was indeed gifted beyond most moviegoers' appreciation of him.
My favorite Shaw performance was as the head villain in The Taking Of Pelham 1-2-3. It was a tough role to carry, maximally unsympathetic, but Shaw made it magnetic. However, my favorite movie with Shaw in it would be Black Sunday, which also contained two amazing performances by Bruce Dern and Marthe Keller as psychopathic terrorists.
2. Posted by Francis W. Porretto
| October 28, 2008 4:31 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 28, 2008 16:31
3. Posted by jab | October 28, 2008 4:42 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
RED GRANT TO JAMES BOND IN "FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE"
"The first one won't kill you; not the second, not even the third... not till you crawl over here and you KISS MY FOOT!"
3. Posted by jab | October 28, 2008 4:42 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 28, 2008 16:42
4. Posted by DaveD | October 28, 2008 5:03 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
For me: "A Man For All Seasons" An absolutely terrific cast. Shaw included.
4. Posted by DaveD | October 28, 2008 5:03 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 28, 2008 17:03
5. Posted by bill | October 28, 2008 5:11 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
he was born in 1927, 81 years old i think. a great loss.
5. Posted by bill | October 28, 2008 5:11 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 28, 2008 17:11
6. Posted by bill | October 28, 2008 5:22 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
somebody fetch my readin glasses. sorry bill for doubting your math skills. hey wait a minute, with my reading and math skills, i could do a poll for obama, wouldn't that be a hoot.
bill
6. Posted by bill | October 28, 2008 5:22 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 28, 2008 17:22
7. Posted by DougS | October 28, 2008 5:24 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
While we're at it, let's not forget his mellowed, battle-weary Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin and Marian.
He was a remarkable talent who left the stage too soon, no doubt about it.
7. Posted by DougS | October 28, 2008 5:24 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 28, 2008 17:24
8. Posted by Eric | October 28, 2008 5:25 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Robert Shaw was a great actor. I also loved Swashbuckler, I saw that one in the theater. It was silly and campy and to kid a LOT OF FUN. Becuase of that whenever I read the book Tai-Pan by James Clavell I think of Robert Shaw as the main character Dirk Struan. He would have been perfect for the role.
8. Posted by Eric | October 28, 2008 5:25 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on October 28, 2008 17:25
9. Posted by Mike | October 28, 2008 5:42 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
jab,
Yes, Shaw's portrayal of psychopath killer Red Grant is outstanding. The lengthy fight scene between Shaw and Connery near the end of the picture took three weeks to film, and Shaw and Connery did nearly all of their own stunts.
9. Posted by Mike | October 28, 2008 5:42 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 28, 2008 17:42
10. Posted by Son Of The Godfather | October 28, 2008 5:57 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
"The Deep"... Loved that when I was a kid... Thank you, oh image of Jacqueline Bisset that adorned my puberty years. ;)
10. Posted by Son Of The Godfather | October 28, 2008 5:57 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on October 28, 2008 17:57
11. Posted by OregonMuse | October 28, 2008 6:15 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
The Taking of Pelham 123 is a great underrated movie. Shaw and Walter Matthau are excellent as antagonists who actually don't see each other until close to the end of the movie.
11. Posted by OregonMuse | October 28, 2008 6:15 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 28, 2008 18:15
12. Posted by Herman | October 28, 2008 6:24 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
The guy who got stung in The Sting.
12. Posted by Herman | October 28, 2008 6:24 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 28, 2008 18:24
13. Posted by Mitchell | October 28, 2008 6:30 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
He was good in To Russia with Love. And Jaws.
A Scot with character; Connery like.
13. Posted by Mitchell | October 28, 2008 6:30 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 28, 2008 18:30
14. Posted by sanssoucy | October 28, 2008 7:00 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
"Here lies the body of Mary Lee,
Died at the age of a hundred and three,
For fifteen years she kept her virginity,
... not a bad record for this vicinity."
14. Posted by sanssoucy | October 28, 2008 7:00 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 28, 2008 19:00
15. Posted by HughS | October 28, 2008 8:16 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Doyle Lonnigan, by a mile.
I am not a movie affaciando, but whoever cast in him in that role was a genious.
