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John Thaw is a Actor British born on 3 january 1942

John Thaw

John Thaw
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Birth name John Edward Thaw
Nationality United-kingdom
Birth 3 january 1942
Death 21 february 2002 (at 60 years) at Luckington (United-kingdom)
Awards Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire

John Edward Thaw, CBE (3 January 1942 – 21 February 2002) was an English actor. He appeared in a range of television, stage, and cinema roles, his most popular being television series such as Inspector Morse, Redcap, The Sweeney, Home to Roost, and Kavanagh QC.

Biography

On 27 June 1964, Thaw married Sally Alexander, a feminist activist and theatre stage manager, and now professor of history at Goldsmiths, University of London. They divorced four years later. He met actress Sheila Hancock in 1969 on the set of a London comedy So What About Love? She was married to fellow actor Alexander "Alec" Ross, and after Thaw professed his love to Hancock, she told him that she would not have an affair. After the death of her husband (from oesophageal cancer) in 1971, Thaw and Hancock married on 24 December 1973 in Cirencester, and he remained with her until his death in 2002 (also from oesophageal cancer).

He had three daughters (all of whom are actresses): Abigail from his first marriage to Sally Alexander, Joanna from his second marriage to Sheila Hancock, and he also adopted Sheila Hancock's daughter Melanie Jane, from Hancock's first marriage to Alec Ross. Melanie Jane legally changed her surname from Ross to Thaw.

Thaw was a committed socialist and lifelong supporter of the Labour Party. He was appointed a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in March 1993 by Queen Elizabeth II. In September 2006, Thaw was voted by the general public as number 3, after David Jason and Morecambe and Wise, in a poll of TV's 50 Greatest Stars for the past 50 years.

Best films

Cry Freedom (1987)
(Actor)

Usually with

Gerald Sim
Gerald Sim
(4 films)
John Briley
John Briley
(1 films)
Alec McCowen
Alec McCowen
(2 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of John Thaw (14 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