15. Posted by HughS | October 28, 2008 8:16 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on October 28, 2008 20:16
16. Posted by The Exposer | October 28, 2008 8:47 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I'd probably give the nod to Ginger Coffey too, a real tour de force. It's very difficult to choose, though, given that he never turned in a bad performance. Sickening to see that we've lost so many strong, leading male actors that we seemed to have in abundance in the '50s, '60s, and '70s, replaced by whining, PC metrosexual ninnies. Matt Damon and Affleck aren't fit to hold Mr. Shaw's jock. He is surely missed.
16. Posted by The Exposer | October 28, 2008 8:47 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 28, 2008 20:47
17. Posted by Bill | October 28, 2008 9:01 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Has to be, Where Eagles Dare.
17. Posted by Bill | October 28, 2008 9:01 PM |
Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Posted on October 28, 2008 21:01
18. Posted by SilentStorm | October 28, 2008 9:43 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Put me down for Quint in Jaws.
Especially when he told the story of the USS Indianapolis.
18. Posted by SilentStorm | October 28, 2008 9:43 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 28, 2008 21:43
19. Posted by OregonMuse | October 28, 2008 9:45 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Classic scene.
"...but we delivered the bomb."
19. Posted by OregonMuse | October 28, 2008 9:45 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 28, 2008 21:45
20. Posted by Captain Ned | October 28, 2008 10:32 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I was 11 when Jaws hit the silver screen and it took me many years to read enough history to understand what happened to the USS Indianapolis. Learning that a decade or so after the movie made that scene even creepier.
That said, watching Newman & Redford take his money in The Sting never gets old.
20. Posted by Captain Ned | October 28, 2008 10:32 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 28, 2008 22:32
21. Posted by Stewart | October 28, 2008 10:43 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I have to agree with Bill above: Where Eagles Dare! What a great actor, still missed. How many of today's stars will be missed 30 years after they're gone?
21. Posted by Stewart | October 28, 2008 10:43 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 28, 2008 22:43
22. Posted by Baron Von Ottomatic | October 28, 2008 11:12 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
The crazy German tank commander in The Battle of the Bulge was classic.
But Quint was epic.
FWIW, IMDB says he died 8/28/78...
22. Posted by Baron Von Ottomatic | October 28, 2008 11:12 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 28, 2008 23:12
23. Posted by Baron Von Ottomatic | October 28, 2008 11:15 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
And Where Eagles Dare was Richard Burton...
23. Posted by Baron Von Ottomatic | October 28, 2008 11:15 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 28, 2008 23:15
24. Posted by ODA315 | October 29, 2008 12:35 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
"Aye chief, 4,586,129 men went in the water....only 12 survived...."
24. Posted by ODA315 | October 29, 2008 12:35 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 29, 2008 00:35
25. Posted by markm | October 29, 2008 7:26 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I'm a bit biased but my favorite roll he played was the one of getting stung in The Sting. My late uncle was in that movie, hence the bias.
25. Posted by markm | October 29, 2008 7:26 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 29, 2008 07:26
26. Posted by Tom Blogical | October 29, 2008 8:34 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
"Sometimes that shark he looks right into ya. Right into your eyes. And, you know, the thing about a shark... he's got lifeless eyes. Black eyes. Like a doll's eyes. When he comes at ya, doesn't seem to be living... until he bites ya, and those black eyes roll over white and then... ah then you hear that terrible high-pitched screamin'."
26. Posted by Tom Blogical | October 29, 2008 8:34 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 29, 2008 08:34
27. Posted by CarlF | October 29, 2008 9:03 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Robert Archibald Shaw (9 August 1927 - 28 August 1978) was an English stage and film actor and writer.
27. Posted by CarlF | October 29, 2008 9:03 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 29, 2008 09:03
28. Posted by Mike | October 29, 2008 11:51 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I loved him in Force 10 from Navarone.
28. Posted by Mike | October 29, 2008 11:51 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 29, 2008 11:51
29. Posted by joanne m. lindahl | February 11, 2011 10:49 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
why, i just think all of Robert Shaw's movies were fantastic! during his career he personally influenced many other well known actors/actresses/directors/screenwriters/editors in todays industry. He made no "BAD" movies, made MANY low budget movies and he captured the whole plot from beginning to end.
29. Posted by joanne m. lindahl | February 11, 2011 10:49 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on February 11, 2011 10:49