Goodnight, Mister Tom, 1h41
Directed by Jack Gold
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, War, Historical
Themes Political films
Actors John Thaw, Nick Robinson, Annabelle Apsion, John Cater, Avril Elgar, Geoffrey Beevers
Roles Tom Oakley
Rating77% 3.89173.89173.89173.89173.8917
In September 1939, the United Kingdom enters World War II and children are evacuated from London to the countryside for their safety. Tom Oakley, a lonely and bitter old man living in the countryside village of Little Weirwold, is forced to look after one of the evacuees, William "Willie" Beech. Tom has long since withdrawn from life after losing his wife and child to scarlet fever many years ago, while Willie is a quiet young boy who comes from an abusive home and is apprehensive of Tom.
Chaplin
Chaplin (1992)
, 2h23
Directed by Richard Attenborough
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Biography, Comedy-drama
Themes Films about films, Films about television
Actors Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Hopkins, Geraldine Chaplin, Moira Kelly, Dan Aykroyd, Penelope Ann Miller
Roles Fred Karno
Rating74% 3.7493153.7493153.7493153.7493153.749315
The film is structured around lengthy flashbacks as the elderly Charlie Chaplin (Robert Downey, Jr.) (now living in Switzerland) recollects moments from his life during a conversation with fictional character George Hayden (Anthony Hopkins), the editor of his autobiography. Chaplin's recollections begin with his childhood of extreme poverty, from which he escapes by immersing himself in the world of the London music halls, after which he relocates to the United States.
Cry Freedom, 2h37
Directed by Richard Attenborough
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Historical
Themes Films set in Africa, Films about writers, Films about journalists, Films about racism, Political films
Actors Denzel Washington, Kevin Kline, Penelope Wilton, Kevin McNally, Kate Hardie, John Thaw
Roles Kruger
Rating73% 3.6968953.6968953.6968953.6968953.696895
Following a news story depicting the demolition of a slum in East London, South Africa, journalist Donald Woods (Kevin Kline) seeks more information about the incident and ventures off to meet black activist Steve Biko (Denzel Washington). Biko has been officially banned by the South African government and is not permitted to leave his defined banning area at King William's Town. Woods is formally against Biko's banning, but remains critical of his political views. Biko invites Woods to visit a black township to see the impoverished conditions and to witness the effect of the government-imposed restrictions, which make up the apartheid system. Woods begins to agree with Biko's desire for a South Africa where blacks have the same opportunities and freedoms as those enjoyed by the white population. As Woods comes to understand Biko's point of view, a friendship slowly develops between them.
Business as Usual, 1h29
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama
Actors Glenda Jackson, John Thaw, Cathy Tyson, Eamon Boland, James Hazeldine, Mark McGann
Roles Kieran Flynn
Rating60% 3.002923.002923.002923.002923.00292
Babs Flynn (Jackson) is the manager of a Liverpool boutique. When she accuses the regional manager of sexual harassment she is sacked. She mounts a public campaign to get her job back. The film was met with positive reviews. It starred a young Craig Charles as Cathy Tysons love interest and they were a couple at the time. It was based on a real case at a chain of boutiques called Lady at Lord John.
The Grass Is Singing, 1h45
Directed by Michael Raeburn
Genres Drama
Themes Films set in Africa
Actors Karen Black, John Thaw, Patrick Mynhardt, John Moulder-Brown
Roles Dick Turner
Rating50% 2.532832.532832.532832.532832.53283
The film takes place in Southern Rhodesia in the 1940s. Mary, a city woman, marries a farmer named Dick Turner. Mary is pulled from the comforts of her cosmopolitan life and forced to live on Dick's unsuccessful farm. Mary slowly becomes insane and has a sexual affair with her black servant, Moses. When Mary and Moses' affair is discovered Mary asks Moses to leave the farm. Moses returns and murders Mary. The film deals with the issues of colonialism, the white man's role in Africa, and the relationships between the races and genders.
Drake's Venture
Directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Historical
Actors John Thaw, Paul Darrow, Charlotte Cornwell, Esmond Knight, David Ryall
Roles Francis Drake
Rating75% 3.780293.780293.780293.780293.78029
The film opens with Drake's return from his voyage of circumnavigation. He is nervous about how he will be received at home, and rightly so, for he has executed Thomas Doughty, an influential courtier, investor in the voyage, and formerly, his closest friend. The story is mostly told in flashback as Drake recounts the circumstances of the voyage to Queen Elizabeth I. Although it is clear how Drake interprets the events that led to Doughty's execution, the depicted scenes paint a more ambiguous tale. Conflict between Drake and Doughty grows due to an escalating pattern of Drake's increasing autocracy and paranoia, and Doughty's underhanded means to regain the authority he sees as rightly his due.
Sweeney 2
Sweeney 2 (1978)
, 1h44
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action, Crime
Actors John Thaw, Dennis Waterman, Denholm Elliott, Marc Zuber, Frederick Treves, Anna Gaël
Roles Detective Inspector Jack Regan
Rating65% 3.2957953.2957953.2957953.2957953.295795
The plot concerns a group of bank robbers, who are both violent and successful, strangely getting away each time with an amount around the £60,000 mark, and often leaving behind cash in excess of this sum.
Sweeney!
Sweeney! (1977)
, 1h29
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action, Crime
Actors John Thaw, Dennis Waterman, Ian Bannen, Lynda Bellingham, Barry Foster, Colin Welland
Roles Detective Inspector Jack Regan
Rating67% 3.3973453.3973453.3973453.3973453.397345
The film followed the adventures of DI Regan and DS Carter as they became embroiled in a deadly political scandal. One of the leading members of the government, Charles Baker (Ian Bannen), is about to secure a huge deal with OPEC stabilising the world oil market and boosting Britain's position within it. Baker is the rising star of the government, regarded as a future prime minister, and he is closely controlled by his urbane, manipulative American press secretary Elliot McQueen (Barry Foster).
Dr. Phibes Rises Again, 1h29
Directed by Robert Fuest
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Comedy, Horror comedy, Fantasy, Adventure, Horror
Themes Comedy horror films
Actors Vincent Price, Robert Quarry, Peter Jeffrey, Fiona Lewis, Joseph Cotten, Hugh Griffith
Roles Shavers
Rating62% 3.149713.149713.149713.149713.14971
The film begins by recapping the events of the previous film, following Dr. Anton Phibes' murderous quest for vengeance against the doctors he blamed for the death of his wife, Victoria. Phibes eluded capture by placing himself in suspended animation in a sarcophagus he shares with the body of his wife, where he would lay in darkness until the moon had entered into proper alignment with the planets, which had not occurred in over two thousand years. Three years later, the conjunction occurs, and Phibes rises from his sarcophagus. Summoning his silent assistant Vulnavia (Valli Kemp, replacing Virginia North), Phibes prepares to take Victoria to Egypt; there, in a hidden tomb, flows the River of Life, promising resurrection for Victoria and eternal life for the two of them. Rising from his basement, Phibes is shocked to discover that his house has been demolished, and a safe containing a scroll of papyrus, showing the way to the River of Life, is now empty.
Catch Me a Spy, 1h34
Directed by Dick Clement
Origin France
Genres Thriller, Comedy, Action, Spy
Themes Spy films, Political films
Actors Kirk Douglas, Marlène Jobert, Trevor Howard, Tom Courtenay, Patrick Mower, Bernadette Lafont
Roles (uncredited)
Rating52% 2.61042.61042.61042.61042.6104
A young British schoolteacher heads to the Eastern Bloc to try to locate her husband who has gone missing, and soon turns out to have been detained by Soviet intelligence as a spy.
The Last Grenade, 1h34
Directed by Gordon Flemyng
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, War, Action, Adventure
Themes Films set in Africa, Political films
Actors Stanley Baker, Alex Cord, Honor Blackman, Richard Attenborough, Ray Brooks, Andrew Keir
Roles Terry Mitchell
Rating53% 2.6712452.6712452.6712452.6712452.671245
Beginning in the Congo, a group of mercenaries led by British Major Harry Grigsby (Stanley Baker) are due to be picked up by helicopters after completing a mission. As they board the choppers they are fired on from the helicopters by another group of mercenaries led by American Kip Thompson (Alex Cord) who has been hired to change sides.
The Bofors Gun
Directed by Jack Gold
Genres Drama, War
Themes Films based on plays
Actors Nicol Williamson, Ian Holm, David Warner, Peter Vaughan, John Thaw, Barry Jackson
Roles Gunner Featherstone
Rating66% 3.3370453.3370453.3370453.3370453.337045
West Germany, 1954. Lance Bombardier Evans, a sheltered middle-class National Serviceman, is about to be sent back to England to undertake a second attempt at officer training. But first he has to get through one night of guard duty without incident. Evans is in charge of a section of six men detailed to guard an obsolete Bofors Gun at a British military base. It soon becomes clear that none of the section, with the exception of Flynn, have any respect for Evans, guessing rightly that the latter has no enthusiasm and little ability in his role. Gunner O'Rourke in particular is troublesome and insubordinate, his contempt for Evans spurring him to test the authority and patience of the weak-willed NCO. Evan's fumbling attempts to engage him in friendly conversation only makes matters worse. The atmosphere grows more tense and O'Rourke strikes one of the other men, Rowe and then dares Evans to place him on a disciplinary charge but the NCO is too nervously intimidated to do so. O'Rourke and his sidekick Featherstone insist on being allowed to go to the NAAFI to buy cigarettes and Evans ill-advisedly lets them go.
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, 1h44
Directed by Tony Richardson
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama
Themes Prison films, Sports films, Athletics films
Actors Tom Courtenay, Michael Redgrave, James Bolam, Ray Austin, John Thaw, James Fox
Roles Bosworth
Rating74% 3.746153.746153.746153.746153.74615
The film opens with Colin Smith (Tom Courtenay) running, alone, along a bleak country road somewhere in rural England. In a brief voiceover, Colin tells us that running is the way his family has always coped with the world's troubles, but that in the end, the runner is always alone and cut off from spectators, left to deal with life on his own.